Leaving the City

I was finally satisfied with my preparations inside the dungeon. There was one obstacle left in my way to become an adventurer, my appearance. I did have the human form that a certain Angel bestowed upon me, but it suppressed all of my powers. Hardly viable for an adventurer’s life. My Incubus nature did allow me to take a less obviously demonic form, similarly to my lovely Succubi, but I was unsure if it would hold up to higher levels of scrutiny. I hoped that with a higher level I might gain a more effective disguise, that even a skilled cleric would be unable to see through, but for now I decided to avoid any adventurers’ guilds.

I transformed into my more human form, which hid the red of my skin, my hooves and horns as well as my tentacles. My height diminished from almost seven feet to just over six, only my black hair and yellow eyes remained largely unchanged. I snapped and made appear on my body a set of leather armour and a grey cloak including a hood. I now appeared to be a generally normal, if handsome and muscular, human man in his early thirties. ‘That will do for now.’, I decided, ‘Any capable cleric will take a passing glance at my eyes and discover my demonic nature… but I just hope I won’t encounter any competent ones.’. While less convincing than the Angels Blessing, this form had the clear advantage of not limiting access to my abilities. I raised one hand as a goodbye to Azarath, who cheered, “Good luck, Lord! I am sure you will return successful!”.

The air of the city Valoria was cold, fresh and salty as usual. I filled my lungs with an invigorating, deep breath and smiled, I was about to have a lot of fun. With a spring in my step, I walked through the bustling city. I enjoyed watching the people go about their daily business. It all seemed so terribly important to them and so overwhelmingly benign to me. Nevertheless, they were eager and diligent in stacking their boxes, selling their vegetables, drawing their carriages. What I was about to bring to this city would be a blessing for most of these poor souls, otherwise doomed to a dreadfully repetitive and forgettable existence. I smiled inwardly, ‘I will be their saviour. Not the one they expect, but certainly the one they need.’. After nearly a full hour of walking through the impressively sized Valoria, I could finally make out the western gate. I noted that this area was tightly guarded and the people living near the walls or gate seemed more tense than the people further inside. It was also curious that next to nobody was entering the city through the massive stone arch which could easily fit three wagons shoulder to shoulder.

A guard stepped in my path as I moved to pass through the gate, “Good day, sir. Where are you headed today?”. I greeted the guard with a friendly expression, “Good day to you too. Currently my quest is to help the fine people of Valoria. I am an adventurer, and I heard of trouble to the west.”. This was a lie, of course. I assumed there had to be trouble as I sensed a dungeon west of the city. The guard nodded and proved my assumption right, “Indeed you have heard right, adventurer. Be warned, there are frequent attacks along the roads. Survivors speak of orcs that act with an unusual level of strategy.”. ‘Interesting.’, I thought to myself, ‘Orcs could serve as good EXP or potentially even as minions’. Perhaps I could mold them with my demonic sorcery, but this was a topic for future consideration. “Thank you for the warning, kind sir. Before I go, may I have your name?”, I extended my arm, offering a handshake. He took my hand and shook it, the young man was strong, “My name is Darien and I wish you success on your quest, mister…?”. “Victor, just call me Victor, friend. I will tell you of my success upon my return. Perhaps we can meet at the-“, I paused. ‘Shit, you Idiot’, I cursed myself, ‘You don’t have a name for the fucking Dungeon yet.’. I scrambled to find a name that was fitting soon enough for the pause to not become too awkward, “-the Moon’s Embrace. It is a great tavern and bathhouse owned by a close friend of mine, Percival. My treat, of course.”. The guard, Darien, dropped his serious face for the first time, “I like the sound of that, friend. I’ll see you there.”.

I passed through the gate, happy about the new contact I’d made. I wasn’t sure yet what benefit it would be to have a handsome young guard visit my Dungeon, but I had an idea. I peered at him over my shoulder with the God’s Eye.

Darien Harrelion, human Guard
Class: Defender LVL 23
Skills: Taunt, Shield Mastery (medium), Swordmastery (low)
Attitude towards me: Positive, happy about the new potential friendship

His stats made me raise an eyebrow, this young man was heavily overqualified to be a simple gate guard… or whatever was out here was a significant enough threat to send a powerhouse like that on guard duty. His level was higher than even Captain Claire’s. I turned my attention to the cobblestone road winding towards and into a green forest maybe a half hour of walking away from the gate. ‘Time to find these Orcs.’, I could barely contain myself. They would either be easy EXP or the foundation of my future army. I strode quickly towards my goal, towards the dungeon.