Crysteffor was in hell, being the 13th bastard of the local Duke meant he didn't have a lot in the way of authority. If anything, it greatly limited him almost as much as his heritage did as a half elf. On top of that, with the blood of a Duke, even if he'd never have claimed to the title, even if by some miracle he outlived every one of his siblings. He still was not allowed to bring shame on the family name, which he wasn't even allowed to use.
And since he was a half elf he wasn't even considered for higher magic training other than the basics. So he couldn't study magic, he couldn’t become a tradesman, and his father wouldn't give him enough capital to start a business of any kind. So, from day one, his choices were not the best. They basically boiled down to three choices join the bureaucracy or military, or laze away, living off a meager allowance in one of his father's many estates. While the allowance was enough for him to live off of, it wasn't enough for him to live comfortably. When he was younger, he had dreams of being a merchant and traveling around, meeting people, earning money, and making his father proud of him. He had tried to save up his money for years, living as frugally as possible, but his father had quickly crushed his attempt at starting A small trading business. Leaving him with the wagon and a small inventory that he couldn't sell because his father blacklisted his attempt at getting a merchants license.
When he had confronted him, he learned that all his father ever wanted his accidental children to do was fade into the background. Anytime any of them tried to make something of themselves, they were shot down. The only way he saw out of this was either through the bureaucracy or the military. While he'd likely be able to get some form of title or authority through the bureaucracy, it would likely take him several decades, and that was only if he was both lucky and extremely smart about it. Where, on the other hand, if he joined the military, well, it might still take several decades, but there was not only a far greater chance of success, it was all but guaranteed as long as he lived long enough. Then, when he managed to become a senior night commander, he could request transfer to a different duchy or even the capital, and his father wouldn't be able to overrule him. Then once free of his father's stranglehold, he would have a chance at finally starting his business or retiring and maybe having a family or just anything really.
It was his first time out as a Lieutenant, a fucking Lieutenant, and everything had gone to hell. With the Orc Raiders acting up in the east, there were few higher rank nights available to deal with what was considered low stakes issues. When the request for aid dealing with the dungeon had come in, it had taken weeks for the higher ups to find enough manpower to put together a subjugation force. Despite this, they were undermanned squads of Squires and low rank soldiers, Most of whom were humans or half breeds like himself.
That in itself wasn't so bad, since they had nearly a full battalion, and a request from the Adventurers Guild had been put out for backup to make up for the men's lack of experience.
Once he got his men together, he began to march towards the dungeon.
This was when things truly started to go wrong. They had already been attacked by two orc raiding parties that were further south than they should have been, and he had already lost 25 men and 2 supply wagons, with another 35 men injured. this left there few healers working overtime to get them back on their feet and delaying them even more.
Added on top of that, this backwater was in the middle of nowhere, and now that supplies were thin, they were having to waste even more time and energy on hunting. This had led to what he hoped was another 10 men's deaths because if not, that had meant they had deserted, and if they were deserting already, that was not a good sign. He couldn't afford to lose any more men when they were only a week into the march. Despite this he didn't want to have to crack down on those he still had left, not yet, lest he’d risk a mutiny. But he might still have to before they reached their destination, though.
Not but a few days later, they had been attacked by bandits no less than six times, and eight of the 10 missing men were accounted amongst their number. Though raiding their camps had netted them some nice pocket change, which he hoped would keep the rest of the men in line as well as in full bellies. Especially since they had lost another 25 men to the raids.
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Tired, bedraggled, and having been marching for almost 2 weeks, they had finally started to reach their destination. However, this could not be right someone had to have made a mistake. This was not the behavior of a newly raised dungeon. This was the behavior of a dungeon break. There was no doubt in his mind that the town was gone as wave after wave of monstrous wolves, bats, ants, and scrap shelled beetles charged his men. He sent a runner to warn the nearby villages of the dungeon break, but they couldn't just stand by or retreat.
After reminding his men that fleeing from a dungeon break would be the equivalent of treason in the Kingdom and would lead to their families being hanged alongside them at the gallows if they were found to have fled.
