The group slowly approached the doorway with Abe checking for any possible traps within the chamber before it. Entering the next room they were baffled by what they saw. It was a large room, able to fit them all with room to spare, and made up to resemble the bedroom of a young woman from 20-25 years ago. The walls were a pastel rose color and covered with varied posters, pictures, and shelves -both standing and hanging- cluttered with old toys, candles, plushies, and books. An ornate vanity and chair sat opposite the door with a large mahogany wardrobe and standing closet on either side. An unused mahogany desk with a small lamp sat against the left wall and a large chest sat facing it on the opposite side of the room. In the very center of the room was a marble pedestal resembling that of a Greek column holding a large hot pink crystal ball surrounded by drapes like that of a canopy bed.
The group looked around as they filtered in, each party member finding something to occupy their curiosity. Abe, Devon, and Ross moved around the pedestal and just stared in awe at the crystal ball. Morgan and Marie looked through the myriad books and found fashion magazines, college textbooks, scrapbooks, fictions of various genres (mostly trashy romance books), and the occasional book on mathematics or architecture. Jason and Randy sifted through the chest but upon finding it full of old diaries, picture albums, and letters decided to close it and not go through the possible treasured thoughts of a dead girl. George and Jesse just generally looked around in search of anything interesting on the shelves but couldn''t seem to find anything that looked truly out of place for the room.
Jesse picked up a cotton candy scented candle and flipped it in his hand before looking at the trio standing stock still and looking at the ball on the plinth. "So... Where''s the secret? What are we looking for? Why are you looking at that?"
"Dungeon Core" all three said in unison before looking shiftily at each other and gaining the attention of everyone else.
"How''d you know that?" Ross pointedly asked Abe
"Played games and read stories with this concept," He replied, "how do you know this?"
"Let''s call it divine revelation," he said as he opened his jacket and pinched a baggie in an inside pocket.
"Divine rev-" Jesse started before realizing "goddamn it Ross, how long have you had those on you?!"
The stoner just shrugged at his question, "long enough to be disappointed I couldn''t get to use them in here."
The goth sighed and shook his head as Abe and Ross turned to Devon.
"So when''d you find out about this?" asked Ross, slightly more suspicious of him than the geek.
The metalhead slowly turned to look at his friend, "remember when I asked how to do a summoning? And about those things you and Morgan thought could be involved?"
The stoner''s eyes widened in concern, "you didn''t."
"I did. Just the other night in fact. Right above this bunker, or ,I guess, dungeon," the calm, nearly defeated, tone in Devon''s voice set Ross and Morgan on edge.
Ross narrowed his eyes and leaned towards him, "who did you call?"
"Arkanyct," he said with the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Ar-what?!" the stoner was incredulous and the witch looked at Devon like he''d grown a second head, "Why would you call out to that one? There''s almost no info on it and supposedly it''s been either destroyed somehow or bound in another realm."
"I figured I''d try something and the others didn''t seem like they''d be helpful," Devon shrugged, "besides... He responded."
"Responded? You mean, like a sign or something?" probed the witch.
"No, an actual manifestation," the metalhead responded while locking eyes with her, the placid face he''d had all day a stark contrast to the intensity of his eyes.
Morgan took a step back from the force of his gaze, "a manifestation? You mean like... a spirit aligned with the primordial or mayb-"
"No," Devon cut her off, "I mean a fragment of the thing itself manifested in the form of a hyena composed of solid nothingness with eyes and spots of stars-"
"A null cack-" Morgan started to say but was denied.
Devon continued despite the attempted cut-in, "-the voice of a man, and the soft sound of pipes and drums carried through the space between the atoms that made up my body. He may be trapped or bound or whatever, but he responded to my call. He warned me about the core, hinted about what could happen, and told me about other things I should watch for."
Both mystics reeled from the words. George and Jason glanced at each other then back at the man who up until recently had never seemed the religious type. It was Marie who broke the growing tension.
"What did he ask for?"
It was a simple question, but it carried a hefty weight. Actions like this always had a price to pay. Tsuaf and Sadim were the first examples that came to mind to the group of Seniors. What had the young man risked for knowledge? He smiled then chuckled dryly and looked at the girl who only a short time ago had scoffed at the very idea of the supernatural.
"Nothing."
