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Of Magic and Dungeons [IC/PG-16/Accepting]

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Sergei headed into the city, his thoughts scattered. The morning had been...strange, to say the least. The special attention that the Knights paid to the arrival of Edgar and his allies led Sergei to believe that his venture into the Dungeon to obtain The Spark was perhaps less a personal quest but one that the city was sponsoring. Sergei wondered how good a horse breeder's son could be with that bow. Though he was the son of a tavern owner so it would be foolish, and hypocritical, to underestimate Edgar's skill. 

Sergei hadn't truly intended to show up at his parents' tavern, The Miraculous Act, but it's where his feet led him. It was a tradition of his, though not one he conscious had established. He looked at the simple building, his home for so much of his youth. It was still morning so the busy hours still hadn't hit yet. Still, his siblings and parents would no doubt be bustling about inside. He could see his sisters and brother in his mind's eye, scrubbing up the filth that the more exuberant tavern goers the night before had undoubtedly left. He chuckled a bit at the thought. 

"I'm home," Sergei muttered beneath his breath. He imagined what it would be like if he were to walk across the street and open those doors. They would pause and stare, he thought. Or maybe, his mother would just keep on working, pretending like her wayward son wasn't even there. Maybe something else. Sergei wasn't sure. They were his family, but he'd hurt them. And they'd hurt him. It was the same familial story of trauma that stained everyone's family tree. 

"Great to be back." And with a final look, Sergei began to make his way to The Drooling Dragon. It was a bit early, he knew, but it would do him good to have a moment to ruminate.

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“Fake, huh?” Chris said. He fiddled around with the coin, even holding it up to the light as he tried to spot the tell-tale signs of forgery, but he couldn’t. Not that he didn’t believe Hector; Chris’ brief interaction with Leo had told him that yes, of course Leo would be the type to carry fake coins. He pocketed it all the same. After all, who knew when it would prove useful, even if it was just to shove back in Leo’s face the next time they met.

He finished off his eggs, mostly out of spite (“A scrawny kid like you couldn’t possibly need all that,” Leo had said. Well, Chris sure showed him) and stood up from the bar. “Company’s coming over soon, Hector,” Chris said. “You’ve met them all before, I think, but, um, I did want to let you know. I’m gonna go clean up.” He pulled a few coins out of his pocket -- not the one he slipped the fake into, his other one -- placed them on the bar, and left to use the washroom.

Oh, for warm water! Every time Chris thought he’d gotten used to it, that he knew the shock of the first splashes of cold running down his back and could anticipate it and prepare for it, the sheer frigidity proved him wrong. It proved him wrong so hard. Were he back in Ellwood manor, this would have been one of those sensations he’d never have to know and yet…

The thing about cold water, though, was that it also washed all that wistfulness away as well. Chris couldn’t think about any of that for very long as he dealt with not freezing, and when he finished, there were enough other things to do that he was able to keep his mind off it in other ways. And when he finished, he gave himself a final look-over, dried off, and went just outside the tavern to meet the people he knew before they even had to come in.

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Estellise

The girl's eyes seemed to flash for a moment as she read Estellise's face and, seemingly amused by what she saw, gave a laugh.

"You say you did not hurt anyone, but you made Emma think her livelihood had vanished on her. How was she going to eat with her business shut down so early into the day? What would she tell her family? And all that just for your own entertainment? Surely you can not honestly enjoy the misfortune of others."

"You saw it didn't last long. Even without you there she would have just worried for a while until it wore off or something." She gave a smile and showed off the single fang in her mouth. "Plus you have to admit it was cute seeing her all flustered. People are far too easy to mess with. And hey it's not like anything else is going on around here. Except much more dangerous things than a little prank."

She started to slowly shake her head. "You're just mad you fell down aren't you? Wonder how it feels for a fancypants like you to get tricked by such a simple spell."

The girl didn't stop the slow shake of her head as she continued. "What's your name anyway? I'm sure you got an important one. Me, I'm just plain old Delilah, nice to meet you." She had a bit of a bitterness in that but she held her hand out for Estellise to shake.

Though as she watched she'd notice that, while the girl was talking, she hadn't stopped shaking her head. Looking closer she'd notice that her mouth wasn't moving as she spoke and, if she went to grab the girl's hand, Estellise's own hand would simply pass through and the image of the girl would fade away.


The Drooling Dragon

As the first of the group entered the Drooling Dragon it would have started to pick up business but only slightly. It was still early but several people filtered in it. Many seemed to be the type who needed a cheap meal, as while the food wasn't great it was better than most and usually quite cheap, as well as a few more of the people staying in the tavern. Of them only one, an elven girl sitting as far from the stage as possible, seemed to be of interest. Mostly due to the rather large blade she had propped against the table as she ate.

There was a musician, with some sort of flute, setting up near the corner. But they had yet to begin to play. Merely checking their equipment and accepting a steadily growing collection of drinks.

