Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"Identification please." An extremely bored looking man manned a desk inside of a small building. It looked like an outhouse that someone had cut open a teller's window in.

Adventurers formed lines behind three of these small buildings set up outside the dungeon. Berk's charges each passed the gate teller their adventurer cards for inspection to make sure they met the minimum requirements.

Either the teller they approached did not know who Lucius Kane was or he was simply that bored, but his eyes did not even twitch when reading out the man's information. "Approved. A reminder that the Adventurer's Guild is not held liable for loss of possession, limb, or life within the depths of the Demon's Stomach. Go on."

Berk sighed as he caught the twitching of Natali's hands and eyes out of frustration at the teller's lack of decorum. In the man's defense, noble status did not matter. However, it was definitely abnormal for someone to not at least recognize the titles applied to the man. Lucius did not seem to care either way and calmly retrieved their cards.

The teller placed a placard onto the desk that read 'Closed'. A roar of groans and grumbles spread down the line of awaiting adventurers. The teller shrugged saying simply before walking away from his post, "Gotta take a piss break. Sue me."

Berk shook his head and lead the group down the large stone steps leading to the dungeon's doors. Mar'Eeyen and Helena had already descended a few times, but Lucius and Natali had not. The former curiously traced the demonic etchings with his eyes. As they got closer, Lucius paused momentarily to follow a number of the images with his fingers.

"Don't even try to move those things. I'm pretty sure even the legendary beasts would struggle to move them an inch. Besides, their just pretty pictures. Hanging around to gawk at them wont…"

His mouth snapped closed. A dull glow spread across the metal door Lucius was touching, centered around where his fingers made contact. As his fingertips moved across the surface, the glow followed. "Take it that's not normal?" he asked.

The guide slowly shook his head. From what they could see, it was a simple light show with little other meaning. However, it was still strange to see a piece of the dungeon interact with someone like that. When the doors reopened for Berk, it was simply good timing. But this was different.

"Never mind. Stop fucking with people's heads and let's go. I want to see if you can actually make it through the first ten floors or not."

"What monsters can we expect?" Natali asked.

"First ten floors are simple things. Creatures you can find in the woods around us. After that it's a mixed bag. As the dungeon shifts, the themes of the floors shift with it. Eleven through twenty share a theme. Twenty-one through thirty and thirty-one through forty… you get the idea."

"Any themes to watch out for?" Lucius continued.

"Undead suck, but if you can avoid finding or being found by any vampires, they aren't so bad. What we want to be wary of are scenarios."

"Those are?"

The guide stopped to figure out how best to explain. His frustration and hatred toward his charge vanished in place of his professional demeanor.

"Sometimes you will walk onto a floor and be presented with…beings that act as a facsimile of life. They speak, laugh, cry, and interact with you as if they were living on the surface. If you attack them, they react according to their place in the scenario. A villager will scream. A soldier will defend or attack… if you cut them they bleed… it really fucks with your head. Makes you question what is real or not. If it weren't for the fact that the scenario resets if you leave and re-enter the floor, reviving all those you killed and wiping their memories of you, then you'd almost think people lived here."

"So that's what makes them so tough? That they seem real so you don't want to hurt them?" Lucius asked.

Berk sneered at him. "No. With you along, that wouldn't even be a problem. I'm sure you'd slaughter them as easily as you do anyone else." He breathed, trying to rein in his frustration. "No, you can't advance to the next floor until you resolve the scenario. The dungeon creates a play of sorts using these 'people' and it is up to the adventurers to resolve the problem the dungeon created. Figure out the plot of the play, and you can move on. Though, you can always leave. Scenarios only last a day before they vanish and return to a normal floor."

Helena spoke up. Rare for her. "What's the purpose of even completing the scenario then? Why not retreat and camp out on the floor above before continuing?"

The guide raised his hand in the air before rubbing his thumb greedily across the pads of his fingers. "Rewards. The dungeon always rewards those who resolve the scenario. And there is always a 'right' answer. The closer the party gets to what the dungeon decides is correct ending, then the better your rewards are."

To prove his point, he fished out a strange necklace. It was made of a rough, leather cord with a raven skull hanging from it. In the center of the skull was a brilliant, red ruby. It was an item he and an entire party received on a dive a decade ago. They had completed a scenario that was near perfect. Or at least so they thought. There was no true way to tell other than by the quality of the items provided.

While looking rough and simple, the necklace would easily sell for enough to buy a small town.

"What's it do?"

"Three times daily it deflects an attack that would end my life."

Berk took satisfaction in the fact that his answer made Lucius choke on his own spit. It truly was a powerful item and one that Berk would never let go of. He shook his head and silenced the group. It was time to enter the dungeon proper.

Through the massive stone hallway on the other side of the dungeon's grand gates, a simple oak door stood in stark contrast to the elegant architecture surrounding them. Mar'Eeyen took point, followed by Lucius, Natali, Helena, and finally Berk at the rear.

He found himself oddly excited at the prospect of this dive. They had gathered enough materials to camp for several months without resupplies from the surface. But that was assuming they did not blend their supplies with what they could hunt within the dungeon's walls. If they really did a good job mixing their supplies in, they could probably stretch it up to a year. Either way they would not have to leave any time soon.

The guide's eyes fell on the back of Lucius's head. His gaze hardened and his heartbeat quickened. If I have my way, then this demon won't leave at all. I will see to your death Lucius Kane. An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and life for a life. This pit will swallow you whole, 'Titan'.