RotD - Chapter 11: Respawn Essence

It took them only an hour to fly back to Monster Haven and Dolli marveled at the maintained speed of the floating reindeer. When the pack slowed, Taffy—the lead elf—began a chant of “Ho, Ho, Ho!” and the reindeer galloped into action. It was as if the whip of a cruel master were at their backs.

With nothing to do, Dolli opened her Overlord menu to check in.

[TK_Dungeon Level Up – 8!]

Mention the 25ft increase in dungeon ascension here and then do the whole “cool ass fuckin ability in two more levels bruh” notification.

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Dolli moved on to the Dungeon Abilities_TK and selected a thing from last time that she really wanted but had to prioritize something else over it…

There were two messages in the chat system from Rufus and she panned to that menu.

Rufus: Hero influx has slowed over the night. I’ve moved everyone to building reinforcements but we’re running out of materials.

Greg: We need to start mining the mountains. I’ll send my apprentice out if you can divert a few dungeonfolk to protect him.

There were no other replies, so Dolli assumed they’d met up in person to figure it out. She changed over to the tasks list to see that some dungeonfolk were idle, but without a Dolli’s ability to provide a near-constant stream of heroes, and running out of materials, it was expected.

They deserved a break whether they could afford one or not. Dolli had been working them to the bone… just like another Overlord she knew. She took a deep breath of crisp morning air and closed the menus.

They came around the final hill down into the valley where the village of Little Crossroads once sat. Now, Monster Haven’s ninety-foot tall tower stood in its place, bathed in the pinks and oranges of the rising sun. Even at a distance Dolli could see Haven was awake and busy.

With no need to sleep, much of the upper village had been transformed into public crafting and hobby areas. Of course, with Kelzoul on the way, those had quickly been transformed into training areas, traps, and weapon mounts. The nightwatch had their primitive ballistae trained on Dolli and her group as they galloped into town. The reindeer landed down the main road with a clattering clop that echoed across the reinforced buildings.

Rufus, Greg, and a small army of Osorath met Dolli at X Marks the Spot. Their faces were hard, not betraying the relief she felt radiating off them.

Dolli dismounted and curtsied deeply to Taffy. “We’re in your debt for such a daring rescue.”

Taffy blew a raspberry. “Save the pleasantries, we ain’t staying.”

The elf’s strange accent and cavalier attitude was unlike anything Dolli had experienced. It wasn’t just Taffy’s accent that was strange, but his clothes, his magic, and his weird reindeer, too. He couldn’t have been from anywhere near the five kingdoms, that was for sure.

Dolli collected herself. “I was simply thanking you.”

Taffy leaned to the side and rested his elbow on his knee and his face on his hand. “The very next question was gonna be, ‘Ey why dontcha hang ‘round and stick it to the old Overlord?’ Wasn’t it?”

Dolli smiled calmly. “Well why don’t you? I have a method to actually kill him.”

“Why would we care ‘bout that?” Taffy asked, balking. He turned to the others, and they chuckled darkly.

“You cared enough to help us escape not once, but twice,” Dolli retorted.

Taffy scoffed. “Look lady, we used you. We’ve been wanting out of that dungeon for months and your little antics were the perfect distraction.”

Dolli could see appealing to their empathy wasn’t going to get her far—though she noted that they most certainly didn’t have to save them the second time. Taffy and his crew could’ve left while Dolli’s team caused the ruckus, but they came back for her instead. Still, she decided to try a different tactic.

“He’ll hunt you and every other dungeon in Hafheim until they’re all his. If we don’t stop him now, there may be no stopping him ever.”

“Prancer here’s faster than any of his best fliers,” one elf said, patting her reindeer—Prancer—on the neck. Prancer leaned into the touch affectionately and the elf scratched behind its ear.

“You’ll run forever, then?” Rufus asked, coming to Dolli’s side. The male skolf was hanging off his shoulder, sniffing at the elves and reindeer.

Taffy backed away from the oversized weasel with a scowl. “If we have to.”

“You could make a home here,” Dolli offered. “We pursue our passions, make families, have festivals… we live here.”

Taffy looked to his crew of elves; their faces were apprehensive. They exchanged only glances, but it was enough to come to a decision. Taffy looked back at Dolli with a defeated expression. “Look, that sounds pretty nice and all, but you guys don’t stand a chance. We’ve seen him murder dozens of dungeons, some more powerful than you.”

