Gweldagren raged as spittle flew from her mouth. “The High Fairy wouldn’t allow delvers to join you! How stupid do you think I am, traitor!”
Weylan looked around. There was no exit and the horde surrounding them contained few monsters he felt strong enough to defeat. Even the spiders would swarm him easily. He held up his hands. “I have a sanctuary contract with a dungeon-heart. I sometimes practically live there!”
Both Stitch and the fairy gave him a disbelieving look, then Gweldagren turned to Stitch. “And you are a disguised dungeon-fairy?”
Stitch shook her head, uncertain if that had been a serious question. “I’m a sentient flesh-golem. I’m here to mine for ores. I have no idea what’s going on. I just wanted to get the mining skill!”
Gweldagren paused.
Selvara used the pause to speak up. “I’m here with the full authority of the High-Fairy, tasked to inspect this dungeon and ascertain if it’s gone rogue or mad. I hope that’s not it, because without the metal ores sourced from here, the kingdoms will have trouble to keep up weapon production. The war against the Krigesti may hinge on this dungeon!”
The older fairy held up her hands, her voice cracking. “Well, then they’ll lose! Meklang’s dungeon-heart isn’t... I can no longer calm him down! He’s using monsters to mine ore in the deeper levels, then creates new monsters from natural metal. Monsters, that can leave the dungeon! He’s already creating tunnels towards the nearest cities. He’ll swarm the realm, scour the land and kill everyone!”
She dropped to the floor, hands covering her face, while tears dripped to the floor. “I can’t… I just… can’t…”.
Selvara dropped down and hugged her.
Stitch just stared at the sobbing mess. “What happened?”
Selvara managed to calm the older fairy down enough to ask the same.
Gweldagren took a moment, then answered. “They’ve taken his best friend. His oldest named monster. He can’t cope with that. He’ll not accept it.”
Weylan got down to his knee and with gentle voice asked. “Who did they take?”
“Rassilon.”
Stitch looked back to the boss. “But he’s still here.”
Weylan shook his head. “His body, yes. But not his personality. Named monsters drop monster-hearts when killed. Those look like coins with the dungeons symbol on one side, and a symbol for the monster on the other. They store memory, personality, all the emotional threads that tie them to the heart.” He paused. “Using its monster-heart, the dungeon respawns the monster as itself.”
“But if it is stolen…” Stitch whispered.
Selvara’s wings drooped.
“Then the dungeon can only rebuild the body. Nothing more. A blank mind in a weapon of war.”
The boss monster lumbered closer, as if feeling they were talking about it. Not to attack, but almost pleading, furnace eyes flickering with confused distress. It reached toward Selvara with one massive claw, then recoiled, unable to understand what it was doing.
Weylan felt a cold twist in his chest.
“It is a child,” Stitch murmured. “In a giant metal body.”
Selvara’s voice trembled with fury. “Someone stole its heart-coin. Someone took its memories. Its identity.” Her feathers rose in anger. “Meklang, the dungeon’s heart is grieving. That is why monsters are wandering without purpose. That is why this one climbed upward. He didn’t get any instructions like a monster normally would. Meklang refuses to talk to him. He’s lost.”
Weylan tensed. “Because it has no idea where it belongs.”
“Yes,” Selvara said. “It went upward to escape the burning caverns. To seek simpler prey. To follow sounds and shadows it does not understand.”
The titan groaned again. A sound that carried neither rage nor defiance. Only heaviness and confusion.
Selvara took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Who did this?”
Gweldagren balled her fists. “Revenant delvers.”
Weylan tightened his grip on his dagger. “Of course it was. Can you describe them?”
Gweldagren didn’t look up. “It does not matter. They are long gone.”
Selvara calmed her. “Let us try. We can leave the dungeon. We’ll find them and retrieve Rassilon’s heart coin!”
The local fairy paused, then nodded. “It can’t hurt to try. But,” she pointed at Stitch. “She already knows far too much. I can’t have her leave alive. I’m sorry.”
Weylan stepped between Stitch and the suddenly alert monsters. “Wait! Can’t you offer her a pact contract?”
The fairy scoffed. “Does this seem like a sanctuary dungeon?”
Selvara snapped her fingers. “But she’s a construct not a delver species. You can’t offer sanctuary, but you can hire her as a Dungeon Retainer and demand the usual non-disclosure clauses.”
The monsters closing in stopped. Rassilon looked around uncertain.
Gweldagren’s eyes narrowed in concentration, then she reluctantly nodded. “That is acceptable. I shall offer you hire as a freelance Dungeon Retainer for the duration of one day.” She snapped her fingers and a golden coin appeared shimmering on the floor.
Stitch looked at the contract appearing in her vision.
You are being offered a fixed-term Dungeon Retainer Contract.
The conditions are as follows:
I. Status
Upon acceptance, the undersigned entity shall be recognized as a Dungeon Retainer, a sentient, autonomous being operating under dungeon jurisdiction.
The retainer is not bound by compulsion beyond the clauses listed below.