The word reverberated in the silence. As though speaking it plucked the string of an instrument beyond the ken of physical beings. Everyone shared glances, the air in the room becoming uncomfortable and stifling. It was Morgan''s turn to speak now, though she didn''t know if she could.
"What do you mean, ''nothing?''" the young witch whispered.
Devon''s eyes snapped to her with such intensity it made her jump, "I mean nothing. He asked for no recompense, no favors, no offerings, no succor. I made a deal with him for knowledge and he was more than happy to oblige, saying that just having the knowledge on its own was enough of a price. ''There are things that man was not meant to know,'' he said as I stared into him, ''and now you will know why.'' Then he started speaking and explaining concepts and things I can''t put fully into words. And he was right. The knowledge was its own price. I had locked eyes with the abyss and it cackled with glee."
The man''s voice had become a growl as he neared the end of his tirade and his eyes drifted to the core. The damned primordial was right. About everything. Well, so far anyways. He peered deeply into the orb, its slightly cloudy insides getting murkier the deeper he looked. His gaze drilled deeper and deeper through the pink clouds until finally the truth was revealed and his eyes connected with another pair. Emerald green and terrified, both within the core and above the group in the room, framed by a tanned face, eyeliner, and mascara.
<hr>
<hr>
He broke his eye contact with the core and released a broken, tired sigh, "now what do we do?"
Everyone started looking at each other and the few who thought they had ideas merely closed their mouths seconds afterwards. Suddenly Morgan remembered something, dropped to her knees, and started rummaging through her backpack. Everyone watched her curiously, as she pulled out a little blue rock on a chain and a circular wooden board with letters painted on it and a long hook attached to it out. She placed them on the floor then pulled out a little pack of incense, a flower-shaped burner, and a little bell. Ross realized what she was doing and moved over to help her set it up, lighting and setting the incense as she propped up the pendulum over the circular board.
When everything was ready the young witch cleared her throat, centered herself, and rang the bell. The change was practically instant. As the crisp, clear sound wave spread out through the room everything became still in a way that it hadn''t been before, as if the very air was holding its breath lest even a single eddy current appear to break the spell. The young woman slowly pulled out a notebook and pencil then looked to the orb on the plinth and spoke as though she was performing a ritual.
"Patricia," she called out in a loud but even voice, "if you are here then please communicate with us. We mean you no harm and wish to know more about you and this place. If you cannot speak to us with your voice then I beseech thee to move the pendulum before me and use the letters written on it as your voice. I will record the letters you show so we can understand you."
<hr>
<It was a deep blue stone with gold flecks cut into a pointed hexagonal shape with a flat top where a gold loop was fastened and a short gold chain had been threaded. It was held over the board by a hook suspended over the center of the board by a long, sturdy neck that attached to the edge of the board. The board was circular with letters painted around the edge, sections just inside of the letters had the words Yes, No, Don''t Know, and Rephrase were mirrored across the board by each other, and a beautiful design filled the center inside the boxed sections. She first attempted to will the stone to move but nothing happened even when she put power behind it. If that didn''t work she didn''t know what else would. After all she was a phantom and couldn''t make physical contact with things. Well except her minions anyways.>
<At that thought she got an idea. If she could touch her minions, perhaps she could touch this? It wouldn''t be the weirdest thing she''d dealt with since being her. With hope in her heart she pressed her finger against the pendulum and, with a healthy amount of effort, it moved a bit. Pinky and the seniors she had been watching this whole time gasped at the same time. She felt tears roll down her cheeks at knowing she would be able to finally talk with other humans again.>
<It was slow going at first as she needed to get used to interacting with physical things that weren''t technically extensions of herself for the first time in... however long she''d been here. Eventually she got the hang of it however and the girl in the dress was doing exactly as she said she would, effortlessly jotting down everything that Pinky spelled out and asking for more information if need be. She told them of her caring father, her happy childhood, the promise she''d made with him, the necklace he''d given her, the rewards she''d have received, the degree she''d gotten, the accident that lead to her death, her awakening inside of the large gem on her necklace, how she told her father she felt unsafe and what she needed, the single room bunker he''d built with a statue of her in it, how she''d expanded it with the power she gained from him giving her all of her old things, how she mourned his passing, and finally how she''d lost track of both herself and the time before they''d entered her domain just a scant few weeks ago. The brunette jotted it down as fast as Pinky spelled it out. She knew she was oversharing but she couldn''t help herself. She''d been so alone ever since her father died and they wanted to know everything they could.>
<hr>
The group listened in amazement and sorrow as the witch recounted the ghost girl''s story, some of them sneaking glances at the core after it was revealed how she became its soul. Once her tale was told the room fell silent as they all took in the information they''d received. Morgan had a few more questions that she was dying to ask, but the time didn''t seem right to ask them. Abe, on the other hand, didn''t seem to have that problem.Stolen novel; please report.
