At the Spinning Top, Mary waves Daniel over to her table where a meal is already set, awaiting him. Taking a seat gratefully, Daniel speaks, “Ummm…

so, thank you for today.”

“It’s fine. Now, eat. You need it.” She waves him towards the food before she continues. “What do you know about the Dungeon in Karlak?”

Caught between two conflicting orders, Daniel chews quickly and swallows before answering. “It’s a Beginner Dungeon, so it’s suitable for those just starting out Adventuring. There are ten levels, with the monsters growing stronger at each level. The Dungeon is considered extremely suitable for melee fighters starting out and… umm…. that’s about it.”

“So, nothing really. Do you know what kind of Dungeon this is? What monsters spawn in the first sector? Do you even know about sectors? How about how many mobs you can expect to see per level? Who is the Dungeon boss? What kind of weaponry is most suitable? Why are melee fighters most suited for this dungeon?” Mary fires question after question at Daniel, waving her own fork as she speaks.

Daniel stops chewing at her words, hunching a bit into his chair as he realises exactly how unprepared he is. Seeing his reaction, Mary relents a little.

“It’s fine. It’s just a typical beginner’s mistake. Just, do your research next time, alright?” Mary waits for Daniel’s sheepish nod before leaning forwards and meeting his eyes, “Melee fighters have a bad enough reputation for never using our heads. There’s no reason to foster that reputation further. Prior research about a Dungeon is what separates the professionals from the dead.”

Pausing to emphasise her point, and making sure it sinks home, she continues to answer her own questions, “It’s common knowledge that Dungeons are a way for Erlis to cleanse herself of the corruption that Ba’al releases into the mana flows. The monsters created in a Dungeon are patterned upon the various minions of Ba’al, though they do not truly ‘live’.

It’s why they do not often exit the Dungeons and when they do, most break down in short order. Of course, a Dungeon that isn’t regularly cleared of monsters will have no choice but to strengthen those monsters, eventually giving them sufficient strength to leave the Dungeon itself. In time, an unchecked Dungeon can become the source of Ba’al’s infestation, leading to tragedies like the Abandoned Lands. Of course, as Adventurers, we’re mostly concerned about the mana crystals – the seed that Erlis uses to create the monsters and our main source of income.

“There are two kinds of Dungeons - the permanent Dungeons like the ones in Karlak and the capital Warbis, and then the temporary Dungeons which randomly appear. Permanent Dungeons rarely change their overall structure, often fixing their floors and the monsters for years at a time. While minor changes in designs and traps do occur, the overall structure of a permanent Dungeon stays the same and, as such, they are often considered

‘safer’ than temporary Dungeons.

“Temporary Dungeons, or instances, are rare. They appear in places where mana and Ba’al’s corruption have built up and by their very nature, are extremely chaotic. Monsters and layouts may change significantly from one trip to the next which make them extremely dangerous to clear. However, because they are built from corrupt mana sources that have temporarily congregated, these Dungeons often do not last longer than a few completions.”

Having finished his meal, Daniel places his utensils down and stays silent, listening to the lecture. It is pleasant to not move, and the information she provides is important, even if some of it is well known. Seated, Daniel can feel his body recovering already, regaining the strength it lost through the day.

“Now, for ease of understanding, the Adventurer’s Guild has split each Dungeon into sectors - a sector ranging from a single floor to ten. Sectors are grouped due to the nature of the monsters, the traps and the layouts of the floors. At the end of each sector, it’s possible that there are sector bosses -

monsters whose strength is significantly greater than the average mob already encountered. They aren’t even necessarily a similar monster to those that you have met on that floor, though most Dungeons keep to a theme of some form. Though this isn’t always true, it is in the case of Karlak.

“In Karlak, there are three sectors which consist of three floors. The tenth floor isn’t a true ‘floor’, but a single room with the Final Boss monster of the Dungeon. The first sector in the Karlak Dungeon is inhabited by Kobolds.

They move in groups with a maximum of three Kobolds at the third level, but for the first level you’ll at most run into two of them, and even then, that’s highly unlikely.”

She pauses for a moment, taking a drink from her tankard and Daniel takes the moment to ask a question, “What are they like?”

“Kobolds?” For a moment Mary racks her brains, trying to recall the looks of the creature. It has been many years since she has fought one of those herself. “Small – about three to four feet tall at most. Extremely thin, very fast with elongated ears and pale grey skin from living underground for so long.

They rarely wear much in terms of armour and in the first level wield a dagger-like item, though some carry slings for ranged attacks. Overall, they are the perfect mob for beginner melee fighters.”

Daniel nods in thanks, and seeing he has no further questions Mary continues, “Due to the prevalence of the Kobolds in the first few levels, corridors are small and cramped in many areas. There are numerous side-tunnels in the first few levels with no safe zones for healing. Large weapons like a spear or hammer,” she flashes him a quick smile at that one before continuing, “are not advisable due to the lack of room. All adventurers should carry a backup dagger for close combat fighting due to the layout, and they should expect potential sneak attacks at all times.”

Opening her mouth to continue her lecture, she’s interrupted by her sister, Elise, who is accompanied by a young boy clad in a ragged tunic who could at best be eight years old. “Sorry about this, Mary, but young Pierson needs to speak with Daniel.”

The young boy impatiently pushes forward, placing a hand on Daniel’s arm, “Sir, Charles mentioned you healed him. Healed him good when he was hurt.” At Daniel’s nod, he rushes on, “Please, will you come and heal my mum?”