"What are we doing?" asked Duke, under his breath, through gritted teeth. "This is a dungeon, and we are supposed to be killing, not negotiating."
Aug, the elf, and Duke were sitting in the central courtyard of the Kobold village. The kobolds had forced them to relinquish their weapons. This just meant putting their weapons into their inventory, but as kobolds were not smart, they did not realise how easily they were retrievable.
The elf had drawn her bow at the gate to blast kobolds, but Aug had snatched the arrow from her bow and was still holding it threateningly, so she behaved.
Duke had for once just followed someone else's lead, and followed Aug into the village. Aug was not sure why he was playing along, but he didn't care, as long as he did.
After having been there for a few minutes, from the large hut came a larger kobold. It was wearing a small golden crown and holding a golden staff.
"Welcome, guests!" spoke the kobold in a soft and high-pitched tone. As it spoke, the kobold raised its staff in the air, garnering reactions from its fellow kin. It must have been the king of the kobolds.
Duke opened his mouth in surprise, and the elf visibly reacted with shock. The talking kobold had taken them both by surprise. Aug, on the other hand, had an inkling that they were peaceful. He wasn't sure how; he just felt it.
"Welcome to the [Deep Rock] Kobold village," spoke the king, raising his short arms.
"Thank you," replied Aug.
"You are the first foreigners here since its establishment, so as a token of our appreciation, we would like to give you this," said the kobold king. He picked up a small box from behind him. The box was wooden and had a gold trim around the edges.
The king opened the box, and inside was a set of five rings. Each ring was gold and ornate, showcasing a different jewel that gleamed with its own distinct hue.
"Do you accept these rings-" began the king of the kobolds before being cut off.
Suddenly, Crazy Eyes came running into the kobold camp. "Weee!" She screeched, running around like a plane once more.
"What's happening here! I'll help!" She wound back her foot, as if she were about to kick a football across a field.
"No!" shouted Aug and Duke in unison, but it was too late.
Like a centre kick-off, Crazy Eyes punted a kobold, who appeared to be a child, across the room, slamming it into the opposite wall. The kobold child hit with such vigour that it left a bloodstain on the wall.
As soon as the body hit the ground, the village and all the kobolds within it began to shimmer and flicker until finally it all disappeared. This left just a dead-end clearing and a bloodstain on the wall.
[Unique event - Peaceful kobold village - FAILED]
[With the dungeon's peacekeepers gone, the dungeon grows more dangerous.]
[Dungeon Rank + 1 → E Rank]
[Dungeon Level + 50 → 56]
"No. Why the hell did you do that!" asked Duke, pointing at Crazy Eyes with boiling anger in his gaze.
"Where did they all go?" she asked, confused at what had happened.
"You made us fail a once in a lifetime experience. That's where they went!" shouted Duke furiously.
Duke was right; unique events were extremely rare, and if you failed them, there was no trying them again or restarting. That was it. Done. The loot a party received was also powerful, but unfortunately, they would never find out what power those rings held.
Duke stood up and approached Crazy Eyes and pushed her, as if trying to start a fight. But it was clear Crazy Eyes was much stronger than he, as she didn't move.
"What are you doing, mister?" She asked Duke, not really understanding what was happening.
Watching this performance, the elf was laughing, infuriating Duke further, and causing his attention to shift to her.
"What are you laughing at, bitch?" said Duke, pointing at the elf.
"You," she replied, standing up and snatching her arrow from Aug, who had loosened his grip on it now.
Duke pulled his sword and pointed it at the Elf, who drew her bow in response. Aug stood up and stepped back. He thought about intervening, but he was sure neither of them would listen, and he didn't want to get shot again.
As the elf and Duke stood face to face, weapons drawn, a rock from the rock tunnel wall fell to the ground, getting the attention of everyone in the room. Then, from the other side, another shard of rock fell. Then another and another, all in quick succession, until a section from each side became cracked.
They both transferred the aim of their weapons from one another to the walls. They had not discussed the increase in rank and level of the dungeon yet, but their guarded stance meant they realised the danger.
From both sides simultaneously, a tunnel appeared, and in front of the tunnels, a single giant red fire ant landed in the cavern. The ants were the size of a large cat and had pincers the length of fingers.
"Oh, it's just giant ants," said Duke, and lowered his weapon. The elf similarly lowered her weapon.
Aug was not as relaxed. There were never just one or two ants. They came in much larger quantities.
But then a rumble and skitter could be heard from both sides, as rocks cascaded to the floor and the walls vibrated.
"Run!" yelled Aug, to which thankfully no one had to be told twice, as they all broke into a sprint. As they reached the entrance to the cavern, the walls on both sides exploded with ants as they broke through, like a superhero breaking through a wall. Rock and debris shot across the room as if dynamite had gone off, building up in a big pile in the middle of the floor.
The ants could smell a meal and as soon as they saw them moving, chased them down the tunnel. Aug's leg was burning with pain as he attempted to run with a puncture wound. The bandage was coming loose with the running, and blood ran down his calf, but he pushed on.
This was not how he was going to die. The pain would have to black him out before he stopped.