He rallied what was left of his men and began to push towards the dungeon. It was a bloodbath to say the least. His soldiers had fought well, but they had been whittled down to almost 100 men before something strange happened.
large metal dragonflies, somewhere between the size of a large dog and a horse, flew overhead spitting fire and fury, some literally. Some cast bolts of light that scorched the ground and their foes alike and while they were few and far between. They gave him a much needed reprieve as his men pushed on, marching deeper into the territory of metal and beasts. With more emerging from the underbrush the further into the valley they traveled. The most formidable of which were these strange, almost beetle like creatures. Their powerful stingers cutting through entire waves of monsters, and with the added support, they were able to move faster through the forest and deeper, and further into the valley. The valley itself was a hell scape, half of it was devoured and lifeless. The other half of it was on fire or covered in burned husks. Smack dab in the middle of this hell scape, impossibly protected by a giant blue Dome, was the village that he was all but sure should have been razed to the ground by this point.
The battle of the village was fierce. Trebuchets firing boulder after boulder as massive beams of light burnt into the hillside where the dungeon lay. Metal beasts darting in and out, cutting down and dragging off their foes. Some of the monsters were being burned in piles, some were being ground in pits, and some were being butchered by the locals.
Then there were the locals, they were absolutely thriving, the guards had higher levels than some of his soldiers at this point. Their local mage, despite being just a town mage, was flinging around bolts of energy, an arcane craft that, while nothing advanced, packed far more punch than any town mage should have the right to. Then there was the strange girl with luminous blue eyes and silvery tattoos, she honestly scared Crysteffor just a little bit. Not for what she was but for what followed in her wake a pale ghostly blue figure the locals called a spirit. It looked like it had been some form of human Lord that had been turned into an undead and then bathed in metal and wire. A far more battle worn Beatle creature that radiated a strength that none of its kin had. Lastly was the lunar moth it in its own right it was not frightening, but the fact that it stoically clung to the girl and stayed with her no matter what happened. No matter the explosion, no matter the chaos, it simply sat content, either in the girl's lap or idly clinging to the girl's back. Lunar moths were shy, skittish things and a sign of purity and gentleness. Saints and priests alike sought them out as proof of their pious natures. To see one so fervently attached to a young girl and such a strange one at that was beyond him.
Then there was the town itself, it was beyond weird, all the townspeople had moved into underground shelters. Shelters that were more luxurious than any commoner's abode had a right to be. The locals claimed these shelters had been crafted by the spirit. That had been awakened by the young girl and in return for awakening it, it had fought to protect the village and had been using a great amount of its very little strength in there service. His shock upon discovering that the spirit was not only impossibly old but incredibly injured and weakened as well had ice running through his veins at the implication. No less that it was the only reason that the surrounding villages had yet to be attacked by the dungeon break. It had been single handedly sieging the enraged dungeon in an attempt to quell its numbers and contain it. It was both a blessing and incredibly terrifying, for he knew if he did not make himself of use to the spirit and this odd town, it had seemingly claimed the spirit would have no issue throwing them out to the beasts that still stalked the valley.
The mage that had been sent to contract the dungeon, however, scoffed at his fear of the spirit. As if it were nothing to be concerned of. The fool even claimed he could easily contract and force it to serve them.
He did not pity the fool for what happened next, only that it made things more complicated for him and the rest of his men. The arrogant mage had stomped up to the young girl, ordering her to relinquish whatever contract she had made with the spirit and show him to the spirit's dwelling so he could commune with it. The girl had simply stated she didn't know how she had done so, and while she could introduce them to Austin. Her name for the spirit, it would inevitably be up to him whether or not they were invited inside. Frowning, the elf mage placed his hand on the girl's forehead, and being a Lieutenant with only a basic understanding of magic, Crysteffor had no idea what happened next. Only that the girl screamed as her markings glowed before the mage screamed and broke apart into colorful little blocks. Now …. Now he had to desperately bargain with an incredibly pisssed off spirit, town mage, town guard, and the rest of the villagers for his men's lives. He was so so screwed.
