Rune Seeker

With their training and rest completed, the party once again stood in front of the dungeon interface.

“Everybody ready?” Hiral asked, his hand poised to swipe over the crystal.

“Let’s see how convenient this portal really is,” Seena said. “Do it, Hiral.”

With that, Hiral waved his hand above the crystal, then said “Exit Dungeon.”

As usual, a blue portal spiraled into existence, a rainy street from the Lizardman city appearing on the other side. A street with a Shambling Graveyard marching straight down it towards the party.

“Doesn’t look convenient at all,” Yanily said, lifting his spear to ready himself for a fight.

“Maybe it can’t get in here…” Wule said, but then sparks of red energy began arcing along the portal’s boundary lines.

“What’s it…?” Hiral started, and the whole portal collapsed in front of them, a condensed ball of red energy the size of a grapefruit left hanging in the air. Even before Hiral could open his mouth, the ball expanded again to form into a second portal, though this one had red edges instead of the usual blue.

The street from the Lizardman city was gone, replaced by a grassy field with dozens—no, hundreds—of what looked like waist-height, carved stones. The sky was dark and cloudy, lightning flashing in the distance, but no rain fell, and some kind of light glowed beyond a cluster of squat buildings a few hundred feet from the portal.

“Something about this still feels… strange,” Seena said, and a notification window sprang up in front of Hiral’s eyes.

Dungeon – The Twisted Sewers has been corrupted by outside forces.

Dungeon – The Twisted Sewers has become: Wild Dungeon – The Lost Necropolis of Ur’Thul

Note: Wild Dungeons are rare instances containing powerful Lost equipment and unique quests.

Note (2): Wild Dungeon – The Lost Necropolis of Ur’Thul can only be attempted once before the corruption completely claims it.

Note (3): Wild Dungeon – The Lost Necropolis of Ur’Thul will count towards unlocking the Asylum if it is completed successfully.

Enter Dungeon?

Yes / No

“On the one hand, not having to go into a sewer sounds pretty convenient,” Nivian said. “The necropolis part, though…”

“I didn’t know we could go from one dungeon directly to another,” Hiral said. “That must be what the fourth achievement was talking about.”

“Not having to find the next dungeon entrance, or trek through the city full of undead to get there, does seem like a good thing,” Seena said. “We’re going through.” Then she tapped something in the air.

The portal shimmered briefly, like it’d had a thin, gauzy paper over the entrance, and a humid breeze blew through.

“Still not happy about it being a necropolis,” Nivian muttered, but he went first towards the portal. “Whenever you’re ready, boss.”

In response, Seena tapped him on the shoulder, and the party moved through the red-rimmed hole in the air.

“Something about that was different,” Seeyela said as soon as they were all through. “Like it was deeper. Did you feel it, Hiral?”

Hiral shook his head. “I don’t have the same connection you do. Felt the same as normal to me.”

“Huh,” she said, but the portal closed at that point, and the party’s attention turned back to the obvious graveyard they now found themselves in.

“Liking this less and less,” Nivian said.

“What did you expect?” Wule said. “It’s called a necropolis.”

“Wait… necropolis means cemetery?” Yanily asked. “Why didn’t anybody tell me that before we left the nice, safe dungeon?”

“Enough,” Seena said as a new notification appeared in front of their eyes.

The Lost Necropolis of Ur’Thul – Wild Dungeon

D-Rank

Top Clear Times

XXX : --:--

YYY : --:--

ZZZ : --:--

Hiral barely had time to read it before the window vanished again.

“Notice it didn’t give us the choice to attempt the dungeon or not?” Wule pointed out.

“And looks like we have a three-hour timer on this one again,” Hiral said after a quick look at his status window.

“Then we’d best get moving,” Seena said, pointing towards the glowing area near the center of the graveyard. “That’s our starting point.” Then she gave Nivian a tap on his shoulder.

The tank moved forward without a word, the cemetery quiet around them. Despite the heavy clouds overhead, the ground was dry under their feet. So much so the grass crinkled with every step Hiral took. A large mound of dirt sat off to one side, the yawning pit of a grave beside it, and while everybody glanced in its direction, nobody got close enough to look inside.

Like outside the dungeon, glowing roots crawled across the ground and over the worn and chipped tombstones. If there had been anything written on them, it’d long faded over time or under the constant rains. Speaking of…

“Why isn’t it raining?” Yanily asked, echoing the same question in Hiral’s mind.

But, as soon as he thought about it, he knew the answer. There was something like his Rune of Rejection keeping the rain away. Something powerful… and familiar.

“I think we all know the answer to that,” Seena said as Nivian led the party closer to the squat buildings they’d seen from the other side of the portal. Mausoleums, practically a whole town of them, stood in ordered rows with narrow, stone paths between. Thick, metal-barred gates blocked the entrances to each of them, chains across the front to keep things out.

Or things in?

Hiral activated Foundational Split and drew his RHCs, the party members around him likewise going on higher alert. The whole thing was just too quiet.

