Worthy Core

The next morning finally saw some returnees to the new dungeon inn, although it didn't come in quite the form Xenia may have been expecting. The larger local Challenger parties were being slow about deciding whether or not to relocate up to the mountain, particularly since it meant being cut off from communications save for whatever messages might be passed by adventurers making the trip between the dungeon and the town. Half a dozen of the independent Challengers however had put together something of a scheme, most of them being mercenary Challengers - those who would fill in the gaps on other parties in exchange for pay or a larger cut of the loot.

Apparently their scheme was this: they would take rooms at the inn, hang around in the tavern, and see which of the other parties passing through each day might be interested in hiring them on. If no one did, then perhaps that afternoon they might gather up and take a run at the place themselves. It beat hanging around at the Lucky Bastard, where days or even weeks could be entirely wasted if no one was hiring. Even better, as long as they promised to try at least a few floors every other day or so, the food and drink were practically free, not to mention the rooms themselves. It was an astounding improvement to their personal financials, since normally waiting around for a week for a job to appear could end up consuming more funds than the job itself would provide. Slightly to Xenia's disappointment though the current batch of mercenaries proved disciplined enough to limit their alcohol intake until the evening hours, since it would be hard to get hired on if one was staggering drunk - and they were even more disciplined after Deylia passed on that drunks would not be getting any more 'light treatment', now that the grand opening was over.

In the late morning a party arrived for the typical purpose of trying the dungeon, and for this group it would be their first actual attempt at doing so. Standing before Doorman in the frozen mountain air were Silva and Gilda Highbranch, with their bodyguard Sweet looming a few feet behind them. Off to the sides stood Kalin Deepwoods, a cousin of theirs with the Noble Duelist class, as well as Randall, an unrelated half-elf with the sort of class one often got coy about mentioning in public company.

As the more assertive of the twins, Gilda steps forward to announce their presence. "Morning, Guardian of Worthy Dungeon! We've come to challenge your tests, slay your monsters, etcetera, etcetera. May we enter?"

The door gives them a wide grin. "Ah, welcome back Lady Highbranch, and Lady Highbranch - and I understand congratulations are in order!" When Lady Highbranch answers his smile with narrowed eyes and a slight scowl, he backtracks somewhat. "...Or...my condolences?"

"Let's just say the circumstances are a little too politically complex for a door, shall we? Now, may we enter?"

"Of course! After you pass the challenge of my riddle!"

Silva looks a little confused. "Ah? Normally you don't make return visitors pass a riddle though, right? We were here just a day ago!"

Doorman nods. "Aye, but you were only visitors to the inn, which does not require a test. As long as you're in good standing with the dungeon, at least."

Thinking of something, Gilda smirks. "Well then - let us into the inn, will you?"

"...Are you just planning on passing on into the dungeon from the inn's shortcut portals?"

"...Nooooo...?"

The dungeon guardian sighs. "The shortcuts do have restrictions, you know. For most floors, that requires having cleared the previous floor. To enter Floor One from the inn however, the requirement is having passed one of my riddles!"

Gilda rolls her eyes a little at that, but gives in. "Fine, fine. What is your test?"

The door pauses for a moment as they think one up. "...How many days are left in winter?"

Silva smiles at the question. "Ah, a simple math test! Let's see, it's about two weeks since the solstice - " Her thoughts are interrupted by a loud throat-clearing from the gnoll behind her. "...Yes, Sweet?"

"One ought to clarify whether the dungeon uses the Rainlander or Valleylander reckoning of seasons, my lady. In the Valleylands seasons are divided by lunar months, while in the kingdom of course we mark them off on the first of each calendar month."

"Oh, yes, of course! Ah, guardian, which system do you use?"

"...Which system means it gets warmer faster?"

There's a moment of silence as the half-elves collectively force themselves not to say the first thing that comes to their minds. After a beat, Silva picks up. "...According to the Rainlands seasonal calendar, we have fifty-three days left of winter."