"Patricia," he asked slowly, "do you know how long have you been in here?"
Morgan shot him a look both for not being respectful of the moment but also for stealing one of her questions. She was just about to hiss out a response at him when she noticed the pendulum swing between the "Don''t Know" sections. Hold on, she didn''t know how long she had been down here? That can''t be good for one''s mental health. Just as she was about to say something, the pendulum started swinging again.
''W-H-A-T Y-E-A-R I-S I-T''
Morgan dropped her pencil and stared at her notebook. She stammered, took a breath, then slowly repeated the question. Everyone looked at each other as none of them wanted to give the ghost girl dungeon core a panic attack. After what felt like a minute George cleared his throat.
"It''s uh... It''s 1860."
You could have heard a pin drop in that room. The pendulum went completely still, as though someone had stuck a magnet in the center of the board. Everyone stood completely still, terrified of what might happen to them. It felt like forever had passed before the pendulum began to move again.
''S-E-V-E-N Y-E-A-R-S I H-A-V-E B-E-E-N A-L-O-N-E F-O-R S-E-V-E-N Y-E-A-R-S''
Morgan teared up at the realization but managed to repeat it for all to hear. Their response was predictable. Pity, sorrow, and amazement that she hadn''t gone mad. George, Marie, Abe, and Jason exchanged knowing looks as they''d realized how long she''d been alone from the moment the bunker was built in her story. George felt like it was his turn to ask now, partly to change the subject and turn her thoughts to something lighter.
"Patricia," he started, but stopped when the pendulum started swinging.
''"P-I-N-K-Y M-Y N-A-M-E I-S P-I-N-K-Y''
Morgan nodded, "she says her name is ''Pinky'' so we should probably use that instead."
Jesse glanced around but bit his tongue and George continued, "Pinky, why did you put that slime pool in the second room?"
<hr>
<"Because I thought you would want to know how it got there and would go deeper in to find out.">
"But I thought that dungeons wanted to keep people out? Why draw us deeper in?"
<"Oh that''s simple," she said as she spelled, "I was desperate for any form of outside contact other than wolves, coyotes, deer, or the occasional bird. If I wasn''t, you probably wouldn''t have survived the first room. I mean, you almost didn''t. I had to order my slimes to not dissolve your flesh purely because I wanted you to come back. Oh, and speaking of not hurting you... Beanie Guy, I''m so sorry for my vine almost killing you. I didn''t mean it. I guess I just forgot to order them to take it easy on you guys.">
<The shocked looks on their faces were both delightful and worrisome. They had been in real danger and they hadn''t even known it. The guy in the beanie looked slightly indignant but more happy that I''d stepped in. He glanced over at her core and chuckled.>
"My uh my name''s Ross, actually."
<She just laughed and nodded before spelling out "nice to meet you, Ross.">
<After that they all began introducing themselves, showing off their gear, and asking about the loot the enemies had dropped. She explained that after they came through the first time she''d gained a bunch more energy than she''d had in ages and learned how it was gained beyond breaking down outside items and corpses as well as how to use it to enhance her minions. The fact that her Slime Queen dropped loot was a mystery to her though, as she didn''t even know that was a thing that could happen. When she was enhancing her minions on the second floor she''d examined a deer and noticed that it had a loot entry. She checked it and realized that not only was it empty, but that she could add, remove, and change around the loot for each minion she had both individually and as a group. The only creatures she couldn''t really do that for was her bosses as they were seemingly random but she was capable of limiting the results to certain themes, types of items, or materials.>
"So, you can''t tell us about our loot? Like, what it does?" prodded Abe.
