Elance sits serenely behind the desk of her office as her first 'applicant' takes a seat, hoping that the human woman won't notice that the office is so small that Elance would have had to climb over said desk to greet her at the door. She's far younger than she was expecting for a dungeon applicant, a healthy-looking woman in her twenties with tanned skin, brown hair, and a serious look. Her age alone seems like reason enough to send her away - surely such a young individual has something to live for - but as the first such person to come by, Elance decides she at least needs to get some idea of what she's in for with this task.
"Welcome, have a seat. I'd offer you some tea or somesuch, but the facility resources are still a bit barebones, I'm afraid."
The woman gives a thin-lipped smile as she answers. "It's no problem, Bountiful Mother. I know I might be here early - I came as soon as I heard about what the dungeon was offering, to see if I could, ah, beat the crowd."
The dwarf tilts her head. "I'm a bit surprised at your enthusiasm, but before we get to that, why don't you tell me about yourself? You can call me Elance, by the way."
"Right, of course. Well, my name is Clarie Tendwell, I'm twenty-four, and I come from the town of Longsands Harbor. I work in the market as a fishmonger, mostly."
Elance's brow furrows in thought. "Longsands...that name sounds familiar, I believe..."
Clarie nods. "Yes, it's the town just outside of the Fire Sands dungeon. Where the local Association and such is headquartered."
"Ah, right. But I suppose then I'll have to segue right into the meat of it, lass, as it seems I've yet to get a hint of what brings you here. You're young, in good shape, and you don't have a career in a combat field. Why would you want to end it and become a dungeon monster?"
The human looks back and forth, as if someone else could be hiding in the tiny room, and half-whispers her response. "I just...I don't mean to sound crude, Bountiful Mother, but I just...I really hate Challengers."
"...You do, do you?" Elance bites back her first response, hoping for a follow-up that makes more sense.
"It's my step-father's fault, you see. Mostly. A terrible lout of a man, and a Challenger. Not that I'm saying he ever did anything...untoward...but he drank, gambled, spent weeks away on dungeon 'expeditions' with his companions - often including attractive women - and so forth. Always partying with with other Challengers just as bad as him, as well. It ruined the happiness of my poor mother and my younger siblings, you see! Every time he found some new piece of loot, or a bag of coins, it'd be gone by the end of the week and we'd be back to living in poverty!"
"I'm...very sorry to hear that, lass, but I'm not entirely sure I follow how this grudge leads you to making your way all the way down here."
Clarie smiles, and a dangerous glint appears in her eyes. "Well, you know, sometimes I'd have thoughts, like any young woman does, I suppose. 'What if I took this fish-gutting knife and gave him a good gutting', that sort of thing. Oh, the hours I've idled away in such fantasies! Obviously, I'd never do it! But...if I was a dungeon monster..."
Elance sucks in a breath. "You...wish to become a part of the dungeon so that you can kill Challengers. Legally. Is that what you're saying, now?"
"Yes! I don't know if my step-father would ever come to visit this dungeon, but even if he didn't, it'd be such a delight to finally give them what they deserve! And in the name of Kahlia, too!"
"Right." Elance takes out a scrap of parchment and begins writing away on it, as Clarie attempts to peer down at her handwriting. Finally, she hands it over with her judgment. "I wish I could give you the help you need here, Miss Tendwell, but we're far from set up for it. However, here's the name of a colleague I know in your province who can, ah. Help you find some peace for your thoughts without getting a blade bloody in the process, you understand?"
Clarie stares blankly at the information in front of her. "Wait, so...you won't pass on my name to the dungeon?"
"Only if it's to tell her not to take a sacrifice from you, lass. Please don't give it a try. I am sorry you had to come all this way to hear it."
Clarie shudders slightly, clearly swallowing her initial words, but she at least takes the offered scrap as she gets to her feet. "...I am as well. And here I thought this would be a place that would appreciate a good stabbing..."
As she exits the office, Elance gives a small shudder of her own. "Well. That's a damn fine start to all this." She pauses, and looks around. "...I really need an office with an escape route."
As Lyota's party fought the pair of possessed armor bosses, her team finally got their chance to contribute to a boss fight. Even so, they were still giving her a wide berth - while Lyota took on the shield-wielding boss alone, the entire rest of the group occupied themselves by fighting the quicker swordswoman. While she hadn't ordered it, she was rather focused on 'questioning' the monster, and the demon seemed more than a little irritated any time someone else interrupted with a blast of magic or axe-blow.
