Active [Ryke - South of Ryken] Into the Dark

[Spoiled Bread]

This RP is part of the Isekai Hell setting.

A rather seemingly easy job with relatively good pay had been posted on Ryken's adventurer guild. The mission is simply to escort the clients through the nearby dungeon. No specified monster to subjugate, no particular loot to look for. Just adventuring for the sake of adventuring. What can go wrong?

Cast:
Baharius Develius
Annellnus Gilgramfried Wheatley
Mischa heartspan
Meredy Cainbell Spoiled Bread

================================================================================================

It was already half way into the afternoon when the three adventurers were told to wait in a room until their clients arrived. Spacious yet barebones, there's not much stuffs inside the room beside a couple of long benches, a few chairs and a long desk between them. The room was mostly reserved by people who need some secrecy for one reason or another. Fortunately it didn't take a long time before two cloaked figures entered the room. One was a young girl wearing a bold red cloak with similar red hair peeking out from the side of her hood while the other was an young boy, younger than the girl, he's wearing a dulled brown cloak as if he didn't want to draw attention to himself. The boy's hair was a tad lighter tone of red compared to the girl but both of them had equally dark blue eyes.

"Good afternoon, adventurers. I am Meredy, and this is my brother Damian. We will be your clients for the mission." The girl introduced both of them, her eyes scanned the adventurers one by one, staring at their eyes as she scrutinized them silently before taking her seat on one of the chair. Her tone gave a slight impression that she didn't actually want to be here in the first place.

"H-hello... P-pleasure to meet you all." Breaking his silence, the boy sounded rather nervous when he tried to greet the adventurers. His eyes wandered at the adventurers but he actively avoiding eye contact with any of them, especially Baharius. "W-we will be in your care."

"My brother want to try some adventuring, so we will go into the Shallowgrave dungeon a few miles south. Your job is to make sure no harm is done to my brother, understood?" Despite the rather ominous name the Shallowgrave dungeon was considered one of the safest dungeon around, its close enough to the city so rescue attempt cold be done quickly if the needs arise and the monster that spawned within its depth were consistently pruned by passing adventurers, making it a relatively safe place for any budding adventurer or fighter to practice their skills.

"B-before we go, can you please tell me a bit about yourself? At least the name?" The boy seemed eager to go, but he also seemed eager to know the other member of the party he would go with, he even pulled a small notebook and a pencil to boot. Ready to jot down interesting details about the adventurers.​

 

[Wheatley]

ANNELLANUS GILGRAMFRIED

​

Journal Entry 45

Eventually you'll have to decide what to do with this desire. Hunger. The orphanage doesn't have enough food to spread among all of us so we have to get scraps from the Otenza markets. God forbid you make your way to the hidden black district, but again, it's not the first time we have eaten human meat. Probably won't be the last. Begs the question, do we have similar taste receptors as beast-kin? I can sort of emphasize why they want to eat us, we taste good or is that my hunger talking?​

-Annellanus, 10 years old​

​

Ryke was exotic at first, but then in quiet moments he’d start to notice a certain rhythm. All of the fae and beast-kin that he was raised to hate all have something similar to him. We favor and enjoy eating the flesh of young animals. Chewing until fresh innocent life becomes mulched shapeless bean shaped guts thudding against teeth. If there was one thing his ears have picked up is that we all sort of chew the same way, different notes and tones but it’s the same carnal instrument.

He’d sigh and sink deeper into his chair as he waited. Helmet and visor were always on, nobody could tell if he was awake or in a deep sleep, hardly moving. Routinely exercised in the Eastern Empire military was to stay motionless for hours in thick woods. It became second nature, the pain of his joints sleeping became enjoyable.

Analyzing one of the annoyances in the room was some fucking bee fucking thing. Imagining if he captured it inside a lamp, would it glow with anger? On his previous quest he had to work along with some bean plant lady-thing, now he has to tolerate some sort of insect-thing. He sighed even deeper into his chair. It looks too cute and harmless to kill.

He remained motionless as two figures made their way. Red hair and blue eyes ain’t natural to him. But humans in Ryke are very colorful compared to the empire, still questioning what species bred them. At least their ears weren’t pointy tipped, which was a good sign. Brother sister duo was common in dungeon delving, they even had normal proportioned limbs and weak soft hands. Nobles. Even with their cloaks you could still spot a noble from a mile away. The way they walk, the way they smell, how soft their skin is.

