The Flying Emporium

The three adults in the room turned towards the girl and looked at her with amusement. Only a child could make such a suggestion and ignore all the problems it would potentially cause. Without having to think about it first, Bandur, Mylana, and Severin could all have listed numerous reasons why directly warning Magda and the Society was a horrible idea and why, though regrettable, a certain degree of secrecy was strictly necessary. Simply informing Magda about the dungeon’s peculiarities, like Emily had suggested, would make things very awkward.

This newly appeared dungeon was clearly unique in more than just one aspect. Its difficulty level being all over the place, just one of them. So how could it be that only Severin, who was neither an adventurer nor a researcher, knew about these things, when even the Society didn’t?

Even if they entertained his claims and eventually confirmed his words, in the end, he would have only raised more concerns.

The fact that the dungeon had coincidentally appeared right on his mountaintop, of all places, was already suspicious enough. Especially with all those other anomalies surrounding the Emporium.

Considering these circumstances, how would it look if he claimed to have intimate knowledge about this dungeon and its unique properties without ever setting a foot inside? And what about the fact that, officially, he didn’t even know about the many changes inside the dungeon? After all, Magda had never shown him the recording of the second dungeon dive. All he knew was that the Society was still busy mapping out the dungeon.

Severin considered explaining these matters to Emily, when suddenly another idea popped into his mind.

“You know what? Maybe you are right.”

***

Whereas for the employees of the Emporium the whole situation surrounding the dungeon was more of an inconvenience, for the Society much more was at stake. For them, it was quite literally a matter of life and death. And so the intensity with which the people currently sitting in the building opposite Severin’s store followed the progress of their companions was far greater.

“To the left, to the left!”

“Careful! DODGE!”

“Why don’t you-?”

“Ha, nice one! Now use your cooldowns, and… WHAT?! A new attack, it’s a new attack! Careful!”

“Quickly now!”

“Don’t let up now! You almost got him. I can feel it!”

With all the screaming and backseat commentary going on ever since this third group to ever set their feet into the dungeon engaged the skeletal boss, Magda quickly realized that having a two-way channel of communication wasn’t quite as beneficial as she had initially thought it was; as to not distract the five-headed group, she had to temporarily turn off the corresponding transmitter crystal.

Only five or so minutes later, when the boss visibly began to crumble, and the fight was won, did she turn it back on again. Their congratulations and expressions of relief were relayed to the successful group.

“Good job.”

“Finally.”

“Well done!”

“Ha,” huff puff, “not even a scratch,” jokingly postured the out-of-breath tank of the victorious group. It was a great success. Everyone’s relief was palpable and with no losses to be mourned, everyone could now focus on what was truly important.

“Now show us the loot!”

“Yeah, what did that thing drop? Was it worth it?”

Everyone was happily chatting and joking. Including Magda.

There had once again been many great changes to the dungeon. Various different traps in the corridor and new skills and attack patterns for the boss.

In fact, the changes this time had even been more numerous and pronounced than the previous time.

‘Its growth-rate has increased even further. The only reason everyone got through unscathed is because the difference in skill and experience of these guys was even greater,’ Magda concluded, and let out a sigh of relief. But immediately after, she turned serious again. The dungeon had once again experienced unpredictable changes; their job here was obviously not done just yet. They still had to figure out what exactly determined the dungeon’s growth.

Was there an upper limit to it? And was it based on time passed? Or maybe based on the amount of groups that had previously ventured inside?

Not to mention the other anomalies.

No regular monsters. The strange behaviour of the exit portal. The-

Magda suddenly stopped, a horrible feeling appeared in her stomach.

And then she realized.

Everyone was still too busy with the generous loot and too unfamiliar with the peculiarities of this dungeon. Normally, one didn’t have to best the dungeon’s boss for-

“The portal!” She shouted with a cracking voice and a horrible expression on her face.

From one moment to the next, both rooms became deadly silent; for a moment.

Then, as understanding set in, so did the panic.

Unlike in the recording they had watched earlier, no blue shimmering exit portal had appeared in the middle of the room, but unlike what they were used to in regular dungeons, they couldn’t just backtrack their steps to the entrance; the heavy door was still tightly shut close.

The recording crystal attached to the ear of one of the group members started frantically turning around. Left and right, up and down. Searching for an escape, a way out. A portal. Something.

But nothing.

The previously exuberant mood had abruptly changed and fearful expressions could be seen on the faces of the trapped adventurers.

“Don’t panic,” the team leader of the second team was annoyed at himself for his lapse in judgement. This wasn’t a regular dungeon, and he, of all people, should know better than to celebrate before everyone was outside again, safe and sound. But once Magda, who was sitting next to him, pointed out her observation, he was the first to find his bearings again and to calmly analyze the situation. “Keep calm. Don’t do anything reckless. Don’t go looking for an exit,” he instructed the other team inside the dungeon. “Just stay where you are and rest!”

The confidence in his voice was enough to calm the other team of five and snap them out of it.

Their actual team-leader in charge of the group didn’t take offence by the other giving orders, and instead doubled down, “He’s right. Replenish your health and resources first.”

It had been the right choice. Five minutes after the skeleton had gone down, and less than a minute after the group had even begun replenishing themselves, loud creaking sounds could be heard from all around them.

“Wha- what’s happening?!”

“There, Look,” someone pointed.

“The walls!”

Slowly, very slowly, the four walls on the sides of the hexagonal-shaped room began to raise.