7 in 3

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Grump is a hungry little guy. And as how most of his days start, today he is woken up by his grumbling stomach. After enduring the grumbling for a while, he eventually slides his oblong body out of his nest of white leaves. With a sizable thud, Grump lands on his six muscular legs.

He gives the area a good look before slowly lumbering forward, searching for the scent trail he left himself last time he ate. Grump is one of the more clever of his kind, so he’s able to find well-hidden food that others haven’t. Keeping all that extra food to himself allowed the scaly thing to become one of the largest of his brood in the area. 

Grump meanders slowly, still looking for his trail. At his size, there are no longer any other creatures that could hurt him, so he doesn’t even bother to pay attention to his surroundings. After a bit the faint smell of his path finally reaches his nose, causing the beast’s jaw to flex in excitement. Grump loves to eat food, especially when he doesn't have to kill it himself. 

Grump follows the trail for quite a time, occasionally going through one of the moving ways, large cliffs that shift aside when you approach. After passing a few smaller watering holes and breeding grounds, Grump arrives at his hidden grove.

Grump slams against a cliff-face, making it creak and groan. As he continues to push on it, the cliffside slowly moves. After a few moments, the cliff becomes a cave mouth that opens into a dimly lit hollow. The inside of the secret place is totally covered by plants, the vines thick over the walls and ceiling. 

Grump lumbers into the cave, pushing the stone back in front of the cave mouth with a strong smack of his tail. Grump would hate if some other oaf found his food. After the cave is closed off from the outside it plunges into darkness, lit only by the faint orange glow of several orange stones. The stones are arranged in a pattern on one of the cave walls, giving off just enough light to sustain the white-leafed plants. 

Grump hesitates, looking at the far wall of the cave. Directly across from the entrance he just came in, is a moving way. Grump tried to go through it once, but it wouldn’t open no matter what he did. The large, glowing, red stone above the way unnerved the beast enough that he didn’t try harder to open it.

Ignoring the ominous red shape, Grump shuffles over to the grid of glowing orange rocks. His teeth glimmer in the dim lights, giving off the impression of a grin. The monster moves up to the one stone apart from the others and gives it a smack with his leathery snout. 

The cave is bathed in a bright light as the entire side of the cave lights up in all different colors. Grump moves back from the wall, unafraid of the grinding sounds coming from it. Eventually the surface of the stone starts to shift, opening up. With a quiet thud, a soft, roundish lump falls out of the space in the rock. As soon as the object touches the ground, the cave wall goes dark once again, closing itself.

Pleased, the crocodilian moves forward and grabs the object, gobbling it down in two bites. Engrossed in his food, the creature doesn’t hear the way behind him quietly slide open.

 

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Jet

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Not even a foot inside the damn thing, and already a casualty. After the front door of the dungeon slid open, we had to hack through almost a meter of plant-life. The moment the damn vines were cleared, a massive reptilian monster flew out of the hole in the ground. 

The ugly lump latched itself onto the leg of the scout that opened the path, Corporal Gents. One of our archers shot the thing dead before I could even pull my sword. After I made sure the kid would make it, I came back to the opening again.

Looking down at the gaping entrance to the structure, I find myself beginning to feel the buzz of excitement again. Sure, one of my men was injured, but that won’t be the last time, and I really just can’t help myself. Fighting is just so much fun. 

I cover my inappropriate grin with my hand, draw my sword, and jump into the doorway. The moment my body fully passes through the entrance, I feel gravity lurch in another direction. My large frame slams into the tiled floor of the entryway, cracking a few of the porcelain squares. 

I hop to my feet and brush myself off. When I look back through the passage to the outside, I see only the night sky far in the distance. I peer over the bottom edge of the doorway and see dirt and plants stretching into infinity, with my men seemingly defying gravity and standing on the sheer cliff face. 

I try to suppress my grin with no success. I suppose down is different in here, then. I bark out to my minions, “Come in one at a time, you’ll fall on your arse the second you come inside.” Grinning at my purposefully less-than-helpful advice, I move further into the dungeon. 