When Gilgramfried was the boy's age he’d already had calloused hands hard enough to be called gloves. He didn’t bother to introduce himself ignoring the boys request, the visual sight of him being a human ex-militia, adventurer from the eastern empire was enough to understand him. Deciding to move his head, he looked over the lizard-thing that he had been secretly counting the scales of, and estimating their worth. He spoke in Beastial towards his new lizard acquaintance.

“~Do you want the first bite?~”

​

 

[Develius]

---

Languages:
| Common | ~Bestial~ |
Mentions:
| Spoiled Bread [Meredy Cainbell] | Wheatley [Annellnus Gilgramfried] | heartspan [Mischa] |
​

---

After spending his time in Rotia helping to prep the new recruits against the approaching "Big Freeze", Baharius returned from the frigid country back to the warm and comfortable familiarity of Ryke. The warm rays of the approaching sun and temperate climate were much more bearable for the saurian compared to the cold of of the north and he was eager to bask in its rays on his downtime. Yet once more he found himself roaming around in search for a new job, eying his options around town and the adventurer's guild.

His search would eventually lead him here, into this small sparse waiting room. Accompanying him here were two other individuals. One was a man in thick green padded leather clothing with bright crimson goggles covering his eyes. Baharius was quick to note the large longsword he wielded on his person; big in comparison to the humanoid's frame but menial against the saurian's bulk. The other individual was a tiny humanoid with the attire of the humble bumblebee, wearing a black-and-yellow stripped dress, while sporting both a pair of antennae on top of her head and insectoid wings on her back. Quite the odd ensemble trio when you put them together, but Baharius didn't seem bothered by it.

After all, he had worked alongside weirder bedfellows.

Eventually the clients would reveal themselves, being two cloaked yet humble humans that introduced themselves in kind. Meredy, the young woman, and her younger brother Damian. The saurian bowed his head slightly in a quiet yet polite greeting as he let them say their piece. Apparently the young boy wanted to try out some adventuring and had decided on going to the Shallowgrave Dungeon to dip his toes. Baharius had heard of this place before in passing but had never been in it. From his understanding it was a perfect beginner's dungeon for any novice wishing to go down the rabbit hole of dungeon delving.

Of course, both budding adventurers didn't look too jazzed to meet the folks here - aside maybe the bee-lass being the most approachable. The goggled-man's rugged stature made him rather cold and stoic in comparison... definitely didn't look to be a fan of kids. He even asked the saurian in the bestial tongue whether he wanted to go first. His comment was met with a disgruntled grunt. "~I've already ate...~" he sarcastically replied in gruff bestial.

Baharius would certainly be the most intimidating character in the room, though both adventurers would quickly find that their initial impressions were deceiving. With his [Dino Daddy] and [Gallant Keeper] titles, Baharius attempted to make a better impression on the youngins as he'd always do. His intense glare would soften as he kneeled down towards the young kid with a soft guttural chuff in the back of his throat.

"Greetings Damian." the spinosaurian introduced himself softly in common as he got down to the boy's level, "Do not be frightened... I am Baharius. A saurian from lands faaaaar from here. And I have plenty of experience exploring all manners of dungeons and ruins. A pleasure to meet you and your sister." He'd lower his snout towards the ground, as if allowing the young boy to touch his fine scales as a gesture of good will and trust.

---

Spoiler: Titles and Descriptions

- [Dino Daddy] – Despite size and appearance suggesting otherwise, the character has shown to have reliable protective father instincts towards smaller characters. Will make it easier for them to trust them.
- [Gallant Keeper] - Your nature, abilities, and skills emit a presence to those around you that they are safe, in the presence of a guardian that will get them through a battle.

 

[heartspan]

Mischa
​

Mischa drifted around the room. She would look at this or at that. The room being sparce and poorly decorated did not register to her, not in any meaningful way. When she found a thing of interest she would lick her hand and touch it. This would leave behind a thin and slimy deposit of honey. Considering everything was interesting to her it did not take long to touch everything save for the two others in the room with her. One a grim soldier type in grim type armor. Something she would often see in the various places she traveled to. The other was a great lizard man, of a size even more enormous than the soldier. This was for certain a rarity. She found them both delightfully interesting and as she climbed onto the couch to sit between them she carefully licked both her hands and placed one on each of her companions giving them each a warm and innocent smile as she did so.

The smile was a tactic she had learned early on in her travels. When someone small smiled, few could resist it. So it was that she flashed a charming grin as she lay her claim to these beings though they had seemed to not notice her activity. All interesting things belonged to Mischa by default, and leaving a trace of her honey was the visible sign of that default fact. Being the sole representative of her colony came with certain responsibilities, and one was finding interesting things to share. A second responsibility presented itself when two other people joined them after a small bit of time had passed. Both had red hair and deep blue eyes, but one the boy child was still within the zone of consumption.

