The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Vitmori Pov

The next two days were long yet brief with how little there was to do as the hours dragged on. Ultimately there wasn't much for me to directly handle with the caravan having grown to the size it was now.

Sure, I could help out here and there when it came to setting up the camp, what with making some stone walls and huts, but beyond that? All I let myself do was watch over the others and study that emitter I took from the foreign raiders from within my inventory space. Beyond that, I got plenty of people-watching done while I was at it, watching how the Elites and their entourage carried themselves around each other.

The first night at camp, I watched the elite teens training with their guards with a strange and almost nervous ferocity. Of course, they already know they'll soon be sent off for a small-scale war where they'll likely be the ones planning and making the plays for their troops.

Their parents did their best to offer guidance and advice regarding the things that the twins and Puh'ma might encounter in the days and hours leading up to battle as well as during the heat of battle in question. But even with all that, ultimately there was nothing that could be done to prepare these kids further for the fight to come than what had already been taught to them their entire lives before this point.

On the other end of the camp were the adventurers and Krys' thieves, they were doing some training of their own. It was admittedly less intense than the elite's training, but Krys and his team were learning the fundamentals while Rantz and his team wanted to ensure they were ready for whatever the promotion exam threw at them; even Basmori and Freyli were learning more about combat with Legosi showing them how to chase and stalk 'prey' as a team or a pack while supplementing the meals of the group with fresh meat from their kills.

By the next day, we were on the road again and making great time as we rode through the next village on our path. It wasn't nearly as impressive as Lucfan's Rest though from what I gathered, it's mainly because it's a sort of minor satellite village to another fort town to the north, unaffiliated to Lucfan's territory, and without as many resources placed into this village's infrastructure.

I again kept mostly to myself as I dedicated my time to deciphering how the runes on the emitter worked with each other to create the barrier; only to then try and figure out how to trim those runes down to etch onto my avatar somewhere to try and make a sort of personal defensive barrier for myself like that of the barkskin and stoneskin defense most other manaheart users can manifest.

I didn't make much progress on that endeavor, though I have a feeling it's likely due to my lack of understanding as to how these runes work in general or perhaps my unorthodox implementation of them. I did try to review Rita and Reyvyre's memories of their studies of runes, but there was just so much and I didn't even know what I was looking for to make this sort of thing work.

The elite kids were training yet again with the guards, though the adventurers opted to take things easy tonight by helping around the camp and doing some kind of memorization work or studying after everything was settled. They spoke about tactics against certain monsters, what to do when you think you're being hunted, general practices on handling bandits, and how to identify fake potions among other things.

Krys had gathered his team and sat somewhat isolated from the rest of the group after dinner as they discussed their game plan when they got to the capital; though they spoke in some sort of odd slang or cant that I could only follow by listening to Krys' thoughts. I'm leaving them to it for now since it isn't my business yet, though I will eventually need to use them to make contact with the Thieves Guild depending on how things play out once we're in the capital.

With the rising sun on the third morning of our journey from Lucfan's Rest, we packed up camp once more and headed out all over again. This time, I decided to ride on Legosi for the final stretch of the journey along with Freyli and Basmori who rode on my shoulders and lap respectively.

Time passed, as usual, as we rode through the woods which seemed to bustle with more activity than the last couple of days. We caught glimpses of young men and women, even children just roaming the forests as they seemed to hunt or gather materials, whatever they may be.

As the hours trickled on and the roads filled with even more activity from people coming and going from the capital, an all too familiar yet strangely foreign scent tickled my wooden nose. It was... Saltwater. The exact combination of smells was unique and unfamiliar to me, but the overall smell was that of the ocean. Even in another world, the ocean still smells like the ocean. I don't know why that brings a sense of comfort to me, but it does.

Exiting from the tree line, my eyes are filled with an impressive-looking landscape that fills the nearby horizon. There were easily thirty to forty different massive fields of dirt that looked to have been recently harvested in the last few weeks. Every few fields have an accompanying set of buildings that look to be anywhere from residential homes to possible barns and warehouses.

The fields themselves stretched for miles on every end, though as we rode along I could see sentry towers that littered the open spaces between the fields, from these towers came flying creatures with their riders or the occasional birdkin who flew around on their own power. Each of them wore tabards among other things, seemingly marking them as being part of the same order or perhaps as some city guard or watch.

After another hour of riding through rural farmland, we finally come across another change of scenery as I spot the capital city of the Hegemony of the Blue Sun. Massive walls that were around four or five floors tall surrounded the main city, outside of which appeared to be a sprawling suburban environment with a mix of residential, commercial, and entertainment districts with even more fairly tall sentry towers that provided a healthy amount of air traffic that patrolled the area.

