MH3 - Chapter 3: The Legend of Sherkahn

“One-hundred and thirty-nine to thirty-six. That’s more than three quarters of the dungeon that agree,” Dolli said putting the tally papers down. “We’re going into hero territory to hunt down Sherkahn’s Shillelagh.”

“As the representative of the nay-sayers, may I speak before the decision is final, Overlord?” Rufus asked.

Dolli nodded to her Lieutenant.

“Heroes have become an integral part of our society. We gain levels from fighting heroes, villages depend on heroes for protection from monsters, and assistance with quests, they’re in our economic systems and much more. What happens when they disappear overnight?”

“We adapt, just like we had when they arrived,” Dolli said matter-of-factly.

Rufus sighed. “What if closing the portals undoes the hero magic?”

Dolli raised a brow. “Then we’ll use it when we’re well settled somewhere we’d like to stay permanently.”

Julie cleared her throat and raised a hand. “What if it doesn’t revert us to a village? What if it turns us into mindless beasts?”

This gave Dolli pause.

“I can tell ya from experience; it’s not pleasant,” Taffy said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair near the door.

“Or what if it disappears us off the face of Hafheim,” Rufus added, getting the group of Officers around the table looking uncertain.

All but Greg, who smacked his blacksmith hammer down on the table. “Do we sit back and let the heroes ravage our world because we’re afraid to die? We’ve all died a hundred times over, and this life­­­—nay, existence—is hardly worth fightin’ for. We’re raided hourly and the village suffers worst of all!”

Julie leaned forward, animated. “But whata‘bout the other dungeons? They get poofed out of existence because we think we know what’s best for this world?”

Taffy tsked. “Trust me on this on too, they’re not much better off than us. Kelzoul was an outlier. Most dungeons are getting’ their treasuries blasted open several times a day. This life isn’t much better than not existin’ at all, and if we wouldn’t have in the first place… well then we oughtta just be grateful for the ten years we got.”

Dolli slid off her chair and paced.

“If the Ex-Mas Posse don’t get their brew finished in time, they’re going to transform into—what was it?”

“Grumpus monsters. Essentially the scariest, beefiest hell-demon you can think of, on steroids, with a great passion for violence and no control.” Taffy picked at something in his teeth and jaws around the table dropped.

“If they can’t get their brew completed, we’re all in trouble. If they don’t have some peace and quiet from these raids, that’s not going to be possible.”

Dolli moved to her desk and pinned up the map she’d created. She pointed to the three spots on the map that held a piece of Sherkahn’s Shillelagh.

“We can make it to the third location and close the portals just in time for the brew to complete before the Ex-Mas Posse transforms. It’ll be tight, we’ll have only twelve hours of wiggle room, but I’m confident we can do this. Once we’re on the move, it’ll be harder for the heroes to find us. The number of raids will decrease, and with the added monster power, we might even be able to protect all of Taffy’s Egg Noggin-Fodder­—”

“Fogger, Noggin-Fogger,” Taffy emphasized, offended. “Like a hazy head? Because it gets you lit.”

“Right. So, we can go on this journey and hopefully keep the Ex-Mas Posse safe to finish their brew. We can discuss the finer points of possible futures along the way, as it will take several days. When we get the last piece of the staff, we can decide if we want to use it. Fair?”

Heads bobbed around the table.

“Good. Then we’re off.” Dolli opened her Dungeon menu and selected the “Roam” tab. A visualization of her expertly crafted map appeared on the screen. Dolli put a mental target on the first artifact location. Another popup appeared.

[TK_Roam to [LOCATION NAME]?]

Disconnecting from the Lifestream will do thing and stuff_TK.

It will take you [6] hours to get to [LOCATION_TK]. Do you want to begin your journey?

[Yes] [No]

-----

Dolli took a deep breath and selected “Yes.”

The ground rumbled and glass tinkled as the massive Turtle_TK disconnected from the Lifestream. The dungeon took its first thundering step forward, and Dolli heard cheers from outside the cottage.

“I want us all to meet back here in five hours to plan the raid. Assignments,” Dolli said, pointing at the towering Bronzite first. “Greg and Julie, will you two work on some new traps to protect that gaping hole in our dome? And something helpful to keep heroes out of Taffy’s Distillery would be next on the list. Boji, maybe your expertise in explosives could be helpful here.”

Dolli moved on to her Stagarth friends. “Rufus and Brene, would you find a few volunteers to join me on the expedition to get the first relic? Nubiri, I need your sharp eyes in the sky. Help me steer out of the way of hero parties so we can avoid detection. Taffy,” she paused, sighing, “Try not to get raided.”

“I will be studying the dive and preparing potions. Everyone good?” Dolli asked, feeling as though a mountain were before them.

