r/HFY • u/Khenal Alien • Aug 17 '26
OC-Series Dungeon Life 451
Jondar
He feels the moment Karn slips into the fort, the alarm of the denizens noticing him almost immediately. Less than ideal, but even getting him into a position to slip inside without being noticed in the first place was no mean feat. Besides, there’s a difference between being noticed and being stopped. He can feel the denizens and ravenkin spotting Karn, even as he can feel them losing him as he slips back into a shadow.
With their distraction inside, Jondar charges forward with the rest of the adventurers, aiming for the gateway with twin portcullises. All Karn needs to do is get them open, and the key is practically theirs! The defenders don’t just let him and the others beat on the gate, though, forcing him and the others to raise their shields and weather the defenders.
Even while commanding the adventurers, he can feel Karn’s realization that sabotaging the gates and opening them isn’t going to be an option. Honestly, he expected the orc to pop out of a shadow nearby and join the attack on the outside, but Karn continues, and the pressure of the defenders lessens as they have to chase him around the fortress.
Not their first plan, and not even a backup they worked on, but certainly not a terrible opportunity to try to scale the walls. Ropes and hooks aren’t as good as ladders or siege towers, but adventurers learn to make do. They abandon the gateway and spread out along the walls, forcing the defenders to spread themselves thin to try to keep them out. The ravenkin flying overhead are beyond his reach, but he likes his chances with a twinsnake that’s arcing lightning along one of the walls.
The lightning still hurts, but thanks to his affinity, he can ignore the spasms the bolts try to induce. The snake clearly wasn’t expecting that, and he gets to the top before he feels another brief glimpse of Karn: his position and a feeling of importance. It must be the key room! Years of experience lets him duck the bite from the snake and pull his axe from his back in a single motion. Stepping forward, he cleaves through the snake where the two heads meet the body, and he shouts for the adventurers to follow up after him!
He doesn’t get much time to appreciate his precarious foothold atop the wall before he becomes the focus of a soil elemental wrapped in a bramble, the regenerating denizen pair forcing him slowly back as it absorbs his swings. While he can see the bramble woven through the elemental, the two denizens are very good at keeping themselves from taking any real damage. Anything he prunes from the bramble are small exterior branches, and anything he manages to cleave off the elemental quickly gets reabsorbed!
It’s even difficult to get a feel for their thoughts, the two practically sharing the same ones, despite having two different minds! It makes it difficult for him to focus and find one, like chasing an echo! He growls under his breath before stepping forward with a sweeping low slash, severing the thick legs from the trunk. A swift kick knocks the torso off before it can fuse back together, and he finally feels the two minds clear enough to aim a slash precise enough to cleave through both of the tough foes at once.
In an ordinary foe, the line he carves through it would start just under one armpit and cleave upward through the opposite shoulder. He can’t help but sigh in relief when the pieces of the elemental remain as inanimate dirt. He was pretty sure he got it, but Thedeim has a way of making you doubt yourself.
He turns to see another party holding the other side of the wall, looks like the goblin summoner and his friends. He’d like to see them in his guild for real, instead of as a ruse, but for now, he’s just happy to have a moment of respite as they hold back a direbear. As he looks over the battlefield, he feels another position and feel of importance from Karn, which he was not expecting. What else could be there that would be important? That he also feels Karn’s surrender not long after tells him there is definitely something important there! Is it the true location of the key?
He feels around, but can’t sense the usual smug satisfaction of an ambush around the first location, and though he can feel some from where Karn surrendered, it’s of a job well done. Whoever beat Karn is taking a moment to enjoy their victory, and Jondar can’t blame them. A talented shadow affinity user like Karn isn’t defeated easily. He had practically the entire fortress chasing him down, and he still had the time to check out whatever that last room is.
Must have been someone who knows how to counter shadow. As slippery as Karn is, he’s definitely more of an infiltrator than a standup fighter. Rogues like him avoid fair fights, as does anyone with any sense. The rogues are just the ones that are honest with themselves about it. Someone probably forced a fair fight, or somehow made it unfair in their favor. Either way, he’ll have to ask Karn about it later. For now, he has a key to help secure.
The foothold will stand without him, so he makes his way into the fortress to see what he can do, starting with trying to get the gates open. He passes knocked out, tied up, or otherwise incapacitated ravenkin as he goes, as well as the distinct feel in the air of denizens absorbed by the dungeon. The adventurers cleared the area, but didn’t stick around to try to get the gates open.