This was her second responsibility; finding sources of food. Her colony mates being small in stature preferred to consume beings smaller in size, and this often meant the offspring of the various beings inhabiting the world. Therefore, they had developed a measurement system calling it the zone of consumption. It was comprised of the ages and sizes of beings that most frequently ended in easy acquisition of food. Beings outside of this range of ages and sizes were to be considered potential threats, while those within were prey items. This boy Damien was a prey item to be certain, but Mischa played the game well and pretended not to know it.

While the two explained their story Mischa listened intently. One needed to understand the things going on, otherwise the game would become much harder to play. Mischa was currently pretending to be something called an adventurer, and would help protect this boy inside something called a dungeon. So far as she understood it, dungeons were places where people pretended to be monsters, killing things and hunting about for trinkets. Mischa didn't understand it, but was giving it a try. Soon the soldier and the lizardman began to talk in a language Mischa didn't understand, but she pretended not to be interested. Instead she gave the two siblings a warm and friendly smile.

" My name is Charlotte, but my friends call me Charlie." she replied to the little boy. " Do you want to be my friend, Damien?"

Friends; this was another tactic Mischa had learned of. People let their guard down around this thing called a friend. Dangerous beings became docile, and easy prey became even easier. Therefore, Mischa loved to make friends. Before she could hear a reply the great lizardman began to make the gestures of friend making, asserting his desire for the easy prey. This agitated the little bee girl to no end.

" Baharius, this is no fair!" she proclaimed " Just because you are large, does not make you the better friend. I am small and cute. I shall be first to be Damien's friend!"



Spoiled Bread Develius Wheatley

 

[Spoiled Bread]

"Its okay, Charlie. My friend list is unlimited. Large, small, it doesn't matter, both you and Mr. Baharius can be my friends!" The boy grabbed Mischa's hand and gave her a firm friendly handshake. His face gleamed with excitement as he immediately took his chance to make new friends.

While the boy was basking in the attention, his sister was reading through a small book. Seemingly comparing whatever written there with the sunlight that peeked through the room's only window. The warm sunset light casted a reddish layer on the empty spot on the floor that it touches.

"Let's go, we are going to the dungeon now, hunt some monsters and then camp inside for the night." She announced as she closed her note.

"Can we have dinner first? I want to show Charlie some of my favorite restaurant."

"No, remember that we should be back before tomorrow noon." Meredy replied sternly, though looking at her brother's dejected face quickly made her compromise. "I guess if we can get back to the city early we can give them some breakfast, but we should still go now."

===============================================

It took slightly less than one hour walking until the group finally arrived at their destination. From the outside it doesn't looks like anything more than a big pile of rocks at the edge of a forest. Yet a closer inspection would reveal an old battered wooden sign nailed next to its entrance with 'Shallowgrave Dungeon' written on it, accompanied by what was supposedly the drawing of a skull next to it to indicate danger. There's another sign with 'do not enter' written on it, but this one had its corners already chewed on by termites and fell onto the ground.

"Shallowgrave dungeon used to be a thriving mine for mana crystals! But it runs out of crystal decades ago and had been abandoned ever since." Damian explained to the rest of the group, clearly taking pride in the fact that he actually researched about the place beforehand. "While there's no crystal left, the lingering mana is still enough to create occasional monsters. There even might still be treasures inside!"

The entrance to the dungeon was a hole that leads to a downward slope leading into the darkness. A faint smell of rots and a much stronger smell of wet soil emanates from its depth. Looking at the ground, they would see the remains of what was probably a mine track, though its wooden part was barely holding and the metal parts was already too rusty that it looks like it was part of the ground itself. The entrance was rather small so someone big like Baharius would need to take extra care to not accidentally knock the wall or ceiling of the old mine.

Lighting a torch and held it in front of the entrance, Meredy tried to look further into the mine but it was so dark that the light only gave them a 20 feet radius of bright light and an additional 20 feet of dim light. She's not keen on trying to be the first one to enter, nor would she allow her brother to do it so she signaled at the adventurers to go first.

