Sarah's Story Chapter 055 - Disaster in the Deep Woods Dungeon

There was a storm rolling in. The light outside was dimming fast under the dark clouds, and a cacophony of shouts poured out of the Adventurer’s Guild and into the streets along with the lamplight spilling from the windows.

“Call up the Wolf’s Fang!”

“They’re out of town!”

“Then get The Scarlet Promise!”

“They’re on a self-development journey!”

Sarah pushed through the doors and stood on the threshold. There was a cluster of priests and apothecaries tending to a young man Sarah recognized from her Scouting courses the prior year. He was in bad shape. Unconscious. Head wound. Rolled on his side, Sarah could see the lacerations deep, deep into his back. Likely blood loss.

There was a gasp, and Sarah’s attention honed in on Beth, who looked like she’d seen a ghost. But before Sarah could say anything, Beth turned and ran up the stairs.

More shouting. “It’s a B Rank Dungeon, you need at least a B Rank Party to go in there! And if what Benny said is true, multiple parties!”

“There’s no time, it’s already been hours!”

“Sam, please!”

Sam was there, backed against a wall, surrounded by adventurers and non-adventurers alike. They were desperately pleading for his aid, and he had his arms folded and a grim expression on his face.

“It’s too dangerous and we don’t have the personnel. We—oh, Sarah.” He noticed Sarah, his eyes widened, and he swore under his breath.

Then he pushed through the crowd as though the people weren’t even there and made his way towards her.

“Sarah, you picked the worst possible time. Listen, don’t—”

“Adventurer Sarah!” Beth’s voice cut through the din and everyone fell silent.

All eyes were on her.

Beth gestured up the stairs.

“The Guildmaster would like a word.”

“Sarah, don’t! It’s too dangerous—”

Sarah looked at the large Survivalist and shrugged. “Thanks, Sam, but I’ve put on a few levels since we said farewell. I promise: if it’s too dangerous, I’ll say no.”

Sam clenched his fists and he looked concerned, but he managed to nod.

Sarah found herself in the Guildmaster’s Office once more. She nodded in greeting. “Evening, Guildmaster. What’s going on?”

The Guildmaster was poring over a map on his desk, with party registration forms scattered all over. He jerked up, as though surprised at her presence. “Sarah? Is that you? Oh, thank the gods, now we can—”

“Guildmaster,” Sarah said sharply, “what’s going on? I just got back less than an hour ago.”

Sarah had never seen the Guildmaster look so frazzled. Hadn’t even imagined it was possible. The Guildmaster seemed to recognize this himself, so he stood up straight, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

Then, with impossibly fast movements, he prepared tea, almost like it was a way to relieve his stress.

In under a minute, Sarah and the large man were sitting across from each other, teacups in hand, and the Guildmaster was explaining.

An hour ago, Scout Benny from the Treasure Seekers party barely made it back to the city gates, nearly dead, reporting that the rest of his party was in trouble. The B Rank Party had been exploring the B Rank Deep Woods Dungeon, one of the older Dungeons near the capital, and had stumbled upon a pitfall trap leading to an entirely new area of the Dungeon.

“It appears the Dungeon has expanded horizontally yet again. It’s on the second floor, luckily, but it’s still the Deep Woods Dungeon. Its floors are much larger than typical dungeons, and the terrain is confusing and easy to get lost in. Plus, there are more traps than average.”

Sarah nodded. “Okay, pitfall trap, second floor, party in danger. What kind of danger?”

If they were just stuck, that was one thing. But…

“Monster swarms. They were nearly overwhelmed, and their leader used a Sanctuary Scroll, and Benny managed to get away to report back and seek aid.”

Sarah held up a hand to interrupt. “Sanctuary Scroll?”

“It’s a scroll that casts the spell ‘Sanctuary.’ It creates a safe zone, blocking monster entry.”

“So they’re sitting in a safe zone right now?”

The Guildmaster shook his head. “Such scrolls only last for a certain amount of time. Half an hour, a couple hours, it’s hard to say.”