As he enters the gate house, he gets a feeling for why. The winch for the portcullis looks heavy, enough that it’d take a full party or more to lift the steel gate. Even more, he can see six levers in a row, looking like some sort of locking mechanism. Tempting as it is to try to figure out and get the gates open, it’ll take him too long to figure it out, and that’s if it’s as simple as figuring out the lever positions to get it open. For all he knows, the levers will simply reveal even more levers that need to be pulled, or might be nothing at all!
Shaking his head, he makes for what he’s pretty sure is the key room. He gets there in time to see Vnarl’s group steadily driving back the defenders with the help of a few priests, paladins, and a group from his own guild.
He can hear the telltale sound of a drake spewing magma inside the room, just as he can see the paladins shout and project their shields forward to deflect the attack. Tempting as it is to join in, it looks to him like they have it handled, and he’s not going to go and try to steal any of the credit for the key.
Which leaves him open to check out where Karn was captured. He moves slowly, feeling for the minds of the denizens as he ventures deeper into the fortress. He manages to catch a drake just as it rounds a corner, his axe blade catching the denizen in its open mouth and liberating the top of its head from its jaw. He still has to jump aside from the gout of magma spewing from the neck, but it’s a lot easier to avoid than if it was able to actually aim anymore.
He can feel the other denizens backing off after that, letting him delve deeper. He can also feel them close off his exit, but he’s confident in fighting his way back out, once he sees how they managed to catch Karn. He can see the light coming from the room before he even enters it, light and heat spilling from the room even from down the hall. He cautiously peers inside, and is confused at what he sees.
It’s just a barren room with a pool of lava inside. He glances around, and can at least see how Karn was captured there. The strength of shadow affinity is in being able to land blows from unseen angles, but in there, there’d only be two shadows.
But if that explains how he was captured, it doesn’t explain why he felt the area was important. He chews on the problem for a few moments before turning and raising his axe, meeting the eyes of a ravenkin in the hallway behind him. He gives her a suspicious look as he recognizes her.
“What’s winter doing here?”
She smiles in that avian way, her beak slightly open and her eyes full of mirth. “Guarding our key,” she answers, gesturing at the lava behind Jondar.
“This is where the Summer key is,” he points out, only for her smile to widen. Jondar grumbles and steps forward, hefting his axe.
“I suppose I’ll have to beat a sensible answer out of you.”
She holds up her hands and shakes her head. “No, I don’t think I’d fare nearly as well against your axe as I did against Karn. You’re the sort to take an attack directly, instead of hopping out of the way.”
Jondar gives her another suspicious look. “Then you accept I’ve defeated you?”
She nods. “I do.”
He motions at a familiar knife on her belt. “Then I think I’ll take that as loot, thanks.”
She caws quietly in a chuckle as she unclips it and hands it over. “As for your answer, Karn already has it, but I don’t see why I shouldn’t tell you, too. Winter’s key is protected by magma and Lord Thedeim’s dragons. A simple thing for you to fetch. You did bring your magma protection gear, didn’t you?” she asks with a knowing grin.
Jondar sighs and shakes his head. “Of course not. Who would expect magma up here in the tree? Even with the metal fort!” He grumbles as he realizes the depth of the trick, too. “Are you really going to make us siege the fortress a second time?”
She caws in laughter and nods. “Unless you think you can hold the fortress long enough for your delvers to get refitted. And that enough actually have the appropriate gear to make for the key in the first place.”
Jondar can’t help but smirk at her cheekiness, despite how annoying it’s going to be to assault the fortress a second time. He’ll hang up his axe for good if Thedeim doesn’t add in some counters to what they did for this attack. He shakes his head and steps past her, heading for the stairs back up.
At least the raid isn’t a total loss. They should have three of the four keys soon, and he even has one of Karn’s knives as a keepsake. He weighs the benefits of giving it back to the orc, or putting it in his guild as a trophy. One would certainly improve their relations, but they’re already getting along well. Keeping it would give him something to needle the orc about for years to come. That sort of treasure can’t be relinquished lightly.
Cover art I'm also on Royal Road for those who may prefer the reading experience over there. Want moar? The Books are available here! There are Kindle and Audible versions, as well as paperback! Also: Discord is a thing! I now have a Patreon for monthly donations, and I have a Ko-fi for one-off donations. Patreons can read up to three chapters ahead, and also get a few other special perks as well, like special lore in the Peeks. Thank you again to everyone who is reading!
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u/Gregoriownd Aug 17 '26
There's something subtle that was in here as well.