Wheatley Develius heartspan​

 

[Wheatley]

ANNELLANUS GILGRAMFRIED

​

It splat some shit on him and smiled. He sank deeper into his chair into a great depression. Gil didn't know if he should treat it like a child spreading their germs or an insect poisoning him. Either way he was infected. Wiping it off with his glove when the beething wasn't looking proved to be counterproductive. Now his gloves were sticky, ugh. This is how a pandemic starts and he was patient zero. A thought came across his mind hoping Charlotte applies enough honey on the kid to tempt the lizard beast to take a bite.

His name is Baharius, heard about him a bit. Good lad, shame that were both going to die from honey sickness.

=====

It didn't take much skill or effort to reach Shallowgrave Dungeon. Doubting he even needed to use [Navigation F] to find it in the first place. If it's that close to the last settlement then it's obviously of no threat to the major population. Well at least not enough threat for Ryke's tolerance of monsters. Back when he was a kid in the Eastern Empire every human that had two legs would've herded together to annihilate and destroy the place until it was off the map. Sadly that's not the case. No wonder Damian is so relaxed about wanting to murder shit, he lives in a protected peaceful land sheltered by fairies and lizard dads. Gilgram wishes he had a dad growing up, can he ask Baharius to cradle him to sleep?

Meredy signaled the adventurers to go in first. He didn't know what to think about her besides that she's a child calling the shots. Her money commanded him, can't complain much.

"Yes mam."

Wondering if he packed too much with [Gear F] and [Large Rucksack] since they mentioned they were only staying one night. The talk of restaurants right after their quest made him think they didn't want to fully exterminate the dungeon. If it were up to him he'd cave in the entrance if it wasn't for the continuous lingering of mana that created monsters inside. However it probably wasn't just monsters, other simple lifeforms usually grow in these types of caves. [Survival F] has Gilgramfried fed with edible moss and mushrooms that he scavenges for during dungeon crawling. Even became quite a self found chef if he'd say so himself, he does infact know which type of mushrooms and cave herbs pair well with goblin flesh.

"The best friend goes first." Gilgramfried advances first mocking the bee. It's dark and wet. Cave 100%. If there was one advantage of this quest it gives him a chance to scavenge for tasty mushrooms. Pacing his steps as he walks forward without much of a worry. His sword isn't even drawn.

heartspan Develius Spoiled Bread

​

 

[heartspan]

Mischa
​

Mischa had hurried along after the little group, owing to her small size she often fell behind, but it only afforded her a chance to observe her companions. Observe she did, locking each detail she could into her mind. She especially kept an eye on Damien. Her mouth nearly filled to bursting with saliva and more than once she was forced to wipe it dry. Damien just looked so delicious that she very nearly lost her composure. Yet, Mischa was no slouch when it came to the pretending game and she was careful not to let her hunger show when anyone of importance was looking.

Spending the night in the dungeon was also exciting, if they found small and delicious looking monsters she could eat them in secret. It had been some time since she had last eaten a cave dweller as her kin called them. Though they were not near so good as the house dwellers her kind favored as meals, they could still satisfy. It didn't take them long to reach this dungeon, which in fact turned out to be a rather soggy smelling cave.

When Damien began to speak she turned her attention to him listening intently in case he shared anything important. Mischa loved the taste of mana crystals, they had a sweet candy like flavor and paired well with babies meat. When Damien finished his explanation she clapped her hands excitedly.

" Wow, Damien, you really know a lot." She stated in a warm and friendly tone." I am impressed."

She gave him a kind smile that sparkled in her amber eyes.

" You will make a fine adventurer." she continued.

Her friend making was interrupted by the much expired sister who indicated that they should enter the cave. Then as if simply put in the world to ruin her day, the grim soldier took the offered torch in his grim grasp, and all before Mischa could even begin to speak. Then in bold desire for an early grave he declared both his dominance over her and his desire to steal her meal. Her cheeks immediately puffed up in angry indignation and she stomped her foot.

" Charlotte does not take second place to any grim soldier doing grim teasing of his master!" she declared in bold anger " I have marked you... not the other way round!"

seeing that he ignored her she huffed after him angrily stomping her way into the cave behind him.

" Careful you don't become monster food, best friend." she stated menacingly " and do not beg later for a share of my monster meat. I will eat every scrap and not share even a single bit!"

Spoiled Bread Wheatley Develius

 

[Develius]

---

Languages:
| Common | ~Bestial~ |
Mentions:
| Spoiled Bread [Meredy & Damien Cainbell] | Wheatley [Annellnus Gilgramfried] | IanThe170 [Mischa] |
​

---

Feeling a sticky wet substance slap upon his side, the mighty saurian gave a concerned glance at the bee-lady's little antic. Did she just-? He noticed her licking her hands just a second ago. Did she really just reach out and touch both him and the other guy? He wasn't sure if he wanted to be grossed-out or honored if this was a cultural thing for... anthropomorphic bee people? It was a bit of an odd gesture but alas Baharius would reluctantly accept it with a grunt. Her face seemed innocent enough.