[Name: Steel Knife] [Size: 1] [Damage: 1 Rending]
[Type: Melee] [Weapon Group: Blade]
[Keywords/Special: Dual Wield, Throwing, Stealth (+2), Minor Antimagic]
<A screen much like those of her minions appeared before her that showed her the stats of his weapon. She was so excited by this discovery and quickly spelled out "I can do that" with the pendulum. One by one she inspected the items and told them what they were capable of.>
[Name: Slimecrystal Shield] [Size: 2] [Armor: +1]
[Slot: Arm] [Keywords/Special: Shield, Passive regeneration buff applied on taking acid damage with duration equal to amount of damage taken]
[Name: Antler Wand] [Size: 1]
[Keywords/Special: Stealth (+2), Allows access to Magic without the Arcane Seed perk]
[Name: Slimecrystal Slime Slinger] [Size: 2] [Damage: 1 Acid]
[Type: Ranged] [Reload: 1 AP] [Range: 5 Hexes] [Weapon Group: Launcher]
[Ammo: 10 Slime] [Keywords/Special: Spray Variable, Launcher (Chemical), Damages one Item Type or Biological Physiology at a time chosen before firing]
[Name: Loosh Sublimate Chameleon Cloak] [Size: 4] [Armor: +0]
[Slot: Head and Back] [Keywords/Special: Cloth, Environmental (Cold, Wind, Precipitation), Stealth (+3)]
[Name: Slimecrystal Shillelagh] [Size: 2] [Damage: 1 Impact]
[Type: Melee] [Weapon Group: Club]
[Keywords/Special: Dual Wield, Bypass Slime Impact damage immunity]
[Name: Slimecrystal Chainwhip] [Size: 5] [Damage: 3 Impact]
[Type: Melee] [Weapon Group: Lash]
[Keywords/Special: Reach, Close Attack, Finesse, Sticky, Reeling]
[Name: Slimecrystal Slimazeen] [Size: 1]
[Keywords/Special: Liquid (Slime), Can reform to act as viable ammo for any firearm it is used in]
[Name: Livingwood Staff of the Green] [Size: 3] [Damage: 1 Impact/1 Impact]
[Type: Melee] [Weapon Group: 2-Handed Club, Monk]
[Keywords/Special: Hand and a Half, Double, Container, Allows access to Magic without the Arcane Seed perk]
<After she was done with the tedious task of spelling it all out, the young adults stared in wonder at their items. Upon finding out their items allowed them to use magic, Abe and Ross kept trying to cast spells and fling energy missiles at each other but failed miserably at every attempt. The only one who seemed confused was Jason.>
"Hey Miss Dungeon Core? What did you say this cloak was made out of?"
"What is that?"
<She didn''t actually know. She inspected the term but it didn''t give her any more information. She spelled out as much then mentioned that if she hasn''t absorbed the material she can''t directly see what it is or does.>
"Then how did you make it?"
<She was at a loss for words. She didn''t know how she made it and told his as much. Frankly she didn''t know how she knew how to make and do as much as she did with her dungeon. As soon as she joined with the core she just *knew* how to do a lot of things. Jason didn''t seem to happy with that answer and she couldn''t really blame him. Ross was the next to pipe up.>
"Hey, Pinky, could you make a way for us to come back down to the second level without needing to fight through the first floor? It''s honestly beautiful and I''d love to come down some time without having to get a few others to sweep through with me."