It was only just now that I was starting to understand why Cecil and Rantz considered Sunspot Keep a 'little' fort town. The Capital city was leagues bigger than Sunspot Keep. I had estimated around nine hundred to a twelve hundred people lived around that frontier keep, with only two to three hundred living around Lucfan's Rest. But this place? I could see twenty, maybe even thirty thousand people living here easily.

Riding closer to the outskirts of the suburban-style sprawl of residential and commercial buildings on what amounted to a main street, we filed in with the day-to-day traffic of people and carriages doing whatever it was they were doing. The more I looked, the more I spotted higher-end and nicer carriages that were being followed by their caravans. They were likely other elites who were coming to the Capital for that council meeting Vivia mentioned.

Turning my attention back to the city proper, I could see six different towers that stood tall over the ancient walls. Five of these towers looked to be small skyscrapers, standing around what I would guess to be six to eight floors tall. However, the tower that stood out to me was the one that looked to be in the center of it all. It easily cleared all the rest, taller and thicker in general as it seemed to be built with a different style altogether compared to the other towers. At the very top, there looked to be a distinct red glow that vaguely pulsed in a strangely familiar way.

Before long, the traffic ahead of us appeared to slow down once we got closer to the wall, up ahead was a checkpoint station like the one back in Sunspot Keep, though this one seemed to be a lot more involved and official-looking with a variety of concrete fortifications completed with two sentry towers connected by a stone bridge that allowed guards to look down at the carriages and carts as they passed. The checkpoint in question also appeared to be twice as big in general with twice as many guards running around the place; likely to handle the much larger amount of traffic that was passing through this place compared to the frontier fort.

With the traffic having slowed down, I rode Legosi further along our caravan before coming up beside the Lucfan carriage and rapping my knuckles along one of the walls.

A moment passed until the shutters opened and Trelio was leaning out of the carriage window and offering me a smile once he realized it was me. "Oh Vito, what's going on?" He asked pleasantly enough before leaning his arm against the carriage window and making himself rather comfortable.

I returned the smile, doing my best to match his energy as I reached up and gently doted on Freyli, her body slightly shifted while her head darted about to take in all the activity around us. "I had a few questions if you're willing to humor me." I say while using my other hand to point out the six different towers before bringing my hand down to Basmori's back as he grows vaguely anxious about the number of people around us. "I don't think I've seen towers like those, what do you know about them?"

Trelio knew exactly what I was talking about, though he made a little show of leaning further out of the carriage to peek out at the tips of the towers we could barely see given how close we were to the walls now. "Ah yes, those five smaller towers are where the Tier 1 elites reside with their families." He started to explain while leaning back in his seat. "Each tower marks a separate sector that those elite families manage, the entire capital city is divided into six distinct districts where the Tier 1's decide the broad strokes of what goes on within their territories."

"So all five of the top elites live in the capital? I would have thought that they would have spread out around the country to exercise their influence over wider swathes of territory."

Trelio chuckles a little bit as he scratches his cheek in thought. "Well, that's what the rest of the elite are for. Given how competitive our society is in general, we're given free rein to manage our territories how we see fit and take territory from other elites when we feel we could do a better job handling them; as long as we don't cross certain lines that violate the 'living rights' of the common folk who are under our protection and guidance. Of course, if those among us violate these rights, then it is our duty to take them out ourselves."

I nodded slowly at his words before glancing at the wall as we gradually moved closer to it, the towers no longer in my sight. “I see… You mentioned there were six districts but only five Tier 1 elites… What’s the sixth district?”

“That’s the dungeon’s district of course. It has rights and is powerful enough to hold its own position regarding the city’s affairs.” Trelio dutifully explained. “It has a name too, and a voice who speaks for it. Though what it’s called, I can’t seem to remember…”

“Its name is Crimzeal.” Vitra piped up helpfully as she leaned into view before looking at her father. “You shouldn’t forget details like that, father, you might offend somebody if you do.” She said before looking over at me. “Anyhow, if you plan on delving into the dungeon, I recommend you visit the Dungeoneer’s Guild to ensure you don’t cross any lines with the core and its folk.”

Trelio just chuckled sheepishly as he offered a small shrug and I got the distinct impression he hasn’t had much dealings with dungeons, or at the very least the capital dungeon. “Regardless, Crimzeal has more than earned their place in our country, given that they’ve been there since the start of it all.”

“I see, that’s fairly interesting… I don’t think I’ve heard of that sort of relationship between dungeons and their countries, is that common everywhere?”