Baharius stared blankly at the bee-lady after she addressed her jealousy to not being the young boy's friend first. Both of eyes blinked rapidly as he was taken aback. "Excuse me-?" he asked puzzlingly as he reeled back momentarily. But before he could defend himself, Daimen would accept both of them as his new friends with a smile. Baharius laughed at his response as he reverted back to full height. "Well it's an honor for all of us to be your pal, Daimen." he replied honorably as his snout bared his conical teeth in a toothy smile. Looking over at Charlotte - or Charlie - he give her a stern but fair glance. "See? No need to be hasty now, queen bee." the saurian addressed as he got a bit closer to her, "Doesn't matter who's first to being a friend or not. Besides I'm sure the kid has made maaaany friends before even meeting us, hm?"

Meredy would address the rough timeline for their dungeoneering expedition, planning to camp in the dungeon during the late hours of the night before returning to the city by tomorrow noon at the latest. Thankfully Baharius was satiated for the moment so a second dinner wasn't necessary. Nevertheless, it was imperative that they'd leave on schedule without further delay. With a firm nod, Baharius would agree. "Lead the way."

---

After a relatively short walk from the city, the group would finally arrive at the entrance of "Shallowgrave Dungeon". Supposedly this was a mine at once point harvesting mana crystals, though it has been decades since operations ceased. What remained were monsters lurking just underneath... though they shouldn't be too troublesome to veteran warriors like himself. The thought of treasures still waiting to be uncovered in some remote parts were tempting, but overall unlikely. Then again, perhaps the magics within may grant them some fortune for their inconveniences.

"Do you have a map of this place?" he asked Meredy curiously, having failed to ask them before they departed, "It's a vital component for all budding adventurers." Admittedly, Baharius rarely used a map when entering dungeons on his own terms. Of course, those more well-known and explored dungeons are likely to have one. Those more remote wouldn't. For the saurian, he was an experienced navigator, using his senses to guide him through the winding turns and descents into places like this.

The entrance leading in was evidently dark and the smell of damp rotting matter was no doubt acute to the saurian's [Heightened Senses (Smell, Sight, Taste) D]. The clients weren't willing to enter first, with Gilgramfried offering Charlie to enter first. Once again, however, the fiery hornet within her buzzed back with furious resolve, claiming to have marked them. Ahhh, so that's what the sticky substance from earlier was. At least he thought. Probably allowed her to track the scent of her own honey attached to her allies. Though truly this tiny bee also packed quite a verbal sting.

"Settle down now." the saurian proclaimed to Charlie with a deep grumble, "At this rate you'll wake up the residents before we even take a step inside!" He was somewhat jesting at that last part. Nevertheless, the saurian looked back at the clients and motioned them to follow close. Leaving the other two to bicker amongst themselves, Baharius took the moment to start chatting with Damien. "So..." he asked the young boy in a cheerful kid-friendly manner, "What inspired you to want to try out dungeon delving, young one? Heard stories from the Adventurer's Guild? A sense of overwhelming adventure looking for fame n' fortune? Or perhaps something else entirely?"

 

[Spoiled Bread]

"Yeah, we both have a map. This is a well documented place so its easy to find one." Meredy produced a parchment from the inside of her sleeve and let Baharius took a brief glance at it. The place looks like a simple set of tunnels with several branching paths inside, but nothing too complicated, although he also spotted 1F written on the corner so the place likely have more than 1 layer.

"I'm keeping this one but if you need a map you can take my brother's, he probably already memorized the place." Damian gave her sister a sheepish smile when he heard it, he would then handed Baharius similar map to the one that he just saw from Meredy.

"Here, Mr. Baharius, you can have mine."

------------------------------
Baharius obtained Shallowgrave Map 1F
------------------------------

The group smoothly descended into the dungeon as they bickered along the way. Gilgramfried would notice a few blue glowing mushroom grows within the crevices of the wall, simply called miner's trail, its a species native to the fae see that was spread by druids to help underground workers and adventurers mark the safe path in a more natural way. Its edible but can be toxic when eaten too much, which was why some people use it to get high.

