Max stared at the battlefield Hizon had created and tried to decide whether the goblin had misunderstood the assignment or had simply gotten carried away.
The answer was probably both.
A broad dirt road cut through a shallow valley between two wooded ridges. Near the center of the valley sat half a dozen wagons, each one with a broken wheel. Several wooden crates scattered around it, and six frightened-looking merchants argued with one another.
Beyond them stood the beginnings of a crude camp. Doing a quick inventory, Max noted down what Hizon was starting the adventures with. A stack of logs. Several chest high piles of loose stone. Two barrels of water. A large bundle of rope. Three shovels. Four axes. And absolutely nothing resembling an actual fortification.
Max folded his arms. "So that's it?" He asked.
Hizon nodded proudly. "That's it."
Max glanced toward Quin. The swordsman stared at the valley with considerably less enthusiasm.
"You're giving twenty-five adventurers two days to protect six merchants against six thousand monsters?" Quin asked, just to make sure he wasn't missing anything
"Yes." The hobgoblin answered.
"And they start with this?"
Hizon nodded again. "They have plenty of resources." He added.
Quin pointed toward the pile of logs. "They only have twelve logs."
"They can cut down trees."
"The first attack comes in two hours."
"Then they should hurry."
Quin looked at Max. The Dungeon Master rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was exactly why he had wanted a second opinion. Hizon knew how to build a dungeon, that wasn't in question. The problem was that Hizon still seemed to believe the purpose of a dungeon was to kill everyone who entered it.
Max had been trying to explain for the better part of an hour that this particular dungeon needed a different purpose. He wanted adventurers to be challenged and wanted them terrified that their defenses were going to collapse. And most importantly, win or lose, he wanted them to come back and spend more time in the dungeon.
What he didn't want was twenty-five people walking out afterward, convinced that he had just wasted their time.
"What's the first wave?" Max asked.
"One hundred goblins armed with crude weapons." Hizon answered
Max nodded. "Good."
Hizon smiled. "Then thirty hobgoblins attack from the eastern forest while the goblins engage them from the road."
Max's nod stopped. "During the first wave?" He asked.
"Of course."
"And the adventurers know they're coming?"
"No."
Quin laughed.
Hizon frowned at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're laughing."
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because Boss spent half an hour explaining that you aren't supposed to murder them."
"I am not murdering them. They revive."
Max raised one hand.
"Hizon."
The goblin Dungeon Master looked at him.
"The surprise attack can stay."
Hizon's expression brightened.
"But move it."
"Move it?"
"Don't use it during the first wave."
"Why not?"
"Because the first wave should teach them how the dungeon works."
Hizon stared at him.
Max gestured toward the valley.
"They enter, see the merchants with broken wagons. They realize they need defenses. Then monsters attack. The first attack tells them what kind of danger they're dealing with."
"They already know they're defending against monsters."
"They know monsters are coming. They don't know how you're going to use them."
Hizon still looked unconvinced.
Quin stepped forward.
"He's right."
Hizon looked offended.
Quin pointed toward the road.
"If I were leading the raid, I'd use the first attack to judge the enemy. What kind of foe is coming, and how many? Are they organized or just attacking in a frenzied mob. How long it takes for the next group to arrive."
"And then?" Hizon asked.
"Then I'd build my defenses around what I learned."
Hizon smiled. "Exactly."
Quin smiled back. "Which is why your ambush should happen later."
The hobgoblin's smile disappeared.
Max resisted the urge to laugh.
Hizon might have lost his dungeon, but he certainly hadn't lost his pride.
"Fine," Hizon muttered. "Second wave."
"Third, at least third." Max said.
"Second."
"Third."
Hizon glared at him.
Max stared back.
Hizon finally looked away. "Fine, we can do it on the third." The hobgoblin finally relented.
"Good."
A chime sounded inside Max's head.
He focused on the notification.
[Twenty-five registered participants have entered the staging area.]
"They're here." Max said, informing the others.
Hizon immediately straightened. Quin turned toward the stone archway overlooking the valley. A moment later the first adventurer emerged. Soon twenty-five men and women had gathered inside the observation courtyard.
Max recognized several members of Golden Axe group from previous visits, though he couldn't remember most of their names. He recognized their leader. A tall man with broad shoulders who wielded not a Golden Axe, but a spear. He was Matthew Warrens the leader of the Golden Axe's
Beside him was a dark-haired woman carrying a staff and another man wearing lighter leather armor with two short swords at his hips.