"How!? How are you so light on sin!? Hardly any have fallen here, especially compared to the slime! How has this dungeon gathered so much weight if you haven't been slaying innocents by the score!?" The woman's magical whip wraps itself around the armor's weapon-bearing arm, but to little effect - while the armor may be the 'skin' of the creature, at the same time it still seems to provide sufficient protection from the pain-increasing effects it should have been applying. Or, perhaps a ghost simply has little use for pain to begin with.
"Littttttle demon, so angry! Your frustration amuses us - if my siiiiiinnnn is light, perhaps I can add to it with your blood!" Tank steps forward and swings again at Lyota as well as he can, but the two make a terrible match for each other. While the fury demon has little ability to truly hurt him, she is able to slow him down enough that the armor never lands a single hit either. In contrast, the fighting on the other side of the room produces a litany of clangs as weapons hit against metal repeatedly.
"You use ghosts agggggaaaainst ghosts!? Bold move, for a tiny foe." Dips swings her blade against the heavily armored goblin standing in front of her, but yet again a ghostly goblin wearing the same armor as he steps forward to take the blow for him.
"Tiny? Tiny! I'll have you know I'm above average by goblin standards, ya rustbucket! And these ain't ghosts, thank the gods - heavens know how hard it'd be to put up with them if I had to fight with my grandpa alongside me, haha!" Wetears' own swing comes nowhere close to landing, given that the reach difference between himself and Dips can be measured in multiple feet, but soaking up the damage she can produce is all the man needs to do. At the rear of the party, Lionel plays a tune on a small flute which keeps the room's Terror Tentacles dormant, while Barny and Passy do the work of actually bringing the monster down.
"Almost ready...Sunlight Shot!" Passy holds out a wand, firing a massive beam of yellow-white light at the dodging swordswoman, still managing to take her directly in her breastplate. It fails to punch through, but a scorched circle remains to show its effects. "That should have disrupted the possession effects - your go, Barny!"
"On it! An armor might hold up well against normal flame, but a spirit and soulflame? Haha, should've invested in a shield, big girl!" Barny waves a staff, directing a stream of ghostly blue flame towards the point Passy had weakened for him. It not only manages to penetrate the metal itself, but actually light the ghost inside on fire, and Dips lets out a scream as she falls to one knee. The ghostly wail is beyond anything a mortal mouth could produce, more than sufficient to make the entire team grimace in response, but Wetears moves to put her out of her misery. With her guard down, the goblin heavy and his entire team of magical summons swarm the monster, and despite the fact that their own blows are weaker than his own they still manage to turn the boss into scrap in a matter of moments.
Distracted by the scream, Tank turns to face the rest of the party. "What was - you! Little koboooooold, I shall have your head!" As he begins to turn in Barny's direction Lyota's whip wraps itself around his neck, and his movement is briefly arrested.
"Now! Take the beast down! For the Domain!" The party quickly moves to follow Lyota's orders, and with a winning strategy established, it doesn't take long for Passy and Barny to once again set the boss alight. As he finally collapses, his helmet dented by repeated goblin-axe blows, Lionel finally lets up on his musical accompaniment.
"I don't always get applause for my performances, but usually the screaming isn't quite so extreme. I suppose I can't deny its effectiveness, at least." The incubus tucks the flute away inside his vest, and his feet begin to make their way towards the boss chest even before a response can be given. Still, Barny gives a nod of agreement.
"Against anything but a dungeon monster, I'd definitely feel worse. Of course, against most folks it wouldn't be anywhere near that bad. Once their hold on the armor is weakened, a ghost is nothing but soul, so a flame that burns the soul...well, you saw how it goes. It is just pain, mind you, like the Lasher's whip. The gods would likely strike us down were we to actually develop anything that could actually destroy a soul." The red-scaled kobold shoots Lyota a wary glance. "So, uh. Ready to continue your, um...investigation on to Floor Four, Silverstar?"
To his surprise, the woman shakes her head. "No. We shall stop here for today. The dungeon provides shortcut portals, so we shall attempt Floor Four another day, when we're fully rested."