Hector was still at the bar, though he seemed more focused on cleaning up a spill than anything else, and the place seemed rather quiet for the moment.

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Delilah as she called herself, wasn't doing much for Estellise's opinion of non-humans. Surely they were not all like her, but to hear the girl try to imply that Estelle herself enjoyed Emma's plight was crossing a line. And yet before this anger could manifest further, something seemed off as the girl continued to speak. Something about her face. That was it. Her lips weren't moving with the sounds Estelle was hearing. With her introduction and extended hand Estelle had only one course of action to confirm her suspicion.

"I will not deign to giving my name to one who so reeks of Apati treachery." the Fereis replied with contempt to the voice rather than the figure before her. Rather than accept the offered hand she attempted delivering a slap to the girl's face, but sure enough, her hand simply passed through as the illusion distorted and began to fade. "Your cowardice will sustain you for only so long." she declared to the likely already departed culprit. She had entirely failed to capture the girl which meant she now had to resort to less pleasant means of redressing the issue. However harmless she proclaimed her tricks to be, a girl like her couldn't be allowed to simply so as she pleased. She needed to be taught a lesson but Estellise herself was the not the law of the land. As such she needed to be handled by the law. Already in her mind she devised a course of action for reporting the girl to the proper authorities after her venture into the Dungeon.

With her mood sufficiently soured, Estellise began a more direct route toward the Drooling Dragon, the tavern where she had met the adventures she would be exploring with. There was much to think about concerning Delilah's situation but for now it was best pushed to the back of her mind. The more she walked the better she began to feel about it all. And as the tavern came into view, so too did Chris, one of the people who had agreed to go into the Dungeon with her. He was standing outside, perhaps waiting for the group to assemble at the agreed upon meeting place.

"Greetings friend!" she called cheerfully to the man before hastening her step to come to his side sooner. "Have you been waiting long? I should have been more aware of the time." she continued, concern evident in her voice. While the issue of Delilah had been an important one to address, being late to an agreed upon meeting time because of it was simply inexcusable. It would reflect poorly on the Fereis at that, and the smallest of the families needed every boon to its reputation possible.

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Though Lana had finished her business and made her way out of the church and to the tavern, it still took her some time to get there. Though Lana had been quite hyped to get a start on with her adventuring day, the girl was still new to the city. Getting around was certainly difficult, both because Lana had a very poor idea of where the Drooling Dragon actually was and because every so often she would be distracted by something new.

However, after some wandering around, the girl eventually found herself right at the group's meet up place. Not only was the sign out front a good indication of this, but so too were the two members of her party that were standing outside of it. Giving a wave to them, she said, "hey guys." Walking over to the two, the girl a bit more uncomfortable now that she was actually next to them just said, "so uh, ready for a day of dungeon adventuring and princess saving?" Stopping for a moment, the girl then waved her hand saying, "nevermind that last part." 

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As Sergei approached The Drooling Dragon he was a bit surprised to see his soon-to-be adventuring party all waiting outside. He checked the position of the sun in the sky and he wasn't late, even though he had spent a little longer than he'd intended lost in his memories. A punctual group of dungeoneers wasn't a bad thing, in fact, it might mean that they had the discipline to make it beyond the first few floors. Or, it could mean that they were all incredibly green and overeager to partake in a fantastical adventure. He wanted to maintain an optimistic view, however, so he approached them all with a big smile and hearty wave.

"Seems we're all a bit eager to get this show on the road," Sergei said. "I hope you all haven't been waiting for me for too long, I'm usually the first to show up to these types of meetings." He offered a small chuckle. Now that he was close to them all he noted that he stood a good head taller than each of them and dwarfed them all pretty considerably. Immediately he felt a protective instinct kick in.

"Should we go in, then? Anyone eat yet, I haven't had a good meal today so I'm famished."

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Chris didn’t immediately see anybody he knew when he stepped outside, but that was okay; schedules were more of a suggestion to him, and enforcing discipline would probably have been seen as hypocritical. He wasn’t sure if waiting outside made him look impatient or if it just meant he was really ready to greet them, but either way, there he was. It wasn’t like he was about to change his mind, not after he’d already announced to Hector what was up.

“Greetings, friend! Have you been waiting long?”

And yet, even when he was keeping an eye out, Estellise still managed to sneak up on him. She was as chipper as ever, Chris thought. He wondered how he looked to her. Then he wondered why he wondered that. He didn’t really care what people- okay, he cared, but he didn’t…

The thought went nowhere, and all he was left with was responding to the question posed to him. “No, I just stepped out,” he said. “You’re the first one here, anyway, so I wouldn’t say you were late at all.”

Estelisse's arrival seemed to open the floodgates, and all the rest of the party flowed in behind her. The next one was Lana, who made some sort of joke about rescuing princesses? Nobody really laughed, and Lana backtracked on it almost immediately, which was, well, it was about what could be expected of Lana, wasn’t it? Joke or not, though, it was certainly something Chris had thought about. What could be an easier way to get back in his family’s good graces besides that?