Directly above the entrance, almost completely swallowed by plant-life, is a square sign that glows a deep red. The sign has an image of a man running through a doorway, barely visible through the thick vines. To the left of the doorway is a device set into the wall, orange buttons laid in a grid, with a large circular one set apart from the rest. The only light in the room is from the glowing sign and buttons, but as my eyes adjust, I notice another faint light. 

The wall across from the front door has a small, glowing, crack. I walk over to the only surface untouched by the slithering vines, and give it a knock. Sure enough, the wall gives off a metallic hollow bong sound. My face hurts from my grin as I push my shoulder against the metal door, flooding the small space with light.

 

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The trek through the dungeon is a much brighter affair than one may expect. Gem-lights similar to the ones in the castle are set into the ceiling, giving off a faint hum. The white flora faintly rustles as a slight breeze comes from metal grates set into the ceiling. A pane of glass set into one wall we pass shows a glowing painting of a woman eating some strange food. 

The Major once warned me of the dangers of things that hum or glow inside dungeons. He said he had seen an adventurer combust after stabbing a picture frame when it suddenly played some music. I tried to drill this danger into my little troops’ brain stems at the entrance, but gods know we’ll end this with some nasty burns. 

The repeating hallways blur together as we trudge through the never-ending labyrinth. Each hall or room is almost the same as the last, down to the thin layer of dirt covering the floors. Small plants grow from the ground, sprouting strange white leaves and flowers. Occasionally a reptilian monster will jump out from a bush or connecting room and try to take some guy’s head, but they’re always struck down immediately. 

Eventually the pair of strange, moving doors ending the hall opens to something besides a replica of the last room. The space beyond the door frame is much larger than any we’ve been through. Towards the center of the circular area, what looks like a partially crushed fountain gurgles water out slowly, filling a pond around it. Scattered around the brush and plant-life surrounding the pond are large nests of yellowish papers. The spread out nests are shaped like cocoons and range in size from a child’s ball to a carriage. 

I motion to the guys in the room behind me, causing them to start scrambling around the corridor. Tents and other camp supplies spill out of bags to fill the hallway. A few of my minions begin building simple barricades around each doorway in the rooms connecting to our claimed space. Soon enough, our industrious work is noticed by the locals. Smaller croc-monsters start scrabbling towards us before throwing themselves at our brand-new palisades.

“None of that, now!” I feel my facial muscles ache as I cut through the approaching beasties. The annoying things are apparently jealous of our gorgeous new architecture and want it removed immediately. 

After about an hour of killing undersized lizards, I notice a shift in the energy of the circular room. The nearest of the large cocoon-like nests shudders for a moment before a large monster is slowly expelled from one end. A thud vibrates the soil under our feet as the massive reptilian falls from its paper dwelling to the floor. 

The irritated crocodilian lifts its head into the air with its powerful-looking front legs. Its dead gaze soon locks onto our impressive fort, glowering in jealousy. It's most assuredly envious of our sturdy, wooden walls, when its own home is made of flimsy paper. I give the ornery creature a smirk. Be jealous, little lizard, for you will never possess our quality lumber! 

Where the previous monsters had ranged from the size of rabbits to small dogs, this new opponent is the size of a striding spider. Its six legs churn the dirt as it runs at an absurd speed towards our encampment. Smaller monsters leap out of its path or risk being trampled into scaly paste. 

I square up, feeling heat rush to my head, and ready myself for a good fight. 

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Upon arriving the large beast launches itself at me directly, maw open wide. I raise my spear, aiming to run it into the creature's throat, but before my hit can land home the monster snaps its mouth shut. It turns its head just before impact, causing my spearhead to rake along the scales on its chin. I grunt in frustration at the jarring feeling coming from my grip on my weapon as the croc headbutts into me.

I skid backwards in the dirt, carving small channels with my feet, managing to stay standing. Before the croc can reorient itself, I slam into it with my shoulder, creating some space between us. It tumbles on its side a few times before landing on all sixes. The moment the beast’s feet touch the earth, it turns towards me once again, mouth hissing in anger. 

