The press of death
We all froze, not out of a sense of fear, but on a primal instinctual level as the sparks coalesced into the shape of a man. He wore simple black dress shoes and a set of black pants, a long velvet red sport coat with long trains on the back sat pristine as if dirt wouldn't dare approach him. He wore a simple white undershirt with a set of white gloves on his hands. A long black cane with a simple golden ball top sat in his hand. A small top hat made of a black fabric with a red stripe around the middle sat on his head revealing small tufts of gray hair underneath as a simple mask like that of a theater mask sat on his face with 3 holes for the figure's eyes and mouth. All of which were crescents in the style of a theater mask, a happy grin marked the porcelain, and yet despite the light of the dungeon the smile and eyes of the mask didn't let any light in, remaining devoid of detail or anything like they were abysses instead of openings.
As the figure appeared, they didn't even turn to look at us, instead casually walking down the tunnel as they hummed a simple tune. The tapping of their cane feeling like a sledgehammer striking our backs as everyone's legs buckled as we all fell to an almost bow like stance as the figure walked between us. The figure was behind us but we dared not look, my heart was beating so fast I felt like I was moments away from a heart attack, but I couldn't move, I couldn't think, Will tried to yell something to me, but a primal part of my brain roared one message over and over again. Don't move, and he may not notice you.
We couldn't know where he was, all we could hear was the tapping of his cane. Each tap reverberating on the walls around us as they seemed to grow louder and louder with each tap as if distance was nothing more than a plaything for that man. The tapping was so loud my ear hurt, my entire being screamed to ignore it and just stay still.
How long had we been bowing, days, months, centuries, time no longer mattered as all I could think of was the flashes of pictures, kingdoms left empty as if they had never been inhabited, or dragons lair left as craters on a whim. The sight of the man returning left a guttural dread in my being as he continued past us without even sparring a glance. Simply walking to the exit and leaving, still humming to himself. My head was pounding as I only just realized how long I had been holding my breath. Almost like a tower of blocks toppled we all collapsed, gasping for air. We laid there for a time, it could have been minutes, it could have been weeks for all we knew.
"H-how is, what was, huh?"
Jax gasped out after a time as we all sat up. I turned to Jax who's fur was matted in sweat, looking down at myself my clothes were soaked trough in a frigid sweat as well as everyone else. We all took turns taking sips of water from the waterskin that Selene had been carrying as we all just sat in the front hallway.
"What do we even do about?"
Kaelen started but Liora cut him off.
"Nope, just no, we are not talking about it for a moment, we are going to sit here in silence to think!"
So, we did, for a stretch of time we just sat there. We sat in silence just breathing and taking sips from the water skin before I silently stood up and began to walk down the hall. I silently returned to the room we had been in, nothing had changed, the console sat still open to what I had looked at, however as I walked through, I did notice something.
The pods that had once housed the automatons sat empty. There was no sign of struggle or a fight, no sound was made either, just the silent eradication. I walked over to the console and saw the same options
Notes log - last entry updated 2 hours ago
Production list
Higher clearance login
I sucked in a sharp breath as I opened the notes log with a shaky finger.
Naughty naughty, don't you know you some information is dangerous to know?
My hand moved before I gave the command to my body, my spear striking out and piercing the counsel, whatever data within was destroyed in a heap of sparks and metal flakes.
I drew my spear out with a shaky breath as I turned to leave the room. The chests remained by the door, untouched, so I silently walked over to them. I opened the chests and saw two items. The first seemed to be a simple belt with a strange array of gears and things in the front, a small handle attached like a pull cord to start an engine. I lifted the item to look it over. The system window appeared to show me the item.
Clockwork Coil(E)
A simple belt made of leather and bronzite.
This belts pull cord can be used to force your nervous system into high gear for 1 minute. During this time you will move faster and you will be more in control of your movements.
While this belt is active, taking lightning damage can cause the belt to short circuit, ending the effect early and causing your body to become sluggish and unresponsive for a time.
I saw a system screen pop up, as I'm sure the others did, but there was an oddly hollow message at the end of it.
You have found one of the dungeon Items
Item: Clockwork Coil(E)
The dungeon remains silent as no enemies remain to oppose you
I silently turned to the other item. It was a simple cube, made of components with bits of what seemed to be a lusterless iron and bronzite, runes carved on different faces of the cube. I grabbed the cube and looked it over. The screen appearing to once again identify the item.
Memory Cube(E)
A simple cube made of iron and bronzite, this cube has two functions.
Scan when used next to a construct of some kind the cube will open up and float around the construct to scan it and report information about the construct.
Repair the cube will give you a summary of what is wrong as well as what is needed to fix the construct if it is damaged
Once again, the system rang out with its lonely message.
You have found one of the dungeon items
Item: Memory Cube(E)
The dungeon remains silent as no enemies remain to oppose you
I walked out of the room to see the others has spread out, Selene was walking down the hallway we hadn't been down silently as the others did the same. I could have explored, but a strange moroseness was spreading through me as I silently walked back to the entrance where I sat down in the hallway. I sat alone for a moment before the system popped up again.
Party member Kaelen has found one of the dungeon items
Item: Skillbook - Quick fix(E)
The dungeon remains silent as no enemies remain to oppose them
After another handful of seconds, the last message appeared
Party member Selene has found one of the dungeon items
Item: Clockwork steed
The dungeon remains silent as no enemies remain to oppose them
You have found all the dungeon items and no enemies remain, you have cleared the dungeon
Your party will be teleported back to the entrance as the dungeon closes
It took a couple seconds, but we dissolved into sparks as we appeared back in the kitchen of the Tanis farm. Ms. Tanis sat silently at her table, she was pale, the payment of gold for the quest sat on the table before us. Liora silently walked over to the table to grab the 300 gold as I headed for the vehicle to get it started.
In a stranger way, Sir Oinks-a-lot was asleep in the passenger seat, as if unaware of the walking natural disaster we had survived. As I started the vehicle the system popped up with our experience.
You have cleared the entirety of the Vault of the mad mage
+25,000 XP
--------------------
You have acquired the first of the dungeon items
+5,000 XP
--------------------
You have acquired the second of the dungeon items
+5,000 XP
--------------------
You have acquired the third of the dungeon items
+5,000 XP
--------------------
You have acquired the fourth of the dungeon items
+5,000 XP
--------------------
No dungeon monsters remain
+5,000 XP
CONGRATULATIONS
Dungeon progress: 100%
MVP: Red - killed all the dungeon monsters
Level up 9 -> 11
HP 26 -> 30
MP 72 -> 78
Congratulations you have reached level 10, pick from the skills below
Potion Storage Kit(E)
Advanced Brewing(E)
Elixir of Resilience(E)
I minimized the window, not willing to pick at the moment as everyone silently hopped into the vehicle. Normally there was an argument for the front seat and who would get it, but nobody argued, Thalia hopped in the front, picking up Sir Oinks-a-lot and hugging the little hog tightly. The hog seemed unsure of what had happened just walking up but gave a small squeal as it nuzzled up to Thalia. Nobody said a word as we silently pulled away from the farm gates and continued on our way to Rookburg.