Last, but not least, was Sergei, who, like Estellise, asked if they’d all been waiting long. “No,” Chris said. “No, everyone else just got here too. Um, I guess you’re welcome to food if you want.” He thumbed at the Drooling Dragon’s entrance. “Hector just got a huge thing of eggs so that’s the special today if you’re interested.”

He lead the way back inside, holding the door open for each of his compatriots before guiding them to a nice table where they could plan out the day’s dungeon foray.

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Estellise beamed as her team of common adventurers gathered around her quickly after her own arrival. It was invigorating to be among those who did not treat her like a noble. Of course, Delilah from earlier hadn't done that either but this was a positive spin on the experience of being treated like anyone else. With Lana, Sergei and Chris at her side she felt ready to tackle the world, or rather the Dungeon. But food seemed to be the first order of business for some. It crossed the Fereis' mind that perhaps not all had her typical breakfast experience. Dedicated chefs were no doubt a luxury of her and the other prominent families. While not hungry, it was still an exciting opportunity to familiarize herself with a commoner's experience. And more importantly, Chris had mentioned Hector. She had to pass on Emma's greetings. As Chris escorted them in, she happily trotted in and took the sights of the place in. She'd been here before; that was how the group had even assembled. And yet she found new things she had failed to notice before. As the group sat she did a small curtsy.

"Excuse me friends, I have a matter to see to." she said, excusing herself from immediately joining in on the planning. "I seek Hector!" she called out happily as she looked about at the various faces in the room. Surely with such an announcement, anyone with the name Hector would speak up to answer the call. At least, she hoped that was how this worked. She had no actual physical details to go off of to properly search for him.

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The girl stood around awkwardly for a moment, just looking around at the random people of the city as they waited for their fourth member. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for very long as the man, Sergei, had appeared to greet them. While Lana was glad that she wouldn't have to stand around much longer, Sergei's presence didn't make her feel any less awkward. After all, everything about the way the man looked was nothing short of intimidating, as he towered clearly over everyone else here. Thankfully he had seemed to be a nice person, so far at least, which made the fact that he could probably use her as a training weight much less terrifying. All the same, as he suggested food Lana had realized herself that she was fairly hungry and hadn't actually eaten much of anything before coming over. 

Walking into the, rather lively, tavern Lana took a seat with the rest of her comrades as they were about to talk about what they were going to do for the day. As Lana was ready to get something to eat, though, it had seemed that Estelle had some kind of business to do. Lana didn't know what to make of the girl's general disposition. She was certainly peppy, friendly and polite and wasn't super hard to talk to or anything. But her enthusiasm and politeness that she had going constantly was to a degree that Lana hadn't really seen before, and given her recent declaration once they made it into the tavern she was also very...dramatic. Lana, as a result, didn't do much beyond just look somewhat confused as she did so, and turned her attention back to the table. "So uh, we were going to plan about the dungeon right? So uh...plans, guys. Uh, got any?" 

Edited by Skaia

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"I seek Hector!"

Heads turned in Estellise's direction as she made the announcement. The tavern wasn't incredibly large so her voice carried through the entirety of it. Thus almost everyone there looked at her. Most with confusion, some annoyance, and a few amusement. But no one came forward.

The bartender, Hector himself, was absently wiping up a spill on the counter when she asked and he looked up at her slowly. His gaze lingered, as if trying to figure out if he knew her, then with a grunt he set the rag down and straightened up. "You found him." He said. His voice was guarded, wary, and he crossed his muscular arms over his chest as Estellise turned to him. "Is there something going on I don't know about?" He looked her up and down quickly. "I didn't offend one of the Families without knowing it, did I?"

He hesitated. "If this is about a job I don't do that work anymore."

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While scanning the room for responses, Estellise found it very curious how many different kinds of people could assemble into the same place. Some seemed confused as to why she had made so much noise, others seemed to find something funny about it. At home if she declared something like this it was usually met with simply a yes miss or something to that effect by one of the servants. But the common folk preferred a much more personable form of interaction it seemed. It was something to keep in mind for the future. But then how else was she to find Hector more efficiently when she knew little of what he looked like. Thankfully it didn't take all that long for Hector himself to respond. The man in question was the bartender who seemed engaged in cleaning something. So despite being trusted to be the main face of the tavern he must not have been the actual owner of the establishment. Cleaning was a job for an employee not an employer after all the Fereis lady thought. Still, she lit up as she approached. Understandably, he seemed to think he might have upset one of the major families and implied he used to do some sort of work he no longer preferred doing for them.