The narrow entrance opened up to a much larger chamber, enough to hold a large gathering comfortably. The wall and ceiling of this room were reinforced with wooden planks and pillars, although the woods had also been falling apart in several spots. Other than the way they came from, there's two other paths available, one of them was submerged in 4 feet of water and seemed to lead to an even lower floor, although the map indicates there's more to the first floor beyond the water, the other one was a seemingly regular cave where the stench of rots seemingly come from, a few miner's trails could be seen hanging on the crumbling wooden support. On one of the corner of the chamber a decent-sized spot had its wooden floor completely removed and a shallow hole had been dug on its center. The soot and wooden bits inside indicates that the spot was repeatedly used as a place to build campfire.

"It smell like someone flattened a gecko between their door frames." Meredy pinched her nose to block the smell, although she quickly get used to it.

"We will build our camp here later, so you can leave your stuff here if you want." She pointed at the woodless corner. The siblings themselves didn't seemed to carry much, Damian did have a wand tucked on his belt but Meredy seemed to brought nothing but the clothes she was wearing.

"I heard a lot of cool stuffs and always wanted to try adventuring at least once, but my parents are against it and my schedule is just full of studying. My sister is a master of sneaking out though so just this once I got her to organize it."

"In other word, he is just bored." Meredy chimed in, which earned a chuckle from the boy. "Out of all things he can ask for his birthday."

"D-does monster meat taste good?" The mention of eating monster seemed to have piqued Damian's interest. He know some people ate them, but this was his first time directly meeting someone who ate them.

Wheatley Develius heartspan​

 

[heartspan]

Mischa
​

As Mischa walked with Gilgramfried she would occasionally steal glances at the other three. She had been forced to let slide many things the big Baharius had said...all save queen bee....which she took to heart. She was unsure if he was simply acknowledging her greatness, or mocking her for being so cute and small. She had chosen the former, she was obviously deserving of such a great title. She was also too adorable to be mocked so thoroughly. She looked up at Gilgramfried as they neared the opening to another chamber within the dungeon.

" I suppose, I shall allow you to take me as your queen...just as Baharius has done." She stated confidently " after all; Grim soldiers should serve a sweet and cute queen."

Once they entered the chamber she was quick to stay out of the way, watching and listening to her companions. Taking special note of Meredy whom she saw as a very real threat. The girl was mysterious and this stank of danger to the little bee-girl. Yet, she knew she also had to continue playing the pretend game, else wise these fellows would be eating Mischa steaks for their dinner. This was definitely not in her aspirations in even a remote way.

However, when Damien brought up monster meat she could not help but get excited. She darted up to Damien her eyes wide with enthusiasm. If there was one thing she loved it was to eat.

" Monster meat is delicious Damien." she stated hungrily " You just need to avoid the poisonous ones."

She suddenly looked very shrewdly at everyone present but especially the three older beings.

" Bee-people do not taste good, and are not monster meat." she declared astutely

A smug self satisfied smile crept onto her face. She had made sure to safeguard herself in such a crafty way that she could not help but feel superior to her companions.

Develius Spoiled Bread Wheatley

 

[Wheatley]

ANNELLANUS GILGRAMFRIED

​

What the fuck.

He looked down at the yellow toddler prancing alongside him. The smirking insect mentioned that she was his queen? "..yes" He could literally just headstomp her with the height difference but has to remind himself that isn't socially acceptable anymore.".. yes, mam"

For fucks sake he's going to need to take some edge off if he's going to play along. What did I get myself into he keeps asking himself. Gilgramfried is totally fine with mass murder and being physically trained to an inch of life, but going on a peaceful trip alongside children is where he draws the line.

Quickly grabbing mushrooms that he recognized as miners trail. Common and easy to exploit. Usually he'd scavenge it into bag for safekeeping. It was a good ingredient for cooking in small portions but that wasn't what he was looking for. A handful went into his mouth, munching on it's raw poison to ease his mind to be comfortably numb.

Slouching his rucksack as he succumbs into a different state of mind. Gilgramfried picks out some glowsticks that he acquired with [Gear F], [Alchemy F] and drops one down to mark their trail. It was a beginners dungeon and a rather easy path to follow but soldiers training were instinctual. In beastial he whispered for the lizard dad. "~honesty is key~" he sighs

"Kobolds taste as good as human meat if you prepare them rare." Advancing forward towards the lower level without any care.


heartspan Develius Spoiled Bread

 

[Develius]

---

Languages:
| Common | ~Bestial~ |
Mentions:
| Spoiled Bread [Meredy + Daimen Cainbell] | Wheatley [Annellnus Gilgramfried] | heartspan [Mischa] |
Items:
[Shallowgrave Map 1F (x1)]
​

---

"Ah excellent." Baharius confirmed as he took a brief look at the map in his hand, "Thank you Daimen." Truthfully this was more of him wanting to check the layout of this dungeon and get familiar with the interior. After all, it was rare to come across a map for any particular dungeon - least of all one so readily documented quite like this. It was always best to be prepared and clearly their clients have taken a good amount of said precautions in regards to their familiarity with this place.

