Ultimate Level 1

The tower was surrounded by forty-foot-tall walls that appeared to be made from a single piece of stone. Max had spent some time inspecting the white stone, which seemed a stark contrast to the often darker-colored stones used for the roads, sidewalks, and buildings that weren’t painted.

Only two entrances, one from the north and one from the south allowed access, and each required passing through a checkpoint.

As they approached, neither of the guards did much beyond nod their heads, staying on the opposite side of the opening.

“It appears we were expected,” Fowl muttered as they made their way to the pair of guards at the small entrance in the wall.

“Well, we probably stand out,” Max stated as he pointed back at the group they had passed. “Most of these groups have three or four dwarves, and we only have two.”

“And not a single elf so far out here,” Cordellia said. “I guess you short people don’t like us tall people.”

“It’s not us, dear,” Batrire replied. “Every dwarf knows we’ve reached out and offered to take anyone who comes. Your people are some of the best mages and archers, yet you don’t often join us. The few who do are loved on and taken care of.”

“So it’s our problem?”

“It is,” Tanila answered. “We’re the problem… or perhaps a portion of our people are the reason for all this.”

After walking past the guards, Max felt the full weight of the tower as they exited the five-foot-thick section of stone and entered the courtyard where the structure stood.

Rising upward, it was like a bulwark of strength, its base a worked stone section with runes carved along the entire first floor.

“Wow… that’s… awe-inspiring.”

Each of them nodded as they walked along the path to where a single guard stood from a chair they had been sitting in.

An older dwarf wearing leather armor and reading a book motioned for them to come forward.

“The famed party from Peltagow,” he said with a grin. “You’re all welcome to enter the tower, but please let me know what floor you’ll be attempting. If we come to inspect and find you not on that floor, we will call the King’s Guard, and they will begin inspecting the tower floors above the 50th.”

“We’re going to start on the first floor,” Fowl informed the guard.

“Very well. Good luck and be safe. Also if you see a party on the floor, make sure to say hi. There are one or two on this one I believe right now, cutting their teeth.”

Without much more, the dwarf moved back to his chair, a simple wooden one with armrests, and sat down. He opened his book and seemingly ignored them.

“Now that’s a cush job,” Cordellia said as they walked past him. “Reading all day? Must be an ex-healer.”

***

Blinking, Max couldn’t help but smile as he saw before them an open section of land, trees, and grass swaying in the gentle breeze. Down a ramp near where they had come in was a tower floor, easily three miles wide and vanishing off in the distance.

“Seems like old times,” Fowl said. “So what’s the plan?”

“Goats?” Cordellia asked.

“No… I’m thinking of something better,” Max replied. “First, I want to see how strong these things are compared to what we’ve faced. After that I’ll share my plan.”

A scoff came from their ranger, but they all moved into the field and found the first pack of creatures the tower would throw at them. It was a wolf-like creature with two heads and was as tall as a dwarf.

“Bah, those things… I heard stories about them as a kid,” Fowl muttered. “My grandfather used to tell us stories about twynharts and how they would come and eat our hearts and neck out simultaneously if we weren’t good dwarves.”

“That’s a fun grandparent,” Cordellia stated. “Nothing like scaring a kid to obedience.”

“Focus,” Max said. “Tanila, use the weakest spell you got. Go ahead and pick a spell you think will work best and use your familiar. Fowl, I want you to just fight one with your hammer and shield. Nothing fancy. And Cordellia—”

“Shoot one with a basic shot.”

Nodding, Max grinned. “There are four, and I’ll take the other one. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads and attacked. The tiny ice shard that Tanila sent killed the twynhart just as efficiently as the one Cordellia had shot.

Without waiting, their ranger shot the one Max was going to play with. When the last one reached them, Fowl bashed in the skull of the final one, killing it in a single blow.

“Well that was easy,” their warrior muttered. “Now what?”

“Fowl and Batrire. You two go off down the right. Tanila and Cordellia, you two go down the left. I’ll go down the middle. Based on our level and the power of these things, we should be able to kill these without any problems.”

“And you’ll be doing what?” Batrire asked. “Killing everything else?”

Grinning, Max shrugged.

“Part of me being in the middle is I can occasionally check on you all. The truth is I don’t want to run the entire zone myself, and you all need to work for this as well. If everything goes as planned, we can avoid the other parties that might be in here while also getting a large amount of gems in the process.”

“I’m ready whenever,” Tanila said as Batrire finished casting her buff.

“Then let’s go.”

***

Bob, you never stop surprising me.

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A faint chuckle came from his skill as the yellow gems that had fallen on the ground lifted upward, floating toward where he was moving.

Well, I doubt you want to continually bend over and pick up the literal sea of them. Still it’s good to know that we can control this many different pieces of stone and use them like this.

Nodding, Max watched as what looked like a swarm of yellow bugs flew toward him, each resting inside a small stone perfectly formed around the gem.

