Dark Lord Saga : The Blood Mage

Chapter 9 : Gaping Maw

The Great Yamato Mountain had two forests between Grey's village and Baylee's camp. Though it was difficult to distinguish them from one another at night, during the day their differences could plainly be seen. The first forest was one of mostly conifers, bright colored trees that had speckled spots that dotted their surface. Their leaves were small and light. They gave off a friendly atmosphere and had plenty of low hanging fruits that would dangle over your head.

The second forest was one of bamboo, a tall grass that shot up from the ground, touched the sky and leaned over, arching down and planting themselves back into the ground. This forest looked like a row of snakes, burrowing and unburrowing, through a sea of mud and soil. It was at this forest, that Baylee, Dane, Grey, Sho, Little Cloud, and the chubby mage found themselves in the early morning, having eaten a large dinner the night before.

"I must go back to my folks. We might be trying our luck again later in the day, but our warrior wanted to see if anyone was selling high grade gear. While our rogue. I'm sure she's already off to find herself a new boyfriend."

The chubby mage bowed and then left towards an opening in the bamboo. As he did, a man appeared out of the shadows, startling everyone except for Dane and Baylee.

"Hello friends," said Vernon. "What do we have here? Who are these little children? Did you two get married or something while I was away?"

Dane scoffed.  "Fellow, stop scaring the kids. I already heard about your mischief from the other adventurers. Why do you always got to pick a fight?"

"A fight? Me?" laughed Vernon, "I am but a delicate flower. It's not my fault if one or two folks get a taste of my thorns. Beautiful things are to be admired, not touched."

"Saying such strange things again," mumbled Baylee, shaking her head. "Regardless, you have good timing. We are all here now. Did you sort out your things?"

Vernon smiled. "Of course. Flash powder, poisons, extra rope, and sleeping bags."

Baylee lay out a map on the table in their tent. Grey and Sho leaned over curiously. A little spirit mouse peeking from the top of Sho's head.

"Well, then I'll begin our strategy of attack. The first obstacle is obviously the entrance. The chasm goes down about seven hundred feet. There is no bottom, at least I assume if you ever reach the bottom, you'd be crushed by some incredible magical force. Every forty feet, jutting out the corners of the chasm, are tunnels that take you to a different level of the dungeons. The first three hundred feet have been explored to around 15%. After four hundred feet there is a strange force that blocks you from entering the tunnels. The tunnels themselves are much larger about fifteen feet high. Near the bottom at seven hundred feet, the tunnel entrances then shrink to only three feet wide. Enough to crawl, but not to walk. Of course these too are protected by a strange force."

Dane nodded his head. "Then it is a stepwise dungeon?"

"That is correct," replied Baylee. "We have to complete the areas near the top to be able to enter the areas near the bottom. The force blocking the lower levels should dissipate once we reach the end of each level."

"What's the boundary area?" asked Vernon.

"Around forty feet. The moment you see the first tunnel. The dungeon will suck you right in."

Dane shook his head. "Hungry fellow isn't he?"

"More like hilarious," laughed Vernon. " I saw him push off a ranger the other day. Was quite the spectacle."

"Also, from what I discussed with Marlin, it appears the dungeon has already gained a name. People are calling it the Gaping Maw."

"Better then calling it new dungeon or big hole dungeon I suppose," murmured Dane.