Baharius laughed heartedly at Meredy's comment about Daimen's reasonings to join. "Well it's certainly important to keep up with your studies," he replied casually with hints of earnest, "But it doesn't hurt to go on a little adventure to unwind... so long as you know what you're doing of course. Don't worry though. We won't tell your parents a thing." He gave a cheeky wink at Daiman afterwards.

With his [Heightened Senses D], Baharius' sight and smell were keenly attuned to his surroundings. And indeed, as Meredy commented, the place smelled quite rancid. That damp murky cave smell coupled with the faint smell of mold and old rot was incredibly pungent. Yet the saurian had smelled worse... far worse then this. He glanced over at Gilgramfried foraging a few glowing azure mushrooms, some he pocketed while popping one in his mouth. The bright colors usually meant the fungi was toxic to an extent. While he considered warning the soldier of the risks, the saurian reeled back on his words believing he knew what he was getting himself into.

That or he had some sort of resistance to poisons.

Gilgramfried had also quickly crafted a few glowing sticks, dropping one down purposefully with a harmless thunk on the grimy gave floor. It glowed a luminescent blue that was easy to spot in the dim-dark area of the cave. While not nearly as bright as a torch, it still was indeed a handy tool to ensure they know their way back. "Hmm, clever." he remarked bluntly with mild-interest.

When Daiman asked about the taste of monster meat, he was given swift answers by Mischa and Gilgramfried in short order. The former enjoyed the non-toxic ones, but said that "bee-meat" both didn't taste good and that it wasn't monster meat. A slightly odd remark by the bee-girl but Baharius didn't pay much mind to the thought.

But it was here when Gilgramfried spoke in bestial to him, requesting for some "honesty" in the matter. "~You go first.~" Baharius requested. Indeed, this warning would nullify slightly the saurian's reaction to the soldier admitting how rare-prepared kobolds tasted a lot like... human meat. The saurian gave a concerned glance at him regardless. "~Never thought to consider you partaking in cannibalism...~" he remarked back in bestial still processing that information. Needless to say, the saurian had never tasted - or the very least consumed - humanoid sentients, let alone others of his kind. It was a good thing kobolds and "Fantozoican" saurians weren't actually related to each other.

"As Mischa said." Baharius responded to Daiman back in common, "It largely depends on the monster. Now... I don't recommend eating other sentient humanoids... or any rotting or toxic monsters... unless you're VERY desperate or have resistances to said effects. But there's still a good deal of fauna you can safely consume so long as you prepare them properly. I myself prefer more... aquatic varieties."

Looking at the upcoming chambers, the spined-saurian took a minute to observe each of the two chambers carefully with his [Heightened Senses D]. One lead to a deeper floor was submerged in waist-deep water... not a problem for Baharius to wade through given is nature. The other had a much stronger potency of rot emanating from deeper within this level. "I can guide us through the water cave if need be." he remarked astutely, "But if there's more to this level down the other way... we can investigate it with caution."

 

[Spoiled Bread]

"I want to try monster meat!" Damian exclaimed eagerly after hearing the other's answers. He's not sure if he would like it but seemed like a very adventurey thing to do. He was surprised when Gilgramfried suddenly mentioned human meat, his face went slightly pale as he asks.

"H-have you eat human meat, mister?"

"Nah, he's tripping. Don't mind him." Meredy interjected, pointing at the glowing mushroom he just munched on. Though she might just not want to make her brother uncomfortable.

===========================

With Gilgramfried leading the way and Baharius offering to guide the others through the water, its decided that the party would continue down the flooded tunnel. Damian held the saurian's tail as they went down, but once the water became too high for him he just ends up latching on Baharius' back. Meredy was tall enough to wade through the water alone without getting drowned but she kept groaning in disgust with every steps she took.

Fortunately for them, after several turns the flooded tunnel eventually led to a set of stone stairs that brought them back onto the dry floor, in another large chamber even bigger than the one before. However, everyone would notice a glaring difference between this part of the cave from the one where they came from. It's too well kept. There's no debris in sight and instead they could see dozens of wooden crates neatly piled and arranged at the side of the chamber. The curious Damian lifted the lid of one of the box and was confused at what he found inside.