Twice, he had checked on both teams. Tanila and Cordellia had encountered a party of four dwarves and a human, and they had spent a few minutes talking, telling them what they were doing, and encouraging the group to be safe.

Fowl and Batrire were also making great progress. The dwarven warrior once again felt indestructible as he moved through the zone, killing every twynhart with a single hit.

Soon, they had cleared out almost every pack that wasn’t taken for the length of the zone and met back in the middle, moving deeper into it.

Wiping a little sweat off his brow, Fowl took a drink from his waterskin.

“Gods, if the whole tower were like this, I’d never complain again.”

“You’ve been complaining all day,” their healer stated. “I don’t want to bend over… it’s too much work to bend over. Why do there have to be so many gems?”

Max couldn’t help but laugh as Batrire’s impersonation of Fowl continued to improve with each attempt.

“The good news is we are collecting a lot,” he said. “We’ll finish up with one last push toward the end of the tower floor and then see what the second floor holds. At this pace, we might be able to finish the first ten levels of the tower floor experience by the boss floor.”

“Then what are we waiting on?” Cordellia asked. “I, for one, am excited at getting a chance to finish this up sooner rather than later.”

***

“So… rumor has it you five cleared most of the first floor in four hours. Is that true?”

“Does it matter?” Fowl asked. “I mean we pay a gold per day regardless. That’s what Bidforo told us.”

“It isn’t about the gold,” Fudumod explained. “There are dwarves above me, and if what we believed was going to happen is correct, they want to know. It’s that simple.”

Max could sense where this line of questioning was going and waved off their dwarven warrior, who was about to protest again.

“We did. I’m assuming you’re trying to gauge our strength by how fast we clear the floors and when the speed slows down, outside of a potential puzzle or maze floor.”

Grinning, the dwarf nodded, still reclining in his chair.

“Seems someone put some points into intelligence. You’re proving to be a team worthy of the reputation that follows you. Why, just a few weeks ago I heard one of our bards singing a song about your team and how you saved Peltagow from a dungeon break that hit all four directions at once.”

“And that doesn’t happen here, does it?”

“No. We aren’t like your kingdom. The power of the dungeons doesn’t build up like that. Why?”

Max tapped his temple.

“I like to learn whatever I can about each kingdom. The dwarves and the elves don’t have a problem with dungeon breaks. Or at least they’re so rare that many consider it more of a rumor than a reality. Which makes me wonder why the place I live has them.”

“An interesting question. Any theories?”

He’s smart… smarter than a dwarf who sits here and does this job should be.

I was thinking the same thing.

The slightest grin had been present for a second, and Max wondered who the dwarf was or what he might know.

“I have a few, but this isn’t the place to discuss them. Perhaps one day, we could grab a drink somewhere and have that talk.”

Tapping his finger against the book in his lap, Fudumod bobbed his head.

“We’ll see. For now, I’ll record that you all cleared two floors today. Don’t worry about paying me. Someone will send a bill each week to settle up. I’m letting you know that the Faction usually takes care of it, but just in case you want to pay for it yourself.”

“Appreciate that,” Tanila said as she motioned toward the exit. “It’s getting late, though, and even the mountain lights are dimming.”

Not saying another word, the dwarf nodded and waved at them once before opening his book again.

After getting into the carriage they had waiting on them, their mage poked Max.

“You sensed that, didn’t you?”

“Fudumod?”

“Yup. He’s not the one I’m guessing is usually there,” their mage replied. “Something about him feels off. Like he’s farming for information.”

“Are you accusing him of being a spy?” Fowl asked.

“Not a spy… just… someone who wants to learn about us and our true potential,” Max stated. “It’s like… did you ever play dunderball?”

“Did I!? I was one of the best,” their warrior proclaimed. “One time when I was twenty-three I had four scores! Four! If only I had been taller, I might have been a real contender.”

“No… you were never that great,” Batrire said. “Trust me, that time you got four wasn’t because of how good you were.”

“Bah! You still cheered for me.”

“I did,” their healer replied with a nod. “I was young, dumb and love-struck. Had you been a troll I liked, I probably would have cheered for you then.”

Before their warrior could protest, Max held out a hand.

“How many teams does your kingdom have?”

“Just one, same as your kingdom. Why?”

“How often do we play?”

“Uh… once a year. You know that. The rules are super strict, and no one is above level twenty. If you’re not going to be a professional dunderball player, you choose a different path.”

“And how do you know you’ll have a chance to become one?”

Grunting, Fowl shrugged.

“You’ll be scouted. Someone will approach you and your family about being a possible choice.”

Nodding, Max tapped his temple.

“That is what Fudumod is doing, I think. Two dwarves, both tower climbers, each potentially over the 50th floor. Why wouldn’t they have someone here to scout and see if the King’s Guard might have two new possible recruits.”

“But we don’t want to join the Guard,” Batrire protested.

“And yet, they won’t care,” Fowl muttered. “So what do we do?”

“Pretend to not be as good as we are, I guess,” Max replied. “Otherwise, we might have to deal with the king himself.”

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