"Ooof, not even halfway through yet! Well, I suppose it is what it is. You may proceed on to Floor One, enjoy your challenge!"

"I'm sure we will!"

For the majority of the first floor, the half-elves largely just stood back and let Sweet do all the work. This wasn't due to any particular noble laziness, but simply due to the fact that attempting to aid the woman would have just meant getting in her way. The bodyguard tore through the floor's monsters with a pair of large daggers - practically short swords to a person of average height - dispatching most of them with a single blow. Thanks to her class training as a Bloodletter, that was true even when the wound wasn't immediately fatal. Every slice or nick would lead to a gush of blood, first turning the limb limp, and then in the case of the lower-tier monsters of the first floor, kill them within a few seconds more.

This was particularly impressive - and confusing to observing dungeon spirits - given that it was true even when used on skeleton warriors.

The controlled rampage comes to a stop however when the party reaches the door to BB's arena, with the twin sisters stepping forward. Even as they do, Sweet shakes her head in disapproval. "You are certain you two wish to face this boss alone, my ladies? It is only the first floor boss, the Association is unlikely to concern itself much with whether or not you play a role in its defeat."

Silva nods, a resolute look on her face. "Even if the Association doesn't, it's important to our claim - we must say that House Highbranch can handle any and every guardian within the dungeon. You're a treasured member of the house of course, Sweet, but some tasks are for scions, not servants, I'm afraid."

"I take pride in your willingness to fight for your own honor, of course. You will prepare?"

"Certainly." Reaching into her bag, Silva pulls out a handful of randomly assorted items before kneeling down on the dungeon stone. After drawing a rather simple ritual circle in chalk, she then scatters the objects across it - bird bones, a die, a pair of coins from foreign currencies, an iron nail, and an unenchanted, mundane rabbit's foot. The Noble Diviner studies them for a moment, gently prodding a few, before eventually scooping them back up and standing to face her sister.

"I assume we win?"

The Diviner rolls her eyes at Gilda. "If we didn't, I'd be telling us to pack up and leave town without a word. Not being able to defeat the first floor boss would be ten times the scandal of yesterday's events."

The Enchantress sighs at the reminder. "And you're certain the dungeon's odd luck doesn't affect your readings?"

"Divination is the opposite of relying on luck, dear sister. I'm brushing past all of the randomness of life to see exactly what we must do. Now, first off, you must flirt back with the rabbit."

Gilda's eyes go wide. "I should do what, now?"

"He'll be doing it to offend you and make you angry. Turn it back on him, and the effect will be reversed, however. Second, concussive rune on your shield. Third, binding wraps on my wrist. And lastly, use your bell. After that it'll all be over but the bleeding."

"His, one hopes." Despite her grumbling Gilda quickly gets to following her sister's instructions - pulling out a long, thin brush from her sleeve, the half-elf dips it into one of the specially-designed bottles strapped to her waist. Enchantments of her own design keep them secure even in the midst of battle, while allowing her brush to press down on their fabric-coated tops, allowing the magical inks within to soak through. Once the tip is wet, quick, well-practiced strokes paint a runic design on the front of her shield, with the image briefly glowing and then almost entirely fading away once it's complete. Swapping her ink to another of her bottles, Gilda then gets to painting marks on Silva's bracers as the woman holds her arms out. The whole process takes less than twenty seconds - a long time in a fight, if the twins needed to do it in the middle of combat, but something they had both trained to do and had actually accomplished on numerous occasions.

Once the runes are prepared, Gilda trades her brush for a blade and takes the lead at the arena door. "Let's see how ridiculous this particular guardian is, then..."

The pair get about fifteen feet into the arena before there's a sudden cloud of smoke on the opposite end, soon clearing to reveal the dungeon's Rabbit Rogue boss. Foregoing an ambush, the man instead gives the twins a smirk. "I can see the rest of your team waiting beyond the door there, you know. Did you two lovely ladies want me all for yourselves?"