"Clothes...??" He pulled out a long fine silks robe from the box, he opened another one and found rare spices inside, he opened one more box and this time found jewelries. Within each and every box were various luxury goods that would fetch a high price in the market.

"Oya? What do we have here? Adventurers stumbling into the warehouse? Great, I'm starting to get bored." From within the dark corner of the chamber, where the light of the torch didn't reach, a low guttural voice with thick Ororoot accent could be heard. Baharius' enhanced sight wouldn't give him much as there's not enough light but he could see the sillhouette of a hulking humanoid figure with wild hair on his head. "Boss is stupid to think a little water would deter adventurers, I know you guys better... not even a dragon would stop you, actually it would entice you even more. The more danger, the better!"

"E-errmm... mister, w-who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, a kid? It's not really my style but a job is a job." For a brief moment the voice sounded slightly more gentle as he addressed Damian. "You can think of me as a... security officer here. My job is to make sure that nobody from the outside knows about the project. But this is a really boring job, so please..."

"Entertain me." A large blur dashed out of the darkness with uncanny speed. Damian instinctively raised his arms as he thought the figure would charge at him, but he didn't. The figure passed both Damian and Mischa as he head straight towards the biggest target: Baharius. The blur finally took shape as the torch's light shone on him, revealing an almost 7 ft of solid muscle and fur as he launched a downward vertical kick aimed at the saurian's snout.

Wheatley Develius heartspan​

 

[heartspan]

Mischa
​

Mischa turned to look at Gilgramfried with a sinister grin as he mentioned the taste of human meat. While she had never tasted kobolds, she knew well that human meat was tasty. Well any sentient meat that wasn't suffering from steep toxicity was tasty in her opinion. Still she could not suppress her deep grin, knowing the grim soldier was indeed one of her people, an eater of men.

Her gaze soon slid over to Baharius, her smile sliding away into a more neutral look. It was surprising that the big Lizard-man didn't also eat sentient creatures. She thought he was wasting an opportunity for not just the tastiest meat, but also some of the easiest to catch. She was just about to mention as much, her little mouth opening before swiftly closing soon after. Remembering in that moment, that she was playing the pretend game. Her gaze then turned to Meredy.

She knew better than to mess with the girl. She was a very real threat, though Mischa was not really sure why she felt this way. The girl acted cool and aloof, but something told Mischa not to drop her guard around the girl. Even more than the grim soldier, and the Great Lizard-man, Meredy was a threat to the little bee-girl. Every instinct told her to leave the girl to her own devices. So much so that she didn't even dare to mark Meredy with her honey.

===============================​

Once the decision of where to go was made the party was swift to action. Unfortunately, they had chosen the water path. Mischa hated water, but this time she was lucky enough to be able to ride on Baharius, a thing she chose to do much sooner than young Damien. Once the young boy climbed up she offered him a sweet grin.

" I hate water." she stated sweetly

Once on the other side of the water the tunnel opened into a much larger room. One even larger than the last one. Boxes lined a side of the place, and as Damien darted over to them, Mischa followed in his wake. She too was curious what was in the boxes, but quickly lost interest in the clothes, spices, and jewelry. They were things that did Mischa very little good and subsequently held very little interest for the bee-girl.

The booming voice from the shadows that followed after their discovery caught much more of her attention. Chit-chatting with Damien before suddenly darting from the shadows, the voice turned out to be a lion-man. Normally this would not be seen as a prey item to her, being much passed the zone of consumption. Yet with Baharius, Meredy, and the grim soldier she was assured the chance of trying lion-man. This excited her greatly and she was ready for his assault as he seemingly ran toward her and Damien. This was not so though as he made to rush passed the little ones. Mischa tried to use this to her advantage. Her knife flashed out quickly, as she tried to rapidly stab the Lion-man twice as he darted passed her.

Her poison technique would ruin a small portion of the meat, but it was a loss she was willing to suffer. She did her very best not to be struck or bowled over, but was willing to take the risk if it meant landing a hit.

Spoiler: actions

1. Bee Stings Level 2 : bee style knife arts F + blight poison F + Energized F : Allows Mischa to add poison to her stabbing : Grade F : -1 Post Cooldown : Base Effectiveness: 3
2. Bee Stings Level 2 : bee style knife arts F + blight poison F + Energized F : Allows Mischa to add poison to her stabbing : Grade F : -1 Post Cooldown : Base Effectiveness: 3

Spoiled Bread Wheatley Develius