II. Duties of the Retainer
The Dungeon Retainer agrees to:
- Defend designated dungeon zones against unauthorized intruders.
- Refrain from deliberate sabotage of dungeon infrastructure.
- Refrain from unauthorized removal of dungeon property and/ or loot.
- Acknowledge dungeon authority within its territory.
Optional duties may be negotiated and appended.
III. Rights of the Retainer
The Dungeon Retainer retains the right to:
- Independent thought and decision-making.
- Personal growth, leveling, and skill evolution.
- Claiming of an appropriately sized residence within dungeon bounds.
- Enter any part of the dungeon except for the Final Defense Floor and Heart-Room.
- Refuse tasks outside the agreed duty scope.
IV. Dungeon Obligations
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The Dungeon Heart Meklang agrees to provide:
- Continuous ambient mana suitable for sustenance and recovery.
- Protection from hostile dungeon systems likes traps, monsters and environmental hazards.
- Emergency medical treatment for injuries received within dungeon boundaries.
- Fair negotiation for contract renewal or modification.
V. Termination Conditions
This contract may be terminated if:
- The dungeon is destroyed.
- The retainer commits an act of betrayal.
- 24 hours pass from the time of signing the contract.
VI. Compensation
For the duration of this contract, the Dungeon Heart shall provide the Dungeon Retainer with a fixed wage of one (1) gold coin per standard day.
Additional compensation may be negotiated for additional duties.
VII. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Clause
The Dungeon Retainer agrees to treat all non-public information obtained through this contract as confidential.
Confidential information includes, but is not limited to:
- Dungeon structure, layouts, hidden zones, treasure and loot location
- Any information about the existence and/ or true nature of Dungeon-Hearts, Dungeon-Fairies and their relation
- Defensive mechanisms, trap locations, and internal protocols
- Identities, roles, and locations of allied entities
- Strategic decisions, contracts, and system interactions not publicly observable
The Dungeon Retainer shall not disclose, transmit, or otherwise make such information available to any third party without prior explicit authorization from the Dungeon Heart or its representative, the dungeon-fairy Gweldagren.
This obligation:
- Applies during the full term of the contract
- Survives termination of the contract
- Remains in force regardless of method of contract termination
Disclosure compelled by a moderator or arbitrator does not constitute a breach, provided only the minimum required information is revealed.
A breach of this clause constitutes a material violation of contract and may result in immediate termination and system penalties.
VIII. Final Clause
In the event that any term, definition, or interpretation of this contract is contested, unclear, or produces contradictory outcomes, neither party may enforce its preferred reading unilaterally.
Both Dungeon Heart and Dungeon Retainer are instead obligated to jointly invoke arbitration by a either a Priest of Golgoroth or a Moderator in service of Steve.
The Arbitrator shall be called to:
- Determine the intended meaning of the disputed clause
- Weigh context, precedent, and dungeon law
- Issue a binding interpretation limited to the point of dispute
Until arbitration is concluded:
- All contested actions are suspended
- No penalties may be applied
- The contract remains otherwise in full effect
Refusal to invoke arbitration when a dispute is declared constitutes a breach of good faith.
Warning:
This contract will be fully enforced by the Voice of the World.
After carefully reading the terms, she grimaced. “So much for never accepting a contract enforced by the Voice.”
But since she saw no other choice, she accepted and took up the coin.
The monsters relaxed and the ones in the back started to leave.
Selvara wiped sweat from her forehead. “Thank you. You won’t regret trusting us. Now, tell us what happened.”
The dungeon fairy of the Meklang dungeon took a long moment to compose herself before she began.
“It was a few days ago… or perhaps a few weeks. I ceased counting days a century past. It began as an entirely ordinary day. The resource floor was bustling, and five delving parties were scattered across the dungeon, each on a different level. Our attention lay chiefly with the third floor, where a company of royal guards sought to hasten the growth of a young noblewoman. A most entertaining spectacle.”
She gave a faint, knowing smile.
“The girl herself was clearly well drilled, and her equipment was of excellent make. And yet, she contrived to blunder into every trap and lurking horror her guards failed to uncover. Matters were hardly improved by the absence of a rogue among them. A common oversight by noble parties disdaining the roles of thieves in delving teams. Meklang and I found ourselves impressed by how steadfastly she endured a truly legendary run of ill fortune. She required remarkably little intervention to extricate herself.”
Her gaze drifted slightly, as if seeing the memory play out again.
“In consequence, we paid scant heed to the other parties. That is, until one of them reached the terminus of the fifth floor.
Naturally, we observed the boss encounter. They had lost one of their number upon the fourth floor, yet otherwise acquitted themselves well. They made liberal use of consumables. Healing draughts, rust bombs, and scrolls of Fresh Air and Fuse Metal. A prepared lot, no doubt having perused every guide and handbook hawked beyond the dungeon gates.
Meklang saw fit to substitute certain alternate traps and alter the disposition of the monsters. They bore these changes without complaint. Indeed, they scarcely remarked upon them at all. Their leader, a fellow clad in dark full plate, possessed the bearing of an experienced delver, though I would judge him no higher than sixth level.”