"No good sir, it is nothing of the sort." Estelle started softly as she finished moving from the gathering of her new friends to the counter. "I only wished to pass along a greeting. I met young Emma selling apples in the marketplace on the way here and she made mention of you." the Fereis explained while curiously looking over the bar. "I suppose then you must be friends with her father or mother. Or perhaps simply a frequent purchaser of her produce." she posited curiously. She wished to know some speck of the relationship between the two as it seemed odd at first glance that the young girl would know an important worker at a tavern, a place less than appropriate for children most times. Though while awaiting her answer she shifted in place some, a bit antsy from the look of it. Another young girl she'd met on the way here was occupying her thoughts again which was only serving to frustrate her.

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Chris gawked as Estellise announced herself basically as loudly as possible. That was expected of her, he supposed, though the other thing she did, the wandering off to the bar in search of its tender, caused him to cover his face with his hand. They weren’t even in the dungeon yet and they were already splitting the party. He couldn’t bother tracking her across the room for too long, but he also wasn’t particularly interested in waiting around for her to get back. Besides, Lana had already said something to the rest of the group. “So, uh… plans, guys. Got any?”

Nobody immediately spoke up, but Chris didn’t exactly have a plan either. In absence of that, he figured he could state a goal. “I’ve only been to the first floor or two,” he said. “I want to make some progress this time.”

He looked back at the bar. Estellise was still talking with Hector about whatever it was she thought was so important, but he allowed himself, instead of immediately returning his attention to the rest of the group, to scan the crowd. The Drooling Dragon was mostly filled with, well, “normal” wasn’t the best word for them, but he still felt like as a group they stood out a bit. That was probably just latent nerves from his encounter with Leo talking, though. Nobody really batted an eye at them as far as he was able to tell.

Then his eyes landed on the massive sword, and with it the elven girl clearly trying not to draw attention to herself. The combination of those two factors made a mystery Chris couldn’t help but get caught up in. He gestured to his companions in her general direction, “Probably unrelated, but I also want to know who that is. Have you seen her here before?”

Edited by radio414

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"I only wished to pass along a greeting. I met young Emma selling apples in the marketplace on the way here and she made mention of you. I suppose then you must be friends with her father or mother. Or perhaps simply a frequent purchaser of her produce."

Hector rested an elbow on the counter and leaned forward. Thinking over what Estellise had said. "Emma, no, I did get plenty of apples but...oh, she must be the sister. Well, thanks for that. That family is a good one, even if they don't have a surname." His gaze lingered on Estellise for a few moments. "I doubt someone of your stature came all this way just for that." He looked over at the others. "You here for the kid then?" He asked, indicating Chris.

"Hope you're not dragging him into anything too bad. I'm starting to get used to him being around."

---

Meanwhile, in the corner, the elf girl glanced briefly over by the group. Almost as though she heard what Chris had said, despite the distance between them. However she didn't stir from her place and continued to slowly drink.

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Sergei marveled at Estellise's boldness. He wasn't a stranger to drawing attention, but the way that everyone in the tavern turned to look at her and the rest of the group made his face grow a bit red. This, he thought, must be what it is like to be recognized for one's surname. Thinking about it made Sergei shift uneasily where he stood. He'd done a good job of divorcing himself from the Allagi name, but it always seemed to loom just above his head. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure a bit as he followed Chris and Lana to a table. 

His stomach rumbled a bit as he caught the scent of a nearby patron's food. He looked to where Estellise was making conversation with the bartender and resolved to wait until they had finished before troubling the man for some food. 

“So, uh… plans, guys. Got any?” 

"I’ve only been to the first floor or two. I want to make some progress this time.”

Sergei nodded. Chris, at least, had been in the Dungeon before. That spoke to some experience, at least. 

"I've taken some jobs going into The Dungeon. It has a tendency of changing things each time you go in," Sergei said, "It makes it a bit difficult to plan for what we might find."

“Probably unrelated, but I also want to know who that is. Have you seen her here before?”

Sergei didn't need to look to see who Chris was talking about. He had clocked the elven woman as they had entered the tavern. Doing mercenary work had left Sergei with the habit of scoping every room he walked into and making note of the most dangerous people in it. The woman had a cool confidence that communicated she was not someone to be messed with.

"Seems that there are a lot of strange folk in the city today," Sergei said, lowering his voice a bit, "I ran into another adventuring group on my way here this morning."

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Estellise's expression dampened some at Hector's initial comments. That Emma's family was good despite their lack of a surname. It was't that she doubted the idea but rather it saddened her that the common folk would feel it necessary to include in a conversation with someone from one of the major families. What's worse she couldn't argue the necessity of it, as many of the Fereis felt there was little worth to be had among those outside of the mage families. She didn't have too long to dwell on it as Hector shifted focus to Chris, one of her newfound adventuring companions. It sounded like the man had a soft spot for Chris and she was beginning to understand why Emma had spoken so well of him.