Taffy sighed. “We can’t be dyin’ for some dungeon we don’t hardly know.”

Rufus opened his mouth to protest, but Dolli stopped him. “No, he’s right.” She looked to Taffy. “You didn’t have to save us, but you did. Whether it was selfish doesn’t matter, we must repay that debt. Let us feed and equip you before you go.”

The elves glanced between one another, then stroked their reindeer’s manes. The reindeer stamped their feet and bleated. Still, they looked wary of the offer.

“Not sure it’s such a good idea,” Taffy replied. Dark circles ringed his eyes like he hadn’t slept in a day or two and the rest of his company didn’t look much better.

“You may not get another chance to eat and rest for days,” Dolli pressed.

They exchanged a few more glances, then Taffy dismounted. “We gladly accept if we can be quick. Is there anywhere the reindeer could rest?

Dolli looked up to one of the surrounding Osorath. “Could we see if the stables have been converted yet?”

The dungeonfolk grimaced but nodded. Dolli could feel she was frustrated by this request—why were they wasting time? But it wasn’t a waste of time to Dolli. Taffy and his crew had been inside Kelzoul’s horde for dozens of raids. He would have valuable knowledge about how he raided, and that could save their tails if the potion plan went tits up. It was always best to have a backup plan.

“Rufus, could you pour us some ale?” Dolli asked her friend with a bright smile.

Rufus seemed to get Dolli’s intention without missing a beat—or perhaps he thought she was still trying to convert them, she wasn’t sure. Either way, Rufus nodded and led on to his inn. “Do you prefer light or dark ales Mr…”

“Dark, and it’s just Taffy,” the elf said as he strutted beside Rufus. “That’s Peppermint, Truffle, Ginger, Caramel, Cookie, Nog—short for Eggnog—, Fudge, and Gumdrop.” He pointed to the other elves in turn. There was no way Dolli would remember all of them from that brief introduction.

The elves were only a half foot to a foot taller than Dolli, and only came up to Rufus’ waist, but they walked with the confidence of an Osorath. Hollow bells clanked together without a jingle as they walked into the inn. They found a long table that could fit everyone, and Rufus went to the bar.

Dolli took the seat next to Taffy. “How long were you with Kelzoul.”

Taffy’s face wrinkled in disgust. “Too damn long. We never got ale, either. Been years since we’ve tasted a good brew.”

“Ours is decent. We were recently a village of citizens and when we transformed into a dungeon, we lost all our skill. Had to start over.”

“A village of NPCshuh? How’d this happen to ya?” Taffy asked while he watched Rufus behind the bar.

“I was negligent. My village suffered a plague, then a severe reputation hit, and another, and another. I stopped putting in the work and hid from them until almost everyone had left. Then one day I got a notification that said we’d turn into a dungeon. Now here we are.”

Taffy’s eyes drifted from Rufus to Dolli. “And you had to restart from scratch? Yeesh, that sounds rough. Good thing though. TK_Kelzoul doesn’t spare villages either, and they’re prime pickings.”

Rufus came back to the table, two platter stacked with beers and bread balanced in each hand. He distributed the drinks, then held up his own for a toast. “To new friends, even if you’re not staying long.”

“Thanks,” Taffy said before diving into his drink. He took it in huge gulps, groaning with satisfaction every time he swallowed. In just a few seconds, their cups were emptied.

Rufus blinked in surprise. “I’ll get a pitcher.”

Dolli couldn’t waste any time. “Any information you can share could help us in the coming battle. Who does he send first? What are their abilities? What is his rest and feeding rotations—”

Taffy held out a hand to stop her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I thought this was a gesture of thanks?”

TK_Dolli shrugged. “You also used me and killed my guard.”

Taffy pointed at Dolli, then spoke with a huge hunk of bread crammed in his mouth, “I did her a favor, which ain’t somethin’ we hand out all the time.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice not having to look over your shoulder every morning? Your information could help us defeat him.”

“You, defeat him?” Taffy laughed, then glugged down his second pour. He slammed the cup down and belched loudly.

