20 Side Chapter-Tyr

'Why is my body so sore, it feels like I just went another round with that damn minotaur.' I think as I shakily open my eyes. The first sight that I see is a brownish stone like ceiling above me followed by random murmurs. glancing to my left I see several people I barely recognize standing listlessly, their vacant stares and smiles sending a shudder down my spine. As I look to my right I instantly recognize two of the people there. Anissa, the left hand of the bandit king and a master assassin nicknamed the shadow reaper due to her speed and the use of an incredibly rare scythe weapon. Slightly behind her stand Ro, the muted magician. Rumors say he mutilated his own body and soul in order to gain mastery over several elements, but in exchange his vocal cords were cut and his mouth was sealed by magic making him permanently mute. There seems to be another man with them dressed in thick chainmail with a large black beard. He wears a fairly large shield on one arm and an axe shining with enchantments in the other while he stands back and nods along as Anissa speaks. Looking at Ro again I notice he's glaring at me before I remember a few seconds ago when I punched him and called him a pervert.

"Tyr of the Berserker brigade what do you remember?" I kind of hear Anissa say. Before I can process it I can feel my body standing and I'm answering her questions spot on. As she asks more my lips move against my will as I answer anything asked of me before she stops me and leaves me to think What is happening??? Why can't I move on my own!!! Why can't a speak!?! Damnit!

Paying attention I notice that Anissa seems to be in charge but the large bearded man acts as a tank using advanced shouting skills to draw aggro. Anissa is talking about some monster apparently and it has a bloodlust skill....wait....I remember a fight against something like that! It was like a wolf mixed with a large rodent. Teeth like razers and a bushy tail with poison spikes. We clashed again and again, its power and speed were strong but I could keep up with a poison lance that I was swinging masterfully. What happened to my usual lance made of silver and wyvern bones? Where are my squadmates? Shit she just ordered me to follow them into a room at the end of a hallway, looking inside I can make out the beast from my memories and it looks angry.

Soon enough we're fighting the beast. The tank is doing a good job and Ro is acting as a healer when after a few minutes Anissa finishes toying with it before using a mix of her skills and instantly beheading the poor beast to its surprise. After it dies the body seems to be absorbed into the floor and I realize this is a damn dungeon. Slowly my memory is coming back to me, I failed against the minotaur and my squad wiped. I accidently led it back in the hopes the boss or leaders could kill it but at the time they were out on missions. It was killed but at the cost of innocents and I was sentenced to be a Blood Bather. I remember a cell with no windows or light, no room to lay down but just enough to curl into a ball. The only food glowed, purple and red, and tasted strange and soon I couldn't say no and I could feel my body beginning to change. I remember being chained and given to these three after several months of that cell. Told our deaths were acceptable and sent somewhere to make a deal. As I remember all of this they finish collecting loot and a rumbling is heard before a staircase appears going down.

They start heading downwards and tell me and the others like me to take point. I can see the others aren't thinking, just following orders like puppets with that creepy smile. At the bottom there's a broken archway leading into what looks like a village almost. There's a few buildings and a giant town hall in the back, but in the center of this place stands a spider that's at least five meters tall and long that's almost ghost like. On its back sits a short lizard with frills on either side of its head and wearing some dusty robes with a dagger on its belt. The large bearded man tells us that the lizard was once one of our slaves that escaped into the dungeon. Then notices that the lizard is still intelligent and remembers as he can hear it talking to itself. It must have become a servant of the dungeon. We enter the room and the fight begins. We begin battling the large spider and our weapons can barely connect with its flesh but before we know it the two separate. Anissa chases the lizard while we're left to deal with the spider. No matter what we do we can't seem to hurt it much and only Ro is having any luck with the odd spell towards it. Glancing to the left I see Anissa stumble from behind a building followed by the lizard as he makes a motion to cast a spell. Feeling a sense of foreboding I dash behind him and skewer him on my lance, afterward a spell seems to break on the spider and quickly dispatch it, finding some decent loot and we begin exploring the buildings.

The first is a smithy that's empty. The others find random junk as the rest of us bathers are forced to stand in place and wait for a command, but I can feel my fingers twitching slightly. All of a sudden Anissa and Ro begin to follow a castyr outside. As they're gone I'm soon ordered outside with the rest of our group and we wait for the two to return for a few minutes, afterwards we follow them into a new building that looks like a farmhouse. I remember hearing voices in my head, one of a young woman and another of a man, who are they and where did they go? As we enter the new building Ro casts a spell and we end up killing some bats and Grave Walkers. One of the bathers are gone now to a walker. Anissa orders us outside but I resist somehow, freezing in place. Nobody seems to notice or care and soon two screams are heard, we rush out to see black snakes eating the last of the other bathers and a single hungry one ready to fight. Ro sets fire to the fields killing everything and the two chastise him before we get to the town hall.

Walking inside we hear chuckling and dark laughter fills the halls. Moving forward a string is seen at the doorway and cutting it releases a crude axe that would've slammed into a normal person chest killing them. Carefully we walk through rooms and avoid several more traps until we reach a dead end and see a black goblin. Anissa blows the exit and we fight the little one who seems to be inexperienced but fast and has good reactions. Soon we defeat him and we can relax but quickly a new voice appears and its the young lady's! Turning in it's direction I see a small fairy with dark purple hair falling to her waist. She has Blackish blue wings and wears little more than a sleeve that's tied at her neck and ends at her knee's. Behind her are the Boss creatures in full health and carrying serious expressions. Anissa asks the fairy a question and she responds saying she's a plague pixie and the dungeons familiar. They want to discuss some type of deal but before so the pixie says the dungeon wants me. Soon I feel my body being bound by invisible chains and I can't even speak as the spider shoots silk at me and drags me through a wall and I find myself in front a fist sized crystal shining a low blue.

"Hello Lady Tyr! My name is Kyle and I am the dungeon core of this dungeon. Give me a few moments so I can break those bindings." A gentle mans voice says in my head as my eyes widen recognizing the voice from before. Suddenly I feel the restraints around me dissolving and I feel as if an immense pressure has been taken from me as I sit up and stare at the core.

"What do you want.....dungeons are said to be evil, voracious beings that devour all that enter them...Am I to be your next meal?" I ask slowly as the core sits in silence before laughing like a teenage boy.

"Meal? Evil? Lady your pretty different that's for sure! I don't think I'm evil, I'm just trying to survive in this world like anyone else and yea I eat the creatures that come in but if you had a beast or person break into your home wouldn't you defend yourself? It's just my defense results in me getting stronger! As for what I want it's simple, after the first of the Blood Bathers died I found out that whatever was done to you guys turned you into more monster than person. You seem to be smart and cognizant instead of a thoughtless puppet. I don't know how but to let something like you go back and be turned back into a zombie person I decided to offer you a pact with me! Become one of my intelligent dungeon creatures Miss Tyr, I can give you a home and food and offer revival after death and all I ask is for your knowledge and strength in challenging those who invade me. So what do you say?" The core asks excitedly as my jaw drops at the news.

Thinking back to what I can remember I can acknowledge that if I return I'll be thrown back in the box and treated as fodder. The feeling of helplessness returns and I can't help but shake a little as anger also courses through me as I look towards the glowing gemstone.

"Dungeon Core Kyle...…I accept your offer..." I say with anger in my voice as I quickly feel a new power fill me and everything goes black.