"This weekend," said Freydis, "we tackle the Trickster's Caverns!"
"Cool!" exclaimed Lumpikith.
"Is that in Wyrmhaven Deep as well?" asked Raven.
"That's right!" said Freydis. "It's a special side-dungeon on the second level. Wyrmhaven Deep has lots of levels and side dungeons. And don't worry, Raven - there's no Fox Goddesses granting extra tails, or Squid Gods with tentacles."
"Well that's a relief," Raven said.
Freydis grinned. "Instead they say it's controlled by a demon!"
"This time," said Freydis, "we can travel light, because we're bringing our very own catgirl dungeon maid!"
Shrillikina frowned. "A... dungeon maid?"
Moldessa said, "Do you mean Tara, the catgirl who cleans our dorm rooms?"
"She's a dungeon maid now?" asked Fluffdusti.
"She has an item box called a Virtual Pantry," said Freydis. "She'll follow us around and provide all of our meals."
"And fresh bedding, for when we sleep?" asked Shrillikina. Freydis nodded.
"Kick ass!"
"Just so you know," said Tara the catgirl maid, "most of my magic is for cleaning and being a barmaid. I'm not going to attack; I'm just an observer here."
Lumpikith laughed. "Don't worry," said Shrillkina, "with Freydis, we're ALL observers."
"That's not true," said Freydis. "We're going to test our your golem, aren't we?"
Fluffdusti and Raven exchanged glances.
"Sure," said Raven, "if you want to."
"Just so long," added Fluffdusti, "that we point it away from us...."
The dungeon party, consisting of four goblins, one wolfkin, one human, and a catgirl maid, stood at the entrance to the Trickster's Caverns.
"Here goes nothing," Fluffdusti muttered. She summoned a large slime. Raven infused it with charcoal magic, and the creature took on a solid, humanoid shape. It bellowed and charged forward, disappearing into the depths of the caverns.
"it's not so much a frontliner," said Tara, "as it is a bulldozer with no reverse...."
The sounds of destruction echoed in the distance. Screams and war cries drifted up from the depths of the dungeon. The ground began to shake, and suddenly monsters of all sorts - skeletons, a troll, infected rats, imps and minor demons all charged into view, heading straight for the adventure party.
"It's a stampede!" exclaimed Freydis, readying her best attack spells.
"Dungeon train!" Lumpikith yelled, summoning her knuckle dusters. "Your golem pissed everyone off!"
For the next half-hour, the six mages blasted with every attack spell they had. Bolts of coal crashed, balls of sauce and slime exploded, miasma filled the tunnel. Lumpikith swung her knuckle dusters, and Tara the maid watched in horror.
Eventually, the last of the stampeding monsters was vanquished.
"is this how you usually tackle dungeons?" asked Tara in amazement.
"This is only our second dungeon," replied Freydis, "and no, we are NEVER using that golem again!"
🦋ShouldbeWriting🦋
Dirk Willrodt
Kensan_Oni