The remaining members were a mixture of fighters, archers, casters, healers, and several people whose classes Max couldn't identify by looking at them.
What he did recognize was excitement. The adventuring group was trying to hide it. Most were failing. But it was understandable. The Golden Axe Group had beat out the city Lord for the first chance to try this new feature of the dungeon.
Several members stared over the railing separated the observation deck from the actual dungeon area.
One pointed toward the broken wagon. Another was already discussing the ridges with the archer beside him.
Matthew cautiously approached the Dungeon Master who was standing to the side?
"This is it?" He asked
"This is it." Max replied.
Matthew looked down toward the battlefield. "Looks fairly peaceful."
"It won't stay that way." Max replied with a slight smile.
"How many will we face?"
"All together…" Max paused, before answering. "Six thousand."
Several conversations stopped behind Matthew.
"Umm, how many?" Asked a random voice from the Golden Axe Group.
"Six thousand total enemies over two days." Max explained.
A young swordsman laughed uncertainly. "That's two hundred and forty each."
The woman with the staff glanced at him. "Thank you, mathematician."
"Just putting it into perspective."
"You made it worse."
Matthew ignored them." Will we face them all at once?" He asked Max
The Hobgoblin made a sound of disappointment.
Max gave him a sideways glance before answering. "No. The enemy will be coming in waves. As long as you are quick enough you will have time to regroup in between waves of enemies."
"How many waves are there?"
"Not telling you."
"Types of enemies?"
"Not telling you."
"Bosses?"
"Not telling you."
Matthew grinned. "This should be fun."
Hizon's mood visibly improved. Max ignored the hobgoblin and pointed toward the valley. "Your objective is simple. Six merchants are stranded after their wagons broke. You have forty-eight hours before help arrives. Keep them alive."
"What happens if one dies?" Matthew asked.
"You lose."
"Wait, even if the other five are fine, we still lose?" Someone asked.
"Yepp." Max said with a grin. "If even one dies, it is game over."
The grins disappeared while someone in the back quietly cursed.
Max continued. "You can use anything inside the scenario. Trees. Stone. Water. The wagon. Anything you can physically access."
That immediately caused several people to look toward the wagons. Including the hobgoblin.
Hizon's head snapped toward Max. "The wagon?"
Max ignored him. "You cannot leave the valley. If you cross the boundary, the scenario treats you as dead."
Mathew nodded. "Deaths?"
"Normal dungeon rules, well, normal for my dungeon. If you die, you revive outside the scenario." Max answered.
"So we're down a person if they die."
"Exactly."
"Can they reenter?"
"Nope."
Another murmur spread through the group. That part mattered. Death wasn't permanent, but it still had consequences.
Matthew looked increasingly pleased with the challenge that was being presented to him.
"And the merchants?" He asked.
"They revive."
Matthew rolled his eyes. Of course they revive. If Max is willing to pay to revive them, why wouldn't he revive his own people.
"I was wondering if they will be any help while defending."
"Probably not." Max answered.
The merchants weren't actually human, even though most people would think they were. They were cheaply created constructs generated by the dungeon.
But inside the scenario, they would behave like real frightened merchants.
Hizon had spent a disturbing amount of time adjusting their personalities. One complained constantly. Another panicked whenever monsters got too close. Max suspected Hizon had done that specifically to make the adventurers' job harder. He had allowed it. Mostly because it promised to be funny.
Matthew rolled one shoulder. "What about supplies?"
"What you see is what you get."
"You don't provide food?"
Hizon answered before Max could. "There are berries."
Matthew stared at him. "Forty-eight hours."
"There are many berries." Hizon replied
Quin turned away, coughing into his fist. Max was reasonably certain he was hiding another laugh.
Matthew sighed. "Fine. Anything else?"
Max nodded. "If you clear it, you receive the standard completion reward plus the first-clear bonus."
That caught everyone's attention.
Matthew tilted his head. "First-clear bonus?"
Max had expected that question. He hadn't actually decided on one until that morning. Hizon had suggested a weapon. Quin had suggested something unique enough that stronger adventurers would care about it even if the monetary value wasn't enormous. Of course dungeon coins couldn't be forgotten.
Max combined all three ideas.
"The winning group gets twenty-five thousand Dungeon Coins divided however you want, and you will be permanently recorded as the first group to clear the Defense Dungeon."
Silence.
One of the younger adventurers blinked.
"Recorded where?"