Wetears raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't mind a twenty minute break, maybe, but I feel like we could take on another floor without much issue, y'ask me."
"I'm sure we could. However, we're here for the long haul, not a one-day expedition. And..." Lyota takes a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before continuing. "I...need to center myself. I was not ready for what...whatever this dungeon is. The closer we get to the core, the more...I'm not ready. I fear I may lose myself if we go further as I am right now."
Barny nods. "I wasn't gonna say anything, but uh, yeah, that sounds like a really good idea. Although, if we are gonna call it quits for the day...anyone up for a Floor Five visit?" He waggles his eye-ridges, but as Lionel's face begins to break into a smile, the kobold quickly clarifies. "Specifically, anyone named Passy?"
The green kobold gives him a smirk, and a mock gasp. "Have you been seeing other Passys behind my back!? But I suppose I could be yours for today - ah, if the Lasher has no complaints?"
Lyota eyes the pair, but shrugs. "I have nothing against it. I would like a report when you return, however." As the two kobolds stare at her, the demon decides she ought to clarify. "...If you discover anything there that would be useful intelligence on the dungeon, of course."
"Of course, right." Barny takes a look at the loot Lionel is slipping into his bags, and begins to head towards the floor's portals with Passy by his side. "Just save us some of the good stuff, yeah? See you tonight, but, heheh, don't wait up..."
DaScoot
So the results are in, and the answer is clear: the people demand more smut. The combined results from RR and SH are 36 votes for keeping the current routine, and 112 votes for adding in additional side chapters when the occasion strikes me (77% on SmutHub, with only 75% on prudish RR requesting more filth). More specifically, it looks like people want to see scenes featuring Xenia and the bosses, with 53 votes out of the 112 total for side chapters. Now, this will take some time to have any effect, as I'm currently 12 chapters ahead on the stockpile and I just recently finished such a chapter, so I'm not going to immediately dive into another. Also, RR has rules capping how smutty a story can be overall, and I currently plan to remain within those limits. Still, this is useful information to have for the next time I get to such a point.
Thanks for voting! And again, if you have more specific interests than just the voting categories allowed, I'm always interested in comments.
Elance sits serenely behind the desk of her office as her first 'applicant' takes a seat, hoping that the human woman won't notice that the office is so small that Elance would have had to climb over said desk to greet her at the door. She's far younger than she was expecting for a dungeon applicant, a healthy-looking woman in her twenties with tanned skin, brown hair, and a serious look. Her age alone seems like reason enough to send her away - surely such a young individual has something to live for - but as the first such person to come by, Elance decides she at least needs to get some idea of what she's in for with this task.
"Welcome, have a seat. I'd offer you some tea or somesuch, but the facility resources are still a bit barebones, I'm afraid."
The woman gives a thin-lipped smile as she answers. "It's no problem, Bountiful Mother. I know I might be here early - I came as soon as I heard about what the dungeon was offering, to see if I could, ah, beat the crowd."
The dwarf tilts her head. "I'm a bit surprised at your enthusiasm, but before we get to that, why don't you tell me about yourself? You can call me Elance, by the way."
"Right, of course. Well, my name is Clarie Tendwell, I'm twenty-four, and I come from the town of Longsands Harbor. I work in the market as a fishmonger, mostly."
Elance's brow furrows in thought. "Longsands...that name sounds familiar, I believe..."
Clarie nods. "Yes, it's the town just outside of the Fire Sands dungeon. Where the local Association and such is headquartered."
"Ah, right. But I suppose then I'll have to segue right into the meat of it, lass, as it seems I've yet to get a hint of what brings you here. You're young, in good shape, and you don't have a career in a combat field. Why would you want to end it and become a dungeon monster?"
The human looks back and forth, as if someone else could be hiding in the tiny room, and half-whispers her response. "I just...I don't mean to sound crude, Bountiful Mother, but I just...I really hate Challengers."
"...You do, do you?" Elance bites back her first response, hoping for a follow-up that makes more sense.
"It's my step-father's fault, you see. Mostly. A terrible lout of a man, and a Challenger. Not that I'm saying he ever did anything...untoward...but he drank, gambled, spent weeks away on dungeon 'expeditions' with his companions - often including attractive women - and so forth. Always partying with with other Challengers just as bad as him, as well. It ruined the happiness of my poor mother and my younger siblings, you see! Every time he found some new piece of loot, or a bag of coins, it'd be gone by the end of the week and we'd be back to living in poverty!"