Sarah frowned, and drained her teacup. “So what’s the plan?”

The Guildmaster clicked his tongue. “There isn’t one. Dammit, every B Rank Party is either laid up or out of town, the Dungeon is too much for even multiple C Rank Parties, and Sam wouldn’t be fast enough to get through the Dungeon to the rescue.” The man folded his hands, interlacing his fingers in front of his face, and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes narrowed.

Sarah could already tell what he wanted.

“Sarah, I’d like to ask you to take an emergency request. If you’re able to find and retrieve the Treasure Seekers, at least recover their bodies if it’s too late, I’ll authorize your promotion to A Rank.”

A Rank. B Rank adventurers could travel between countries at will and enter cities without paying entry fees. A Rank Adventurers didn’t have to pay taxes. At all.

Sarah knew time was of the essence, and she nodded right away.

“Don’t worry, if you fail, I won’t even record the request. It won’t affect your career.”

Sarah snorted at that. “Guildmaster, please,” she said wryly, and then she sat up straight and got serious. “I need to see the Dungeon maps and bestiary.”

The map was a confusing thing full of elevation lines. Hills, ravines, and tunnels, all heavily forested and overgrown, made it easy to get lost. The second floor was even worse than the first, but the new area was close to the floor entrance.

The bestiary, which included the known traps, was concerning. Mist Sprites. Fog Wardens. Toxic mushrooms that released poisonous spores. Psycho Moths. Drop Bears. Grizzly Claws. Razorwing Hawks. Treants. Stone Squirrels. Dire Wolves. The first floor boss: a giant Brute Ratel. And the usual traps: spiked pitfalls, monster callers, explosive runes, and screechers.

“What’s a screecher?” Sarah asked.

The Guildmaster shuddered. “Nasty thing, it makes a loud noise, loud enough to damage your hearing until you can get it healed.”

Sarah’s expression tightened. It was like the Dungeon was trying to make things as hard as possible for Scouts.

“Can you do it?” The Guildmaster pierced her with his gaze.

Sarah thought a moment, and nodded. “Yes, but I’ll need some things.”

“Beth!” the Guildmaster shouted, and a moment later, Beth was there.

Ten minutes later, Sarah was racing out the door, a magic bag on her hip.

Inside, several spare weapons, several lengths of rope, and a number of potions for herself and the Treasure Seekers party.

The only equipment she carried on herself was a pair of reinforced fingerless gloves. They moderately increased the strength of her punches and protected her knuckles.

Sarah raced through the streets, out the gate, and down the road. Her Brawler Class’ boosts to Speed were often appreciated, but now she found herself marveling at the Endurance offered by her Finder Class. The miles flew by underneath her pounding feet, and in less than an hour she found herself outside the Deep Woods Dungeon.

The clouds broke above her as she was catching her breath, and she could feel the rain striking her body and usual clothing. The dark cloth was entirely mundane, nonrestrictive and lightweight, and did nothing more than make it easier for her to hide in the shadows. It was no armor.

But Sarah didn’t intend to be hit in the first place.

The area around the entrance to the unpopular Dungeon lacked any of the amenities more popular Dungeons often had: there was no Smith, no merchants looking to buy loot, not even an emergency healer station. The entrance itself was a hole in a massive tree, several times bigger around than Sarah was tall, just large enough for one large man, or perhaps two slender women, to squeeze through before opening up into the usual staircase leading down.

Sarah entered.

She had no trouble seeing in the dim light, her [Night Vision] Skill having grown by leaps and bounds during her stakeouts and investigations in Pahree all the way to level sixteen. The Skill also synergized with her [Visual Acuity] and [Enhanced Perception] Skills, and was further strengthened by her Finder Class’ boosts to Perception.

She reached the bottom of the staircase and finally stopped at the end of the tunnel, the point where traps could start forming.

And sure enough, there was a monster calling trap right there, very first thing. A subtle one, too. It would have been hard to spot for inexperienced Scouts.

Sarah was no ordinary Scout.

She was a Finder.