Biting back her initial response, Gilda remembers her sister's instructions. "Assuming you can handle two ladies, I would love to see how you perform. I've heard you're quite...flexible."

Not actually expecting Gilda to respond in kind, BB is momentarily surprised enough that he fails to notice how plastered-on the noblewoman's smile actually is. Showing off the metal claws attached to his hands, the boss responds with more of the same. "I wish I could show you how talented I am with my fingers, but sadly I'm wearing my work uniform at the moment. If you wish to delay the fight for a time, though, we could always take a break and return to our obligations later..."

This time the half-elf's smirk hides more than a trace of venom, but again the rabbit fails to notice it. "Ah, but fighting gets me in the mood. Perhaps if you win, you can show us how you express your dominance afterwards..."

"Sadly, those who lose a fight with me are rarely in the mood for much more than calling for a healer afterwards. But, as you wish!" The boss launches a pair of magically-generated smoke bombs to cover the center of the room, before quickly dashing to the side and launching himself off of the wall with a powerful leap. Gilda raises her shield to block him, which hardly bothers the man - the force of the impact alone ought to be enough to send her to the floor, and he can always return for a more serious attack later. It's to his surprise then when his feet hit the shield and it's he who is flung backwards, with a sudden, flameless explosion seeming to generate from the surface of the metal and tossing him back into the wall with a crunch.

It's not enough to take the boss out of the fight, indeed beyond a minor injury to the man's elbow he seems to be almost unharmed as he gets back to his feet. He does decide to try for easier prey however, and after a short moment of recovery he launches himself in a higher leap that takes him over the pair of sisters. After quickly turning around upon landing the rogue grabs on to Silva's wrist, intending to spin her and toss her into her sister, and perhaps even use that explosive shield of hers against them in the process. He's again surprised by an instant magical counter-attack, this one not made of force but of summoned vines which suddenly sprout from Silva's bracer and begin to grow up the rabbit's arm, covering it in thorny tendrils within seconds.

BB pulls back, attempting to gain some distance, but stumbles as the vines refuse to let him go, keeping him connected to the Diviner's arm. Deciding that blades would solve this problem, he first moves to cut through the magical plants with the clawed gauntlet on his free hand, before deciding that perhaps taking off the half-elf's arm would be an even easier target. Unfortunately, his moment of indecision lasts long enough for Gilda to sheathe her blade and draw a new weapon. Eyeing it, BB pauses in a moment of utter confusion as Silva lifts...a bell.

Whatever he may be thinking, however, those thoughts go sliding out of his ears when the Enchantress drops her arm and lets the bell ring. The sound of it is far louder than it ought to be, in fact, it's far louder than the sound itself actually is. Bells echo in his mind, assaulting him from every direction, and vertigo sends the monster sprawling across the floor even as the vines continue to wrap their way up his shoulder. Looking up, he manages to spot Silva as she approaches him sword-in-hand, but although her lips are moving he's unable to make out a single word. He attempts to dodge, to roll, to do something, but entangled by magic both internal and external, he ends up being nothing more than a lamb brought to slaughter as Silva opens his throat.

Once the monster finally stops twitching and the summoned vines begin to dissipate, Silva turns back towards her sister with a smile on her face. "Well, I'd say that went pretty well, don't you think? And not a drop of luck required!"

Gilda grunts in response. "A quick fight, but I really could have done without having to pretend to be attracted to the beast. At least we won't need to come through here again, a repeat encounter would be...awkward." Turning back towards the rest of the party, the noblewoman waves them forward. "Alright, show's over, we may proceed. Sweet, Kalin, do you two think you can hold off the moving platform's ambushes while we prepare ourselves for the slime?"

Kalin nods his head towards his higher-ranking cousin. "Of course, Lady Gilda. The bats and skeletons shall be wheat to my scythe."

"Very good, then. This next fight should be interesting...but if we must have a banter phase, next time you'll be handling that part, Silva."

The Diviner shrugs with a grin. "If that would be fate's will."