"I'm...very sorry to hear that, lass, but I'm not entirely sure I follow how this grudge leads you to making your way all the way down here."
Clarie smiles, and a dangerous glint appears in her eyes. "Well, you know, sometimes I'd have thoughts, like any young woman does, I suppose. 'What if I took this fish-gutting knife and gave him a good gutting', that sort of thing. Oh, the hours I've idled away in such fantasies! Obviously, I'd never do it! But...if I was a dungeon monster..."
Elance sucks in a breath. "You...wish to become a part of the dungeon so that you can kill Challengers. Legally. Is that what you're saying, now?"
"Yes! I don't know if my step-father would ever come to visit this dungeon, but even if he didn't, it'd be such a delight to finally give them what they deserve! And in the name of Kahlia, too!"
"Right." Elance takes out a scrap of parchment and begins writing away on it, as Clarie attempts to peer down at her handwriting. Finally, she hands it over with her judgment. "I wish I could give you the help you need here, Miss Tendwell, but we're far from set up for it. However, here's the name of a colleague I know in your province who can, ah. Help you find some peace for your thoughts without getting a blade bloody in the process, you understand?"
Clarie stares blankly at the information in front of her. "Wait, so...you won't pass on my name to the dungeon?"
"Only if it's to tell her not to take a sacrifice from you, lass. Please don't give it a try. I am sorry you had to come all this way to hear it."
Clarie shudders slightly, clearly swallowing her initial words, but she at least takes the offered scrap as she gets to her feet. "...I am as well. And here I thought this would be a place that would appreciate a good stabbing..."
As she exits the office, Elance gives a small shudder of her own. "Well. That's a damn fine start to all this." She pauses, and looks around. "...I really need an office with an escape route."
As Lyota's party fought the pair of possessed armor bosses, her team finally got their chance to contribute to a boss fight. Even so, they were still giving her a wide berth - while Lyota took on the shield-wielding boss alone, the entire rest of the group occupied themselves by fighting the quicker swordswoman. While she hadn't ordered it, she was rather focused on 'questioning' the monster, and the demon seemed more than a little irritated any time someone else interrupted with a blast of magic or axe-blow.
"How!? How are you so light on sin!? Hardly any have fallen here, especially compared to the slime! How has this dungeon gathered so much weight if you haven't been slaying innocents by the score!?" The woman's magical whip wraps itself around the armor's weapon-bearing arm, but to little effect - while the armor may be the 'skin' of the creature, at the same time it still seems to provide sufficient protection from the pain-increasing effects it should have been applying. Or, perhaps a ghost simply has little use for pain to begin with.
"Littttttle demon, so angry! Your frustration amuses us - if my siiiiiinnnn is light, perhaps I can add to it with your blood!" Tank steps forward and swings again at Lyota as well as he can, but the two make a terrible match for each other. While the fury demon has little ability to truly hurt him, she is able to slow him down enough that the armor never lands a single hit either. In contrast, the fighting on the other side of the room produces a litany of clangs as weapons hit against metal repeatedly.
"You use ghosts agggggaaaainst ghosts!? Bold move, for a tiny foe." Dips swings her blade against the heavily armored goblin standing in front of her, but yet again a ghostly goblin wearing the same armor as he steps forward to take the blow for him.
"Tiny? Tiny! I'll have you know I'm above average by goblin standards, ya rustbucket! And these ain't ghosts, thank the gods - heavens know how hard it'd be to put up with them if I had to fight with my grandpa alongside me, haha!" Wetears' own swing comes nowhere close to landing, given that the reach difference between himself and Dips can be measured in multiple feet, but soaking up the damage she can produce is all the man needs to do. At the rear of the party, Lionel plays a tune on a small flute which keeps the room's Terror Tentacles dormant, while Barny and Passy do the work of actually bringing the monster down.
"Almost ready...Sunlight Shot!" Passy holds out a wand, firing a massive beam of yellow-white light at the dodging swordswoman, still managing to take her directly in her breastplate. It fails to punch through, but a scorched circle remains to show its effects. "That should have disrupted the possession effects - your go, Barny!"