“Should I scout ahead?” Seeyela whispered, too faint to be heard by anybody without the Party Interface.

“No, stick together,” Seena said. “Watch the intersections for anything, though. Don’t want to get flanked. Nivian, keep us moving towards that light. Be ready for a fight when we get there.”

“You got it, boss,” Nivian said, continuing forward.

Hiral, for his part, kept his eyes on the mausoleum rooftops. The buildings themselves stood about twenty feet tall, with sloped roofs and a single steeple at the front of them. Interestingly, all the steeples to the right of them—that he could see—had what looked like a stone snake wrapped around them, while those on the left had a large lizard crawling up the front.

Some connection to the King and Queen of the Swamp?

He quickly shook his head; that wasn’t what he was looking for. If a threat came down the side paths, it could just as easily come over the roofs. Then again, with a surge of Rejection, he could just as easily hop up for a better vantage point.

No, Seena wants to keep us together. And, even though I’d have a better view, I might also stand out to something else.

“It’s getting brighter,” Nivian said. “We’re almost there.”

“Be ready,” Seena reminded them, though they all had weapons out and prepared. “Here we go.” She gave Nivian yet another shoulder tap.

The tank picked up speed, sprinting ahead to burst out of the narrow pathway, the party flooding out behind him so they couldn’t get trapped within.

Hiral’s weapons came up with his fingers on the triggers, though he didn’t pull them, and he quickly scanned around the large, open space within the rows and rows of mausoleums on all sides. All the buildings’ doors seemed to focus on this central courtyard, which was maybe five hundred feet from one side to the other, with stone pathways and dozens of what might’ve once been planters for large flowerbeds.

Those planters now stood barren, just dry, upturned dirt within, the glowing roots the only signs of plant life. In the center of the courtyard was exactly what they’d all felt earlier—and expected: the Urn of Ur’Thul. It sat on a pedestal eerily similar to what they’d seen in the dungeon, and it was the source of the bright glow lighting up the area.

Hiral’s mind instantly went on guard, the visions it’d forced on him still far too fresh in his memory, but none of the dark, lashing tendrils were visible. If anything, the Urn seemed… grounded… by the pedestal.

“Ah, help has finally… Oh, it’s you?” a voice said as something stepped out from behind the Urn. “I… uh… hope there’s no hard feelings…?”

“Odi…” Seena said, glaring at the Lizardman.

“Got it in one,” Odi said with a helpless shrug. “I admit, I didn’t expect you to be assigned to me again, but I can’t complain. Assuming we’re all still friends.”

“You literally left us on the floor and took the Urn for yourself,” Wule said.

“To be fair, you were talking about doing the same thing while I was in that ridiculous cage,” Odi said. “Who even leaves a cage there like that? Poor building design, if you ask me.”

“We didn’t,” Nivian said. “What do you want to do, boss?”

Seena looked around the courtyard, then blew out a breath. “You’re right, Odi. We were considering whether or not we should take the Urn for ourselves.” Then she shook her head. “But we weren’t going to do it. I’d already decided.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Odi said. “The ceremony can’t be interrupted without dire consequences at this point. So, friends?”

“Debatable,” Seena said flatly. Then, quietly using the Party Interface, she asked, “Anybody see anything we need to worry about at the moment?”

“Nothing,” Hiral said.

“It’s too quiet,” Nivian said.

“It is,” Seena agreed. “Keep your eyes peeled. I get the feeling this isn’t the same kind of dungeon as the last one.”

“You expecting something to try and eat us?” Yanily asked.

“Exactly that,” she said before turning her attention back to Odi. “You mentioned something about a ceremony. Care to explain?”

Odi visibly sighed. “Of course you didn’t read the paperwork. Why do I even bother…?”

“We’re feeling the same way right now,” Seeyela said. “And maybe a touch more stabby, so how about you start explaining?” Whether it was planned or just coincidental, one of her (Lost) Fangs of the Lady chose that moment to drip a tiny amount of the dangerous green venom, the stone sizzling on impact where it landed.

Odi watched the spot for one second, two, three, before he finally gulped and nodded. “Paperwork is highly overrated. Nothing beats a clear explanation.”

“Preferably a concise one,” Hiral added.

“Yes, of course, though we have a few minutes before the next plateau of the ceremony,” Odi said.

“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned a ceremony without explaining what it is,” Seena said.

“Sorry, sorry. Before I explain, let me formally apologize for taking the Urn without your permission. Even if you didn’t plan to steal it—which, I’d like to point out, I’d have no way of knowing—it was wrong of me to take it under such circumstances. Even though I’d hired you after filling out all the required paperwork, and, as your employer, was technically well within my rights to take…” Odi trailed off as eight glares landed squarely on him.

“Not sounding like much of an apology,” Yanily pointed out.

“Uh… yes. Let’s just say I’m sorry and move on from there.”

“Let’s,” Seena agreed, pointing at the Urn while the party tentatively moved a bit closer.

“Then, let me start at the beginning,” Odi said.