"Of a truth, I cannot say that what we seek to do is entirely safe for him, or any of us. The lot of us are looking to go a bit further into the Dungeon than most of my family's parties would wish to go so soon." Estelle began, not wishing to appear overly confident. "But on the Fereis family name I swear to you he will return in one piece. My magic should see to that." she continued with more of her positive energy returning but not breaking into full on joviality. Though a thought came to mind as she once again scanned the tavern, looking out for any of the Fereis servants her mother might have sent after her to track her movements. Nothing seemed out of place for the moment but it seemed best not to dwell too long on it all. It would be best to move along with her group quickly, but before she could rejoin them there was one more thing she wanted to know.

"Before our expedition begins, as one who seems to know a good many people in the city Hector, I wonder if you might known something of one Delilah. A small, young girl with a... um... horn out the left side of her head." Estellise began describing in more of a hushed tone, not wishing to draw unwanted attention to the matter of the prankster.

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As the party talked about their info on the dungeon, specifically it changing every time someone went into it, Lana said, "right. Guess it would be hard to plan for that." The girl looked at the others, knowing that Chris tended to carry a sword with him and fairly confident that Sergei didn't need a weapon to kill something with ease. As such, the girl muttered, "well, we can probably just run at the monsters and kill them..."

Eventually, the topic shifted to the mysterious woman in the bar, which Lana's eyes went over to. The elven girl definitely had a certain air about her, and Lana felt a similar intimidation factor that Sergei had from her. This was more likely a result of the massive sword next to her rather than her herself. Though, as she looked Lana's eyes did wander over to and fixate on the girl's sword for a bit. The girl, fond of large weapons, did briefly wonder about how the weapon would feel to use as well as how expensive it was to get sharpened metal that big. All the same, snapping back to focus on her group, Lana shook her head saying, "nope. Can't say I have." 

As Sergei made his comment on strange people in this city, Lana couldn't help but nod in agreement saying, "yeah there are definitely some...interesting people, in this city. And I'm sure there's no shortage of adventurers. After all..." The girl thought on it for a moment. Realizing that there was probably any number of people as ambitious as her, all trying to make their way towards getting the Spark. And if they got their before Lana did, then there wasn't anyway she would be able to get rich. With a sudden determination across her face, Lana looked to her other companions, saying, "alright gang. Let's go do it! We'll clear 10 - no 20 floors!"

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Nobody else seemed to be quite as interested in the elven girl as Chris was, so he let the matter drop. Of course, nobody else in the group besides him actually lived there, so just some random girl, big sword or no, wasn’t exactly any cause for alarm for them. He thought they made eye contact for a second, but by the time he realized, he was already looking away, and he tried to put the whole thing out of his mind.

The conversation back at the table was still largely centered around goals. Lana said ten to twenty floors was her personal aspiration for the day, which was certainly hopeful enough. Her suggested method of doing so -- running headlong into monsters, swords drawn and wild-eyed -- didn’t quite sit with him.

“Well, that’s a pretty good start to a plan,” Chris said. He tried to keep it from sounding like a coded insult, but, well, yeah, it probably still sounded like that, didn’t it? He forged on all the same. “I would say that we do probably need to be running a bit, or at least keep the pace up, but if we want to save time, we probably need to be keeping out of fights where we can. Besides, we don’t want to exhaust our magic user too quickly, do we?”

He stuck a thumb in Estellise’s direction. She was still at the bar. He wasn’t going to have to repeat all of this again, was he?

“You do make a good point, though. We should probably see how it looks today before setting anything in stone.”

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"Before our expedition begins, as one who seems to know a good many people in the city Hector, I wonder if you might known something of one Delilah. A small, young girl with a... um... horn out the left side of her head."

"A Devil girl?" Hector said. He thought about it for a moment. "Think it rings a bell. Just some kid that causes trouble here or there. Never much that gave the knight captain reason to really pursue her though." Estellise would notice that, while she had tried to be subtle, Hector seemed to have no such qualms. He spoke at his same level of volume and with his deep tone. "Did she cause you some problems? Can't say I have much say over what she does but I can see if anyone knows what she's up to now." His eyes moved over towards the part of the room where the elf girl sat and then back to Estellise. "There's a few people I can get you in touch with that might be able to track her down."

He frowned. "But you'd have to tell me what you plan to do about her. I don't want to help with any sort of witch hunt."

A girl, one of the workers, came up to Hector from the kitchen with a covered plate. Hesitating when she saw Estellise. Hector gestured over towards the table that the others were sitting and the girl wandered off. Looking back at Estellise he continued. "Make sure to get back to your friends before it gets cold."

The girl ended up standing by the table, near Chris, and cleared her throat. She lowered the plate down onto the table. "Hector wanted you to have some. We got to it earlier than we thought, and there's more if you want, but you'll have to pay." She then took the cover off and revealed the apple pie underneath.