Dolli caught Rufus’ eye as everyone else focused on their bread and beer. She mouthed, “Stew,” and Rufus gave a discrete nod. While they didn’t need to eat, Rufus had discovered that food came with interesting bonuses for a limited time—some of them actually beneficial.

“Look, you seem like a nice Overlord, and that’s great and all, but Kelzoul is gonna be here in three days. He’s going to wash this place in blood and steal your souls—you can’t stop him. He’s gonna come looking for information about the escapees though, and the less you can tell him about us, the better.”

Dolli made a mental note of the timeline but didn’t pin her survival on it. Kelzoul could move faster if he sent a smaller detachment of forces.

“What if that information can stop him? Wouldn’t that be worth the risk?”

Taffy shot her a look of sympathy. “No, because your chances are that bad. I’m not tryin’ to be an asshole, just sayin’ it like it is. He’s level forty-five and all of his generals are in the high thirties. He’s got unbelievable dungeon abilities—some real shit-your-pants type stuff.”

Dolli nodded thoughtfully and filed away the additional freely given information. Rufus came with the stew and Dolli let Taffy get a few bites. He held the bowl so close to his mouth Dolli thought he might start drinking it from the edge to get it down faster.

When their feasting slowed, Dolli spoke again. “I’ve been doing some math and I think you’re right: we’re all going to die. What can I do to save some of them?”

“Tell’em to run, like us,” Taffy said with a shrug. “Few day’s head start, some of ‘em will get away, at least for a while. Eh, and you could always try sacrificing yourself.”

“One of the monsters, Bakreh, told me I could do that. Is that how you survived?”

Taffy seesawed his head. “Kinda. Our Overlord wasn’t such a great guy and we, uh, well we wrapped’em up and dropped’em off on Kelzoul’s doorstep. That got us in, but everyone else… our whole dungeon was wiped out like that”—he snapped his fingers. “We were the most difficult dungeon in the Frost Bane expansion, and he steamrolled us! Well, them.” Taffy scowled and his eyes went distant.

“He made us fight at the front to demoralize the others. They didn’t want to hurt us.”

He shook his head and took another long pull of ale. For how small he was, Taffy was certainly putting it back.

“Do you think he’ll do that to us? We’ve had a few defectors, though I saw some of them had already been killed.”

Taffy nodded, his gaze still unfixed and wandering. “He takes the souls of the strongest, tortures them for information first, of course, then he’ll put the weak ones up front. If you die, he doesn’t respawn you, just eats you. Takes that essence and forces it to join as his own to strengthen himself—not his commanders though. His own kind he’ll respawn, so we know it’s possible… but we were all expendable. Fight to stay alive. Every battle could be your last.”

“That sounds horrible,” Dolli said, putting a misty hand on his forearm.

“Yeah well, we’re out now.” Taffy sniffed and then shook Dolli’s arm free for another drink. He slammed the glass down and stood. “We best be on our way.”

His posse followed suit, finishing up whatever they had. Some were shoving hunks of bread into their pockets and others downed the last bits of ale from the tankards.

Dolli walked him out to the main street and asked for their reindeer from a passing goblin. He nodded and ran off toward the stables.

“Wow, you’ve really got some diversity in here,” Taffy noted.

“We don’t call it Monster Haven for nothing.”

The reindeer came trotting down the street, apparently revitalized from their short break. The elves mounted up and Dolli watched with anxious nerves. Her plan had better work.

“We wish you a safe journey,” Dolli said with a smile that belied her fear.

Taffy turned his mount and trotted to her side. He leaned down and looked at her gravely. “When he thinks he’s won, he’ll come struttin’ in here to kill you himself. I hope you’ve got a trick up your sleeve for when the time comes.”

“Me too.” Dolli didn’t know how she was going to get Kelzoul low enough health to drink a potion, but at least she had that advantage. They knew what they had to do, and they’d figure it out.

Taffy turned his mount and galloped down the main street. White mist gathered at the reindeer’s feet, and they took off into the sky, walking on air. The elves waved and Taffy shouted through the chill wind, “Thanks for the hospitality! Don’t die!”

Dolli didn’t intend to. There were preparations to be made, two more dungeon levels to go, and alliances to be forged if they were going to survive. Dolli knew just where to start but didn’t know how her people would take it. Could they survive without the heroes’ help?