<She gently slapped her cheeks to clear her thoughts. One thing at a time, girl. She got a sudden flash of inspiration and created nine pink gemstones like her core that saved the number of the last level completed. The gems clinked to the floor and she spelled out what they did then explained that there would be a symbol on her statue in the entrance that, if the gems were placed to the symbol, would allow unrestricted access throughout the dungeon down to that level. She wasn''t going to give these out like candy. These were for friends of the dungeon only. Each of them picked up one stone and looked it over before pocketing it.>
<A few minutes passed and no more questions were asked. She assumed that the events of the day and the info they''d found were starting to sink in. She spelled out "is there anything else you wanted to know" and got a sea of shaking heads as a response. She chuckled and spelled out "you''re free to go if you want. Just know that you can come back at any time." A weight seemed to be lifted off the shoulders of some of them and the group slowly filtered back out of her core room.>
<The group of young adventurers made their way back through her floors. They were quiet but not broken, merely contemplative and trying to fit their newfound knowledge into their worldviews. Pinky watched them for a short time before breaking off and heading to the entrance room. She floated before the statue her father had commissioned of her and, after a deep breath, traced a glyph on the pedestal between her feet. She opened up a menu and selected the glyph, tweaking things until she was happy with how it worked and hoping she''d gotten it right though she wouldn''t know until someone came back through.>
<Not too long after she was done the group of seniors moved through the room, with some minor conversations having started between a few of the members. Pinky was happy they were starting to adjust to their new reality. It took her a long time to fully settle in and there were still things she couldn''t quite deal with. As they left her domain, Ross stopped in front of her statue and, with a smile, pulled out a bag of mixed snacks then left it on the pedestal where the glyph now sat. It took Pinky a few seconds to realize what he was leaving it for her as a gift.>
"Ya know," the stoner said as he looked up at the statue, "I don''t know if you can hear me or not. But if you can, you might wanna set up a little table in here with a bowl or two for donations. Maybe a sign above it or something. So we don''t have to go in and wreck things just to give you a bit of juice. Plus I think it''d be nice for people to give you gifts. Not just because of the experience they''ll have, but also to expand what you can make. You said it yourself, you can''t directly make what you haven''t absorbed."
<hr>
Patricia "Pinky" Millicent
Primary Stats
-Control 1
-Acumen 3
-Mental Power 1
-Intelligence 3
-Empathy 4
Secondary Stats
-Durability: 8 TN, 6 Hardness
-Break Points: 12
-Size 5
-Creature Focuses
--Slime
--Deer
--Fish
--Vine
--[Unused]
-Saves
--Physical: 5
--Mental: 4
Perks:
-Soulborn
-Training Wheels
-Hit Marker (Pleasure)
-Interior Designer
-Dungeon Sight
-Masterworker
Theme - Arcane
Secondary Theme: Fashion
Dungeon Type: Summoner
Avatar Type: Phantom
Core Color: Hot Pink
Core Level - 1
Contracted Creatures:
-None
Phantom Appearance:22-23 year old rich girl with long blonde hair, tanned skin, and tasteful makeup.
Personality: Ditzy, bubbly, bored, tired of being alone, desperately desires human contact despite being a ghost in an orb, very curious and anxious now that people have found her dungeon after her father died
Backstory:Born to a rich family, Pinky had everything growing up. From a young age was a very happy and talkative girl, though not the smartest, with a love of makeup, fashion, and music. When she was around 10, her father gave her an expensive piece of jewelry with a sparkly grape-like jewel he''d picked up from a trip to a foreign land that, weirdly enough, changed from deep blue to hot pink after about 12 years of her wearing it. As she got older she began to yearn for the boys around her, but her father forbade her from even thinking about it and promising her a new car and house if she remained pure until she was out of college and married.
She followed his wishes and remained pure even through college, though to make up for it she began dressing in very revealing outfits to get a taste of the attention she desperately wanted. It was for naught though, as she got into a car crash while on the way back home and was barely kept alive by the paramedics, passing away a few days after the incident from her injuries surrounded by her family. When she died, the jewel flashed and her father was puzzled by what happened. The night before the funeral, he was visited by her ghost in a dream, saying that she was alive in the gem somehow and she felt unsafe, telling him what she needed to feel safe. Using the money he was going to put towards the house and car he had a crypt built to house his family''s remains, had a lavish funeral, and bought a small piece of property out in a forested rural area with a large hill he turned into a shelter to hold his daughter''s jewel.
He had a sculpture of her made with a plaque bearing her nickname and placed it in the shelter behind a marble pillar made for the jewel to rest on. He brought her belongings to the shelter every day, at first terrified that someone had somehow stolen them before seeing that they dissolved as he left. Using signs she asked him if she could change the shelter to better suit her and he agreed. He came back to see that more rooms had been added and her pedestal had moved deeper, that strange creatures she had made to protect herself had filled the halls, and that even a new floor had been added. He visited every day and, when he eventually died, his most trusted servants recorded the funeral for her to watch. After which she turned one of her rooms into a memorial with a statue of her father.
Since his death, she had no visitors. Eventually the door became loose and animals began to enter, drawn by the lingering energy to seek her out, and putting them down became somewhat routine over time. She had little energy to expand, most of it going to sustain herself and her monsters, and spent most of her time daydreaming.