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Lana leaned back in her chair, with a small bit of a pout as Chris mentioned the idea of avoiding the monsters when they went in there. Lana didn't know all that much about adventuring, but she was pretty sure that most of them fought their monstrous foes head on. And taking monster parts from them, stealing magical items and artifacts from their corpse or just straight up taking money from them. From reading stories of heroes of old, she had figured this was the basis of making money as an adventurer. Unless it was actually just their to spice up the stories, and the real money was made from the books that told people about these epic feats. In which case she didn't think a book about avoiding fighting would be all that exciting to audiences. Of course, the more exciting things were also probably on later floors, so just making small notes about the floors prior would be fine too right? 

Lana mulled on this, her expression going from a pout to a more pensive one, as she tried to figure out the best way to novelize her adventures in the dungeon. As Chris had mentioned that they would have to just wait until they got there to figure out something more concrete, the girl nodded, muttering, "suspense is important after all." She was briefly taken out of her fantasy of being a novelist when suddenly a woman had come over to deliver food to Chris. Looking in awe at the boy's pie, the girl looked over to the waitress with a hungry look in her eye as well. However, as she opened her mouth the girl just as quickly put her hand over it. Looking utterly defeated, as the girl knew such a pie was a luxury and one that she should be spending what little money she had on, her gaze simply shifted back to Chris. Still defeat in her eyes, the girl simply muttered, "lucky." 

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Estellise was happy to see her initial impressions of Hector reinforced as they interacted. She had correctly surmised that he had many connections throughout town which his familiarity with the girl and knowledge of those who might know more about her helped confirm. The Fereis was impressed to hear the confidence witch which he spoke concerning the less-than-human. Perhaps he encountered them more often. While the young woman beamed at the initial prospects, the energy was tempered by Hector's own frown as he added he wouldn't assist if her if her motives were malicious. Estelle responded in kind, her own mood souring as she again thought of what the families might usually do with one of Delilah's kind. It took her a moment, as if she was unsure how to settle her own feelings on the matter.

"She was playing tricks with magic in the marketplace. That magic should be used so carelessly, and simply for mischief, shames the art my family has devoted countless life times to progressing. I wish the girl no harm, and do not wish to involve my family in the matter..." she trailed off as her thoughts landed on her family again. "Some may be more inclined to using or abusing her. I simply seek some means of helping right her course. But so long as she is neither harming people nor stealing from them, it is not a matter that requires immediate attention. We may discuss it more once my companions and I have returned from the Dungeon." she concluded, hoping Hector would see her sincerity in the matter. With further discussion of the matter to occur at a later date, Estellise was pointed back to her companions with an act of generosity on Hector's part. With a curtsy farm too formal for the situation, Estellise bid farewell to Hector with additional thanks for the information he had provided her.

"My apologies friends." Estelle began as she returned to the table her new companions had sat down at. "My business with good sir Hector is concluded and thus my full attention is restored to the task at hand." she declared as she gracefully took a seat with the group. She looked to Lana, who seemed rather downtrodden about something. It didn't take long for her to piece together what it might be as she watched Lana's gaze bounce between the presented pie and the waitress.

"Please, eat your fill. Let me worry about expenses." she offered warmly while briefly placing an understanding hand on Lana's arm. "It will not do for my companions to be malnourished while I had the means of providing for them." she announced more generally. To have to worry about money enough to even eat comfortably was a foreign concept to the Fereis woman. But the distress it could cause the common folk was not lost on her. So long as she was reasonable in her expenditures on the group's behalf she was certain no one at home would complain. Aside from her mother who was against the idea at all so of course anything was going to upset her.

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Chris nearly gasped when the barmaid set the pie in front of him. He really didn’t know what he’d done to deserve special treatment like this. Even from a “because you’re nice to me,” perspective, like, Chris liked a couple of his clients but that was more in an “appreciate your business” sort of way. He wasn’t about to give anyone baked goods.

It really was the little things that reminded him of home. Even just from the smell, Chris could imagine himself back in Ellwood manor’s kitchen, crouched under some counter out of sight, waiting for the cooks to all have their backs turned so he could sneak in and pilfer it all. It just wasn’t the same when it was for someone else. The best part was, when he opened his eyes, it was all still there, and all just for him if he so desire-

“Lucky.”

Lana had uttered only a single word, but that was all it took for Chris to come crashing down. Of course the pie wasn’t just for him, even if he tried to pretend otherwise. The barmaid had placed it in front of him, but that had just been a formality. Besides, if it wasn’t for the table, Hector really needed to work on his timing. Yeah, they were making pies now, but wouldn’t they have just set some aside and waited until later?

His first instinct was to just hoard the pie to himself anyway. If anyone else wanted their own, the bar was right there. But at the same time, well, was he really going to finish this pie off while everybody else looked on? Really?

Chris tried not to sigh. “Please,” he said. “Have some. You too, Sergei.”

The offering was a little undercut, though, by Estellise coming back. A single pie? Amateur hour. “Please, eat your fill. Let me worry about expenses.” Chris couldn’t begrudge her for it or anything, but still, he was quick to change the subject.