Trelio went to open his mouth before looking thoughtful and then regarding Vitra as she decided to pipe up again. “It’s pretty different for sure, but from what I know… Well most cooperative and even competitive dungeons generally get a measure of respect due to just how much they usually bring to the table.”

“I see… Well, thank you, for enlightening me.” I mused with a kind smile as we neared ever closer to the checkpoint.

“It’s my pleasure Vito.” With that said Vitra leaned away from the carriage window.

Looking back to Trelio, he decided to change the subject as he looked me over curiously. “What are your plans once we’re inside?”

I tilted my head a little from side to side as I glanced between Basmori and Freyli for a moment and then looked back to Trelio. “I’m going to find myself a nice Inn to operate out of and make contact with my right hand to see what she’s learned while she’s been here.”

Trelio nodded slowly before offering a smile. “I suppose I can’t convince you to stay with us, no?”

I simply shook my head before offering a kind smile in turn. “You already know about what I intend to do here… I’d rather not paint a target on you and yours by spending too much time around you. I already have my people to be concerned about.”

Trelio sighed softly but nodded once more. “Just don’t forget that you can count on us if you need us, Vito.” With that, he glanced out to the checkpoint as our turn came up before leaning back.

One of the Lucfan guards approached the checkpoint while on their warbler, providing the necessary documents as the city guards reviewed everything before guiding our caravan through the checkpoint to begin their inspections.

It ultimately didn’t take all too long to get things down and we were soon waved along through the gates and came into a rather grand plaza with people from all sorts of walks going about their lives just like they did every day before now.

The caravan soon stopped in what looked like a public parking lot, with armed city guards standing nearby to watch over the carriages and carts in question.

Climbing off Legosi, I went to the caravan as some people started getting down. The servants and soldiers remained where they were while Krys and his team, followed by the adventurers, got down and began stretching until Rantz approached me and held his hand out. “Well, Mister Vito, it was really nice traveling with you… Thank you for letting us tag along.”

I offered a small smile before taking up the young man’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “It was nice having you along, good luck with your promotion exam.”

Rantz nodded and pulled away as Cecil walked up, staff in hand as the short young mage looked up at me. “I’ll make sure to take good care of this staff, I’m sure one day I’ll be able to be more than my equipment, like you, but until then I’ll do my best with what you’ve given me.” He explained excitedly before going to join Rantz.

Lily was the next to step up, looking up at me before offering a simple nod. She doesn’t bother with words but I could tell she thought of me as a good sort of man. Without much fanfare, the adventurers said their goodbyes to the others, though Cecil left Ren with a few sheets of parchment before heading off into the bustling crowds.

Krys made his way over next as he looked up at me. “Alright Boss, we’re gonna go make contact with our associates. How can we find you when we’re done?”

At that, I didn’t bother verbally responding while offering him a smile. ‘Reach out to me with your thoughts, focus on our bond and you can reach me no matter how far apart we are.’

Krys looked vaguely startled before flashing a toothy smirk as his ears twitched with amused delight. “Understood Boss, cya soon.” He says with a two-fingered salute before turning to rejoin his team, taking Ren’s hand in his own and pulling up their hoods as they disappeared into the crowd.

Lostrill and Riley made their approach next as Riley spoke up dutifully. “We’re going to go check in with the merchant’s guild here and get you the shop that Guildmaster Tilzim rented for you, afterwards we’ll be checking in at the Ocean’s Mist Inn. Please look for us there when you’re ready.”

“Understood, I shouldn’t be busy for too long.” I said simply as the duo nodded before returning to the carriages we started with and driving them back out onto the road.

Finally, Trelio and Vivia walked up as Trelio reached out and patted my shoulder while offering me his other hand. “Take care of yourself, Vito, if you need anything you can come find us at Sun’s Court Crossing, that's where our city estate is located.”

Vivia spoke up at that. “It is on the north end of the capital in one of the gated communities, we’ll let the guard captain in charge of the security there know to expect you.” She explained before reaching out and tapping the badge I was wearing on my armored coat’s collar with a vaguely mischievous smile. “As long as you have that, you shouldn’t encounter much trouble when asking for us.”

“Oh, of course.” I commented as I shared her mischievous smile before looking between them again. “I’ll see you at the summit if I don’t see you before then.” With that Trelio released my hand and pulled away as the two returned to their caravan which began to leave once Wither and Fester dismounted from the servant’s carriage and joined me at my side.

Left on my own all over again, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of eager anticipation filling the pit of my non-existent stomach as I looked from side to side while pulling my slate and unlocking it. “Alright boys and girls, time to meet up with Basti and see how she's been doing.”