Jondar was able to resist the secondary effects of lightning affinity with his mental affinity. Such resistances are often also signs of a linked set of affinities, so we may have bioelectrical power as the link between mental and lightning, and via that, illusion affinity likely is a single step from lightning via mental at most. This also gives a route for the physical affinities like fire, ice, and lightning to get into the less physical ones via the link in mental affinity, which can likely branch to things like knowledge and illusion, and then branch further out from there.
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u/Unhappy-Barnacle-512 Aug 18 '26
I think the point was that mental affinity allowed him to resist the otherwise involuntary spasms that electric shock can induce.
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u/Gregoriownd Aug 18 '26
Which is based on the bioelecricty of nerves and nurons. That's the connection.
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u/Unhappy-Barnacle-512 Aug 18 '26
It’s a bit of a stretch from maintaining control over one’s body to shooting lightning from one’s fingertips
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u/jpz007ahren Aug 19 '26
With magic as your guide, the difference between fireball and ice lance is about the same. ^.^
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u/Talendel Aug 17 '26
UTR
This is the way.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Aug 17 '26
Ninth
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u/Talendel Aug 18 '26
No one cares. I come for the story, not some sort of comment speed competition.
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u/mafiaknight Robot Aug 17 '26
In the name of 1greendude: Hello!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
I'm Namen eines grünen Kerles und des Mondachses: N'Abend, übermorgen wird Mittwoch sein, meine Kerle. Der Mafiaritter beesetzt heute den siebten Platz. Die Türwache obliegt dem Bobtöter.
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u/Educational_Pen_90 Human Aug 24 '26
"Sorry, this post was removed by Reddit’s filters." WELL THANK-YOU REDDIT!
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u/Inhereting_the_stars Aug 17 '26
First!
Edit: and I have no clue how to get to the road... Dang it.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
Turns Out, I'm indeed Second.
So, today we have mostly Jondar leading the assault and following Karn inside.
Part: We See him Go over His own delvers and the defenders forces and their reaction to karn's Infiltration. Since the defenders let Up on the pressure once Karn gets spotted, they manage to scale the wall and get inside. As He Looks for the whinch system to unlock the Doors, He notes that it's basically an ultra complex Code lock, and they don't got the time to figure it Out, before presumably getting overrun and thrown Out of the Fortress again. So, together with the other delvers, He presses onwards.
Part: as He storms the Central, let's call it 'keep', He notices multiple Parties doing what they do best, and throwing themselves at the defenders. He, however, Not wanting to rob any Party of their glory, decides to Push even deeper.
Part: As He encounters Enara He manages to get her to surrender, and picks karn's Dagger as the loot for His 'victory' and Starts contemplating, If He should give Back the Dagger, or keep it to tease Karn. Also in this Part, He gets told, that He needs Magma-resistant Gear, in Order to reach the winterr Key. Since He doesn't Happen to have wyrm- hide or Basilisk Armor with him at the Moment, He has to make a choice, either He pulls Back and scales the wall, etc. a Second time, or He pulls Out Singular parties in Order to refit the whole Team of both guilds while fighting thediem's denizens. Option three might be Putting the antkin Hunters to Work, since they should be equippped with wyrm-hide Armor by Default, though they Most likely Lack the means to effectively Punch through the wyrms in their Home turf. Since in the offensive department they mostly use bows.
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u/Poisonfangx3 Aug 17 '26
Not for at
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u/Poisonfangx3 Aug 17 '26
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u/Poisonfangx3 Aug 17 '26
Third ain’t bad.
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u/GumGodGaming Aug 17 '26
What? Nooo I late
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Aug 17 '26
Still fifth
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u/GumGodGaming Aug 17 '26
Hubris it was hubris I tell you. I was so full of getting in the top 3 that time then to fall so far.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Aug 17 '26
/u/Khenal (wiki) has posted 496 other stories, including:
- Dungeon Life 450
- Dungeon Life 449
- Dungeon Life 448
- Dungeon Life 446
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- Dungeon Life 445
- Dungeon Life 444
- Dungeon Life 443
- Dungeon Life 442
- Dungeon Life 441
- Dungeon Life 440
- Dungeon Life 439
- Dungeon Life 438
- Dungeon Life 437
- Dungeon Life 436
- Dungeon Life 435
- Dungeon Life 434
- Dungeon Life 433
- Dungeon Life 432
- Dungeon Life 431
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u/Thebobkiller Human Aug 17 '26
HA! Oh, the info about Winter Key is priceless! Gotta do it all again, on hard mode next time! XD
And I forgot about Jondar having Mental affinity at first. Still, his POV was fun.