“Hey, Estellise,” he said. “We’re just thinking about how we were going to tackle the dungeon today. Lana wants to charge in swords drawn -- axes, magic, whatever -- at every monster we see and I said we should probably avoid all that. Sergei…” Chris turned to Sergei. “Actually, I don’t remember if you agreed with either of us or had your own idea or anything like that. Do you have something to pitch in too?”

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"Alright, gang. Let's go do it! We'll clear 10 - no 20 floors!"

Sergei couldn't help but smile at the eagerness. He couldn't help but feel a bit giddy too. He'd been into the Dungeon a good number of times, but he was realizing that this might be the first time he was doing it to achieve a goal that he wanted for himself. Plus, something felt different with this group. They weren't like the other mercenaries he was used to working with, nor were they too much like the people that would normally hire him as protection. They were ambitious and authentic. Or, at least, they seemed to be from what Sergei could tell. 

He wanted to do this with them. But, the logistics had been gnawing at the corner of his mind. Undertaking an excursion like this would require a good deal of fina—

“Please, eat your fill. Let me worry about expenses.”

Estellise's arrival at the table snapped Sergei out of his thought spiral. 

"I don’t remember if you agreed with either of us or had your own idea or anything like that. Do you have something to pitch in too?”

"I think it's going to require a bit of both of your plans, actually." Sergei leaned a bit over the table, taking a bite of the pie at Chris' offer. "What do we know about the Dungeon? It's dangerous, got a lot of monsters, traps, and other hazards. And, of course, it holds the greatest treasure that the world has ever known, but no one has ever managed to get it." Sergei looked around at his new companions. 

"So, we have to go about this differently than anyone ever has before, right? We can't just count on strength to get us through, but we also can't just run through it or else we'll miss something important." 

Sergei leaned back in his chair, contemplating how to best move forward.

"I think we have to approach this with longevity in mind, be prepared for a test of endurance. And, we have to be ready to learn. There's a reason no one's ever gotten the Spark, there are too many things about the Dungeon that we don't know. So we have to think on our feet." 

Sergei looked to Estellise before continuing. "No matter what we do, we're probably going to need a lot of coin to finance it. We'll need rations and supplies," Sergei felt awkward asking someone for money, he'd gotten so used to his skills being sought after. "Are you...able to help us with that?" 

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Once the group had settled everything they got their equipment together and headed to The Dungeon. The walls were tall and imposing. As were the knights who patrolled them. The gate that would lead to where the dungeon entrance resided had two knights standing on either side. Both fully armored, with swords at their sides, and stern faces showing through their open-faced helms.

As the group approached they would see three people come out, the trio that Sergei had met at the dock. The leader, the male of the three, glanced in Sergei's direction but continued on.

When the green-haired girl saw the group she paused as well and seemed to want to say something to them but the third girl prodded her in the side and she yelped and smiled sheepishly at them.

When they continue on the knights didn't so much as budge. Their eyes tracked their movement but other than that they said nothing as they walked through the gate and into the area beyond the wall.

They could see several tents set up for emergency medical treatment near the walls, across a grassy field. Even more knights patrolled the inside of the walls. Moving in stiff and calculated paths back and forth.

In the middle was the entrance itself. A raised stone structure that resembled the entrance to a cellar. Behind it was an archway and in front of it was a particularly large knight with a helm that masked their face. Holding a spear the butt of which was placed firmly on the ground. When they approached he spoke "State your names, your purpose, and any family you represent."

When done the knight would step to the side and pulled open a metal grate. "Do not push too far. Once you reach the 5th floor if you are even the slightest bit unsure find the portal there and return."

---

Through the grate was a wide set of stairs. Leading down, down, deeper into the depths of the earth. A couple minutes passed before the steps flattened out into floor. As soon as they stepped off the steps they felt a wind pass through them. Those who had been in the dungeon before would know that this was usual for entering the dungeon. It was theorized that some sort of magic from the dungeon entered them in that moment. That the mysterious rules of the dungeon became ingrained into their bodies and souls.

They had officially entered the first floor.

Though it seemed less of a floor and more of a tunnel. Rocks and dirt surrounded them. The ceiling was eight feet above their heads and the path was large enough for three people to travel next to each other. It was silent, and dry, with what seemed to be piles of junk scattered across the ground. Shortly they would come across a split in the tunnel. Two more tunnels, roughly the same size as the one they were in, going to the left and right.

Further along the most perceptive among them would hear a rustling noise.

Spoiler

So here we go, first step into the dungeon. Now's where you'll have to be careful. Your actions can have consequences. If you're unsure of anything ask.

Anyway the images promised, of the trio that left the dungeon before you.

Male leader

Green haired girl

Other girl

 

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Estellise smiled as Chris did his best to fill her in on what she'd missed while discussing Emma and Delilah with Hector. Presented to the woman were two approaches. The first was charge in and simply face whatever approached them with raw power while the latter was to move much more carefully through the dungeon, avoiding unnecessary conflict where they could. Sergei spoke next, trying to compile information on the Dungeon itself. Being the ever-changing labyrinth that it was, it was difficult to apply previous experience to present adventures unless one had often ventured in. The Fereis woman had frequented the early floors herself with the various parties sent by her family so she felt comfortable advising the group on that much. While in thought of what to say on the matter, Estelle was interested to see Sergei's gaze turn her way as he asked for her financial backing.