Again, heads nodded around the room with a few murmurs of, “Yes, Overlord.”

Everyone stood­—save for Nubiri who snaked her head out through the window made special for her. They needed to figure out a solution that didn’t involve the wyvern having to strain her neck for sometimes hours on end.

The room emptied and Dolli sat back in her chair, letting the weightlessness of Vapor Form take her. She stared at the map on the wall, her mind turning everything over.

It wasn’t just the wyvern window that needed a proper solution. There were issues with the maze underbelly that needed fixing. Each foot was an entry point, and some entries were far easier to navigate than others. The crack in the dome was a huge weakness, bypassing the entire maze. The terrifying issue with the Ex-Mas Posse…

What if they couldn’t make the brew in time?

Dolli would have to lock them up for twelve days. She couldn’t bare to set them free on the citizens of Hafheim, and letting them roam around Monster Haven was definitely out of the question.

Dolli growled and ejected herself from the seat with force. A clear head was what she needed—other than a clone. She went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of rosemira and mint tea. Now that the dungeon was roaming, she had a need to eat and drink, which made it possible to consume. Rosemira was well known for its de-fogging abilities, and the sharpness of mint would heighten her senses.

Dolli tidied up her workspace while the kettle went, then set out three pieces of parchment and titled each one with the name of the Shillelagh piece they’d be retrieving. For only having been in Hafheim since the arrival of the heroes, Sherkahn’s Shillelagh sure had a lot of fake history around it.

The kettle whistled and Dolli let it set a moment before pouring it over the leaves. The biting fragrance of mint filled her cottage and lifted the debris from her mind. She set to work outlining the plan.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye, but Dolli had a solid foundation for their first encounter. The Necro Gem_TK relied heavily on Nether aligned spark. Her Divine creatures would be most effective, and she as a Celestial aligned creature would be most vulnerable. She’d need to fix that.

She reached for a recipe book marked by the Nether symbol; a black flame with a red core. She’d not had to deal with Nether aligned creatures in some time—at least five years. The spine of the book creaked when she opened it, and dust poofed out across the table.

In a matter of minutes she had several ideas for weapons and curative salves. She sent a message to Boji letting him know her ideas and let him know she’d deliver a first attempt within the hour.

Problem was, she didn’t have all the ingredients…

Some of them were difficult to come by, and could take her several hours to locate. Not to mention wandering outside the dungeon while it was on the move wasn’t the best idea. She could create quests for it, but they wouldn’t be filled in time. No, she needed something more immediate.

Dolli walked to her hearth and tapped twice on the glowing rune attached to Katrina’s badge. She waited a moment, then tapped three times. After another five minutes, she tapped again, relentlessly, but Katrina did not appear.

“Drat!” Dolli growled and returned to her bench. She took another sip of tea, then remembered there was still one Hero she could contact.

Dolli opened the Hero Quest menu and saw Keegan, name alight and “Summon” button flashing. She selected it, and golden-white light flared in front of her.

Keegan materialized with sword upraised and blood covering his armor. His health bar was down below half, and there was a seeping wound on his side.

“What the fu…” Keegan trailed off, but quickly caught on. He spotted Dolli and screamed.

“No!” Keegan tripped backwards and dropped his sword. “I thought we were done with this!”

Dolli put her hand out. “Peace, Keegan. I need a favor.”

Keegan’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “A favor?”

“These ingredients,” Dolli said, passing him the list along with a private quest.

Keegan stood and brushed himself off. He took the parchment and eyes went distant. He tsked a few times, then handed it back. “Uh, yeah I’m not your errand boy, especially not for five gold—jebus is that what you pay the little mage? You’re makin’ out like a bandit.”

“Katrina has other special privileges, including access to our vault whenever she has need. I can raise it to fifteen gold, and I’ll pay you up front to purchase the items from the auction. I need all these items within thirty minutes.”

Keegan raised a brow and dawned a cocky smirk. “An expedite quest, that’s gonna cost you fifty gold.”

“Agreed.” Dolli raised the reward on the quest and passed the sheet back to him.

“Shoulda asked for more,” Keegan murmured and snatched the page out of Dolli’s grasp.

Dolli held out a sack of one-hundred gold coins. “Only the highest quality herbs. I’ll even let you keep what’s left over. Remember, thirty minutes.”

Keegan grabbed the sack too and sneered at her, then mocked her accent, “Onleh the best.”

The hero disappeared in a sparkling golden cloud and Dolli shook her head. If he didn’t come through, she still had a few more tricks up her sleeve and some less effective draught that they could use. She picked up her recipes and plans, then headed to the alchemy lab to prepare, hopefully not for disappointment.