My spear reaches out, seeking the monster’s flank, but doesn’t make contact, instead being deflected by a parry from the croc. The creature’s tail intercepts the spearhead and slaps it away just before contact. I feel the fire in my gut burn hotter and brighter, this crocodile didn’t get this large because of chance then. The beast uses the opening while I’m pulling back my spear to lunge at my hands.

Twisting my wrists, I crack the croc in the mouth with the butt end of my spear, sending it falling back again. The reptile rolls to its feet, hissing what are mostly likely the most profane things at me. I wait for the croc this time, unwilling to give another opening. The creature and I tensely stand, facing one another, until the croc finally makes its move. Instead of another lunge, it lowers itself close to the ground and runs at me at a much higher speed than before. 

Avoiding the charging monster, I jump to the side, and plunge my spear into its middle set of limbs. The thing lets out a crackling hiss in pain, before whipping its head to the side. Before I can pull my spear back, the croc snaps its mouth down onto the shaft of my spear. I topple backwards, sliding through the thin layer of growth on the ground, followed closely by my opponent. When I can finally bring myself to a stop, the large crocodile is on me. 

The creature quickly pins me to the ground with its legs, looking down at me with a pleased hiss. A warm, pleasant feeling spreads from my gut, burning through my limbs, as the beast opens its mouth. I swing my arm with all I’m worth, puncturing the roof of the croc’s maw with the splintered remains of my spear. The hard wood doesn’t bite into the flesh far at first, but then I feel the warmth leak out of my fingers. The stick bursts into an orange glow, and with a horrid squelch, sinks all the way into the reptile.

【〓〓〓〓】

 

After a quick rest and a search for a new spear, my minions and I begin a second push deeper into this hellish, but well-lit, place. We dispatch smaller monsters with ease, and the larger ones with some effort and teamwork as we move forward. After a few hours of hacking into monster flesh, we arrive at the far side of the circular room. The door directly across the massive space from our away base is different from the others. 

The door in front of me is slightly ajar, rust coating a good portion of the otherwise shining metal. Plantlife winds its way through the crack in the doorway, searching for the ample light on this side. Through the small gap between the doors I can see that the connecting room is pitch black. I motion with my hand and my men quickly begin to move towards me, until a circle of them are staring at my handsome face. 

“Alright, boys, I have a question for you all!” I grin at the nearest of my team. “Has anyone seen a room with the lights off so far?” Silence fills the air as my men mull over my words. Eventually one speaks up, Corporal Groobes. 

“There haven’t been any so far, sir!” The man’s stocky face twists into a nervous smile. “Right, sir?” 

“Wrong, Grubs! There has been exactly one room so far with no lights… the entrance!” Out of the corner of my eye I notice one of them smack their forehead in realization. The rest of my merry men just nod at me with unsure looks. I grin before resuming my torment — I mean, my chat with them. 

“You are probably wondering. ‘Sir, what does that matter?’” A few of my comrades nod in agreement. “Well, kiddos, if the entrance was dark, and only the entrance, then the next dark room would most likely be the counterpart to the entrance!” 

Their faces all shift almost in sync, displaying their comprehension. One of them offhandedly bisects a croc that was sneaking up on us. “That's right, you runts! There’s a good chance this is the end! There’s a good chance there’s some nasties in here, so get ready!” My voice echoes off the far-off ceiling of the watering hole. 

Giving the group a final check, I’m satisfied by their preparedness and turn towards the darkened room. I feel my blood start to boil, energy running along my skin. There’s a good chance there’s a big guy in here, the so-called “boss” of the dungeon. Something overgrown and twisted from the energies of the dungeon’s core. My grin stretched tight, I rip the door from its frame and flood the adjoining room with light. 

I step into the darkness expectantly, and am faced with a small black crack floating in the air. The dungeon core. The room around it is small, only one or two mes wide, and filled with rotten brooms and mops. What the hell, that’s it? I walk further into the room, my senses on alert. Finally I notice a figure laying on the floor behind the spatial crack. 

I slowly move around the floating fracture, making sure not to touch it, and head for the prone figure. Once I reach them, I give them a small push with my foot to roll them onto their back. The moment the light hits the person’s face, my blood freezes. 

Laying on the ground is the familiar form of Count Holdings’ daughter, Zenith.