"On it! An armor might hold up well against normal flame, but a spirit and soulflame? Haha, should've invested in a shield, big girl!" Barny waves a staff, directing a stream of ghostly blue flame towards the point Passy had weakened for him. It not only manages to penetrate the metal itself, but actually light the ghost inside on fire, and Dips lets out a scream as she falls to one knee. The ghostly wail is beyond anything a mortal mouth could produce, more than sufficient to make the entire team grimace in response, but Wetears moves to put her out of her misery. With her guard down, the goblin heavy and his entire team of magical summons swarm the monster, and despite the fact that their own blows are weaker than his own they still manage to turn the boss into scrap in a matter of moments.
Distracted by the scream, Tank turns to face the rest of the party. "What was - you! Little koboooooold, I shall have your head!" As he begins to turn in Barny's direction Lyota's whip wraps itself around his neck, and his movement is briefly arrested.
"Now! Take the beast down! For the Domain!" The party quickly moves to follow Lyota's orders, and with a winning strategy established, it doesn't take long for Passy and Barny to once again set the boss alight. As he finally collapses, his helmet dented by repeated goblin-axe blows, Lionel finally lets up on his musical accompaniment.
"I don't always get applause for my performances, but usually the screaming isn't quite so extreme. I suppose I can't deny its effectiveness, at least." The incubus tucks the flute away inside his vest, and his feet begin to make their way towards the boss chest even before a response can be given. Still, Barny gives a nod of agreement.
"Against anything but a dungeon monster, I'd definitely feel worse. Of course, against most folks it wouldn't be anywhere near that bad. Once their hold on the armor is weakened, a ghost is nothing but soul, so a flame that burns the soul...well, you saw how it goes. It is just pain, mind you, like the Lasher's whip. The gods would likely strike us down were we to actually develop anything that could actually destroy a soul." The red-scaled kobold shoots Lyota a wary glance. "So, uh. Ready to continue your, um...investigation on to Floor Four, Silverstar?"
To his surprise, the woman shakes her head. "No. We shall stop here for today. The dungeon provides shortcut portals, so we shall attempt Floor Four another day, when we're fully rested."
Wetears raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't mind a twenty minute break, maybe, but I feel like we could take on another floor without much issue, y'ask me."
"I'm sure we could. However, we're here for the long haul, not a one-day expedition. And..." Lyota takes a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before continuing. "I...need to center myself. I was not ready for what...whatever this dungeon is. The closer we get to the core, the more...I'm not ready. I fear I may lose myself if we go further as I am right now."
Barny nods. "I wasn't gonna say anything, but uh, yeah, that sounds like a really good idea. Although, if we are gonna call it quits for the day...anyone up for a Floor Five visit?" He waggles his eye-ridges, but as Lionel's face begins to break into a smile, the kobold quickly clarifies. "Specifically, anyone named Passy?"
The green kobold gives him a smirk, and a mock gasp. "Have you been seeing other Passys behind my back!? But I suppose I could be yours for today - ah, if the Lasher has no complaints?"
Lyota eyes the pair, but shrugs. "I have nothing against it. I would like a report when you return, however." As the two kobolds stare at her, the demon decides she ought to clarify. "...If you discover anything there that would be useful intelligence on the dungeon, of course."
"Of course, right." Barny takes a look at the loot Lionel is slipping into his bags, and begins to head towards the floor's portals with Passy by his side. "Just save us some of the good stuff, yeah? See you tonight, but, heheh, don't wait up..."
DaScoot
So the results are in, and the answer is clear: the people demand more smut. The combined results from RR and SH are 36 votes for keeping the current routine, and 112 votes for adding in additional side chapters when the occasion strikes me (77% on SmutHub, with only 75% on prudish RR requesting more filth). More specifically, it looks like people want to see scenes featuring Xenia and the bosses, with 53 votes out of the 112 total for side chapters. Now, this will take some time to have any effect, as I'm currently 12 chapters ahead on the stockpile and I just recently finished such a chapter, so I'm not going to immediately dive into another. Also, RR has rules capping how smutty a story can be overall, and I currently plan to remain within those limits. Still, this is useful information to have for the next time I get to such a point.
Thanks for voting! And again, if you have more specific interests than just the voting categories allowed, I'm always interested in comments.