"I haven't built it yet."
That earned a few laughs.
Max continued. "But I'm thinking a monument near the entrance. First clear. Fastest clear. Things like that. I am going to construct a building to record all the greatest achievements earned inside my dungeon."
Max had expected the money to be the important part. Instead, nearly everyone was looking at Matthew.
The guild leader slowly smiled. "Permanent?" he asked.
"As long as my dungeon exists."
The reaction was immediate. Several Golden Axe members started whispering. One slapped another on the shoulder. The young swordsman who had calculated the enemies per person suddenly looked far more serious.
Max glanced at Quin who gave him a small nod. Apparently prestige really did matter this much to adventurers. Max filed that away. Cheap rewards were excellent rewards.
Matthew extended his hand. "We're doing it."
Max shook it. "I assumed you were." He then gestured toward the stone stairs leading down. "Your time begins when the first person enters."
The Golden Axe guild gathered near the archway. Whatever joking atmosphere had existed vanished almost instantly. Matthew began issuing orders.
"Scouts first. Check the ridges and tree line. Builders, look at the wagon and materials. Casters, don't waste mana unless something attacks."
Max watched them descend. Twenty-five adventurers moved very differently than a normal party. A five-person group could discuss everything together. Twenty-five required organization. Several members immediately ran toward the forest while others surrounded the merchants.
Two examined the wagon. One crouched beside the missing wheel. Another began counting the available tools.
Hizon leaned over the railing. "They're wasting time."
"No." Quin said. "They're talking."
Max watched Matthew climb onto one of the crates and point toward the northern ridge.
"What would you do?" Max asked Quin.
"First?"
"Yeah."
"Kill the merchants."
Hizon whipped around. Max stared at him. Quin kept a perfectly straight face for three seconds. Then he smiled.
Hizon laughed loudly.
Max shook his head.
"I hired a bunch of children." Max muttered.
"You hired me because I know adventurers," Quin said.
"I hired you because you owed me money."
"That too."
Below them, one of Golden Axe's scouts reached the edge of the valley. A faint red barrier appeared between the trees. He stopped and tested it with one hand before turning back.
Another adventurer had climbed onto one of the broken wagons. He then began inspecting the crates inside. Max narrowed his eyes. The man opened one. It was empty. He opened another. Also empty. Then he looked toward the wagon. He crouched. Ran a hand over one of the wooden boards and smiled.
Max smiled too.
Hizon noticed. "What?"
"Nothing." Max answered
The adventurer called over two others. They examined the wagon together.
One drew a small hand axe. Hizon's expression changed.
"No."
The axe struck wood. Hizon lunged toward the railing.
"No!"
Max caught him by the shoulder.
"They can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"It's the wagon!"
"So?"
"They're supposed to repair it!"
"Did you tell them that?"
Hizon froze.
Below, another board came loose. The adventurers carried it toward the beginnings of a barricade.
Hizon stared in horror. "They're destroying the objective."
"The merchants are the objective." Quin answered
"The wagon is part of the scenario!"
Max shrugged.
"It's wood and a resource."
Hizon looked personally betrayed.
Quin leaned against the railing. "I like them."
Hizon pointed toward the valley. "They're cheating."
"No," Max said. "They're solving the problem."
"By breaking my wagon."
"Then next time, make the wagon harder to break."
Hizon opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. But nothing came out.
Max looked toward the timer floating invisibly at the edge of his awareness. One hour and forty-seven minutes until the first wave. Golden Axe had already dismantled a single wagon.
Two adventurers were cutting trees down at the edge of the valley. Another group was digging a shallow trench across the road. Matthew stood near the merchants directing everyone.
Max felt a small flicker of satisfaction. This was exactly what he'd wanted. Not adventurers running down corridors looking for monsters. Not traps designed only to kill whoever stepped in the wrong place. This was a real challenge where the adventures would have to think and get creative.
Hizon, however, was still staring at what remained of his wagons.
Finally, he spoke. "They'll regret that."
Max looked at him.
Hizon smiled slowly. "The first wave comes from the road."
Max waited. "And?"
"The second doesn't."
Quin's eyebrows rose.
Max looked back toward The Golden Axe Guild and smiled. Overall, he was satisfied with the dungeon setup Hizon created. While he wouldn't have set it up exactly this, he was happy with how it turned out. Now he just had wait for Dungeon Points to accumulate so Hizon could buy eternal souls and turn this whole thing into an instance.