"Of course." she spoke warmly and without hesitation. "So long as we avoid precious gems or meticulously enchanted pieces my personal allowance should more than see to our needs." Estelle continued while thinking of the many talks with her Mother this statement was going to earn her over time. "As for the Dungeon. I agree that we must be flexible. No single plan could account for every possibility within its walls. While it would not do to draw unneeded attention to ourselves, we will get no where planning every infinitesimal step. The early floors should hardly vex us so long as we stay together and watch our sides closely. And everyone be sure to come to me immediately if you find yourself hurt. It will not do to press on with injuries, however slight." she concluded. Some time passed, with additional discussion of their initial approach while food was had and enjoyed. Eventually when the party was ready Estellise rose gracefully and led the way to the group's destination.

---

Here they were at last, at the encampment of sorts that occupied the entryway to the Dungeon. Knights, adventurers and medics alike were spread about the area. Some were no doubt planning expeditions similar to the group. There was no one Estellise immediately recognized, and thus no direct distraction for the woman as she continued on her way to the Knight who stood guard over the entrance proper. He asked of the group their names, a purpose and any family they represented. Now this was a question to consider carefully. This was not official Fereis business but the fact remained she was a Fereis. Their purpose was the seek the Spark but was that specific enough? Estelle visibly pondered for a moment before speaking for the group.

"I am Estellise, of House Fereis. These are my companions, Sergei, Lana and Chris." she began as she motioned to each person standing at her side or behind her. The tone she employed was different from her usual warmth and brightness. This was official business and thus her upbringing as a noblewoman shown through some more. She was more detached and spoke with authority as she declared her and the group's names. "Our purpose is to conduct a preliminary investigation of the early floors of the dungeon so as to ascertain their viability for the testing of new magical theories." Estelle explained as she held her head higher, displaying some pride in what she had concocted. Once satisfied, the knight stood aside and let them pass, advising they not push too far and exit from the fifth floor should they have any doubts of their ability to continue further. This advice the woman returned with thanks as she ushered her companions into the Dungeon with her.

Once they had begun descending, almost immediately Estellise's front broke down as she began giggling about how she had interacted with the guard. Her excitement was only added to upon arriving on the first floor. The scenery was nothing impressive, rocks and dirt with debris scattered about. But to be here with a real group of adventures and not ever cautious, never moving groups of mages and hired hands was almost exhilarating. Naturally this meant the woman was being slightly less than attentive, nearly tripping on the junk lying about the room here or there. But she hardly seemed to mind as they pressed on. That was until, a split appeared in the tunnel they had been walking.

"Our first decision!" Estellise declared somewhat dramatically. "Which path will lead us onward? Splitting up so soon would be ill advised, but what say you friends?" she asked of the group. Whichever way they wanted to go she was fine with. She was just happy to be here.

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With stomach full of eggs and pie, Lana was a happy girl as they made their way to the dungeon. In high spirits, the girl felt as though she was ready to tackle anything that the dungeon could throw at her, and it was clear to see the anticipation on her face. This was then replaced with awe as they actually had approached the dungeon proper. The whole area of it was bustling with activity, a level of which that Lana had only seen at a free market. Looking at all of the other people who seemed to be gearing up for an adventure of their own, with one such group looking back at them curiously, their squad was eventually stopped by a man at a gate. 

Lana was taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor that Estelle conducted herself with, and as the girl had introduced herself was reminded yet again that she had quite the big name. Or, at least last name. Even if her first name was technically bigger in the longer sense but - all the same, Lana had relearned that she was traveling with someone incredibly important. As the guard seemed to be pleased with the girl's introduction and business - Lana giving a small wave as he was introduced - the group began to make their way into the dungeon proper. Lana looked at Estelle as she lead the way, curious about the magic the girl wanted to test or really even why so. But before she could think any more on the matter, her train of thought and gaze broken as the girl seemed to shift gears from collected and serious to giggling wildly. Lana, not really sure what was funny, awkwardly laughed alongside Estelle for a short moment as they made their way downstairs. 

Once they had hit the end of the staircase, the girl felt a strange breeze of wind rush through her, being startled by it and looking around warily. Though the sensation weirded her out for a moment, she quickly got over it as she marveled at the rocky tunnel they were in, letting out a small, "oooh," at it. Walking around, her eyes more affixed to the ceiling than anything else, the girl eventually stopped at they had gotten to a crossroads. With Estelle prompting the group to choose, Lana stepped over to the left side tunnel. "Most people follow a right hand rule, right? So, if we want to go to places they won't see, we should go left! Right?" 

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