Selvara interrupted gently. “Judge? You did not know for certain?”
Gweldagren inclined her head. "None of them could be properly identified. Each bore artifacts that obscured such readings. A commonplace precaution. The noble girl herself wore one. Those of high station seldom care to be observed while being shepherded through their own advancement."
A trace of dry amusement crept into her voice.
“I recall one party, years ago, wherein one noble halted the expedition mid dungeon and accused his companion of being an impostor, for he could not discern his level. It required some very nimble persuasion from their guards to explain that both suits of armor carried identification blocking enchantments, applied without their wearers’ knowledge. But I digress.”
She paused, staring into the distance as she ordered her thoughts, then continued.
“It was a worthy battle. Meklang elected to introduce several optional creatures we do not always permit into the boss chamber, for their troll appeared somewhat too formidable for his station.”
Weylan and Selvara exchanged a glance.
“A troll?” Weylan exclaimed.
Gweldagren shrugged, the motion unhurried. “Uncommon, yet hardly without precedent. There have been attempts, over the ages, to bring mind bound trolls into dungeons, chiefly as beasts of burden for loot or siege implements. Once, a party marched in with a troll hauling a ballista. The control collar failed after the brute tripped a trap and was bathed in acid. It flew into a frenzy and slaughtered the entire company. We do not mind such novel experiments for they alleviate the boredom of repetition.”
She shook her head faintly.
“This one, however, was… different,” she continued. “I believe it possessed a class of its own and was not enthralled. More likely it was bound by a retainer’s contract, or else guided by one among their number who had some mastery over the taming of monsters. It was that one who discovered the monster coin after Russilon was slain.”
She tilted her head and mimicked the troll’s voice with unsettling accuracy. “Ooh… Look! A shiny coin!”
The mirth drained from her face, and she shuddered. “Then he seized it and made straight for the exit portal. We cannot seal a portal once a party has lawfully defeated a floor’s boss. Yet Meklang enacted the safeguards we devised for precisely such an occurrence, and two guardian monsters emerged from their hidden alcoves.”
Her fingers curled. “Those measures were wrought to halt high-level delvers. Still, the troll shattered all that stood in his path and fled. Meklang summoned every monster within reach, but ere any could answer the call, the group had already made their escape.”
Weylan raised a hand. “The others… were they an anubian druid, a bitchy human sorceress, and an evil knight with bright orange hair?”Gweldagren went still.
“There was no sorceress,” she said slowly. “And the anubian’s calling eluded our sight. He was mostly throwing potion bombs. Yet their leader did indeed wear full plate, and his hair was of a most striking orange hue. You know of them?”
Weylan groaned. “That would be the Harbingers. They operate mostly out of Mulnirsheim. We have crossed paths with them before. That band truly is a blight upon the realm. They serve the new would-be high priest of Nistrul and his Brotherhood of Evil.”
In a flash of motion entirely at odds with her age, Gweldagren darted forward, seized Weylan by the collar, and planted herself upon his chest, peering into his eyes with fierce intensity.
“Then tell me,“ she demanded, voice suddenly sharp beneath its age, “can you find them?”
“I… I cannot say,” Weylan replied. “We are currently residing at Wildeguard Academy in the Northern Kingdom. Our dungeon token will return us there, not to Mulnirsheim. The return gate will remain inactive until the semester concludes.”
Selvara folded her hands, thoughtful. “We might contact Malvorik and ask him to dispatch letters to the Adventurers Guild. Perhaps Trulda could issue a quest for the recovery of the monster coin.”
Gweldagren studied her skeptically. “You can reach him from such a distance? By messenger, no less? You did not, perchance, install a letter box at the dungeon entrance?”
Selvara blinked. “What? No!”
“Hmph,” Gweldagren muttered. “With you younglings, one can never be certain. Forever hatching some fresh contrivance or other.”
Weylan rubbed his hands in glee. “Well then, that is finally settled. We will return to the first floor, see Stitch acquire the last skill she requires for her class, and then make our way back to the academy.”
He and Stitch turned to make their way back toward the first level, only to halt as the monsters closed ranks and barred the path.
Gweldagren’s lips curled into a thin, knowing grin. “And where, pray tell, do you imagine you are going?”
Weylan blinked. “Up?”
“Not you,” she said, dismissing him with a flick of her gaze. “You and Selvara may depart and inform the delvers above that the dungeon has returned to its proper order. For now. They may resume their delving in due course. I find Meklang in agreement with my judgment. We shall grant you and your associates in Mulnirsheim the time required to recover Russilon’s monster heart.”
Her eyes shifted to Stitch, cold and appraising. “But you, girl, your agreed day of service begins this very moment. I believe the third floor shall suit you.”
Gweldagren tilted her head, studying Stitch as one might a piece of unfinished craftwork. “Your appearance, however, will require adjustment. It would hardly do for the delvers to witness so openly that you have chosen another allegiance.”