Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 435 (Patreon)

Chapter 435 – Upper City

Caazachir led them through a series of doorways, heading up, before they reached a door marked in bright red, which positively screamed danger. “Now, we come to the connector room, which allows this tower to connect with one of the ones in the Upper City above. The transition is a bit jarring, the first time, so watch close, and try to mimic what I do as best you can with so few legs.”

Catalina and her pets did not know how to take that. Why would moving from one floor to the other be jarring? Still, they followed him into the room, and watched as the giant spider alien kicked off the ground lightly. What happened next made no sense.

Caazachir pulled his legs in, using the motion to turn his body in the air, before he began falling… up? And that’s when Catalina noticed that the room was twice the height of the normal rooms in Dogik buildings. And that the other door out was up by the ceiling.

“Some kind of gravity trap, or similar effect,” Jose, her Magitech Knight and Master Artificer said, appraisingly. She didn’t have to look at him to know that his eyes were glowing with the side-effect of his [Magic Analysis] skill. “Simple design, with gravity at the other end equal to normal gravity. But I do not believe it is centered in this area. Or, rather, it just so happens to cover this area.”

Caazachir chittered in the Dogik version of a laugh. “Your Thrall is correct. The field covers the whole of the Upper City. When the founders first started building the city, and needed something more substantial than mere temporary webs, they decided that engineering every building to be able to securely anchor into the cavern’s roof and hang downward would limit the scale of what they could build. More importantly, while we Dogik can easily climb walls and walk across the cave’s ceiling, many of the nobles of the time had pets and slaves of other races, who could not move as we did. It was decided that a self-sustaining gravity field, woven into the cavern’s structure itself, was a more efficient use of resources than forcing every building to hang downward, and granting items to every non-Dogik who came to the Upper City to keep them from falling to the Lower City below.”

The ceiling was not so high that a fall would be trouble, unless they managed to fall exceptionally badly. And between Ryan’s potions, Jose’s magical tools, and Jonathan’s limited healing spells, she was sure that any injuries save instant death could be handled well enough. And while she couldn’t use her own healing powers on herself, as a Courtesan was all about doing things to others, it did give them plenty of options.

With that in mind, Catalina took a breath, and pushed up, before pulling her legs into a tucked position, as the dogik had done. As her feet left the ground, she felt the pull of gravity pulling her down, and she turned, managing to land lightly on her feet. More a reflection of her natural Dexterity and the [Parkour] skill than any real knowledge on her part, though.

Looking up at the rest of her party below her, she said, “Use skills like [Athletics], [Gymnasitcs], or [Parkour], if you have them. Your natural DEX should be enough to keep you from falling too badly, even if you misjudge things, and we have enough healing to repair things, if there are any injuries.”

One by one, they jumped, tucked, and landed. Not all with grace, of course. Jonathan and Dante, in their heavy armor, landed with more of a crash than the others, but they still managed without injury, their higher CON scores helping to mitigate the issues. Caazachir nodded once, approvingly.

“Very good. House Throk uses this chamber as a final test for new recruits. It helps them gauge how much retraining they may need, before entering into the Games. After all, it wouldn’t do if a new recruit jumped a bit too high using one of their skills, and left the gravity field on one of the streets, without having flight magic or some other way of returning. More than one recruit from another House has found out the hard way that getting too ‘exuberant’ can result in falling down to the Lower City. And then, their friends come to learn that since the actual death happened when they hit the ground, the magic doesn’t count them as dying in the Upper City, and they have to find other ways to be brought back from the dead, at their own expense.”

Catalina frowned slightly. “And just how high does the gravity field extend above the streets?”

Caazachir chittered in another laugh. “Depends on where you are. In wide open courtyards or the like? Ten feet, maybe fifteen. But any tower or large building will have a field around it, going up past the roof for a few feet. Yes, that means that you may find yourself shooting through different gravity fields when you shoot from a courtyard to a window on the side of a building, and it will wreck your aim until you learn to work with it. Even then, you won’t be doing precision shots without some high-level skills.

“On the other hand, when you’re inside buildings, or in the streets of the city itself? General rule is that you will have normal gravity from the street to at least ten feet above the buildings around you. So kicking someone out of a window is definitely still an option, as is jumping from a window, if you’re in a bad situation.”

The dogik began leading them through the building, and down the stairs that Catalina knew were going up, towards the ceiling of the cavern. No, she was just going to ignore that for the time being. Up and down can do their own thing in the Upper City, and she’d just deal with it, rather than trying to fight or understand it.

As they moved through the building, Caazachir said, “And since we’re on the subject, there are a few ground rules for the Games. Keeps things civil, and all. Breaking the rules will have all the Great Houses unite to punish the rulebreaker, because otherwise the whole system falls apart, and everyone knows it. More importantly, no one wants to be the reason why everything fails.”

Dante nodded. “What are these rules?”

Caazachir talked as they walked. “There are many, as you might expect. Some of them are codes for a House to follow, based on their own values. The bleeding hearts of House Ilzor will never allow someone under their house to use things like a [Slave Brand], or employ Thralls in their service, and they are even particular about what can be done with the binding of different creatures from other planes, or with animal companions. Very restrictive, but that is why they almost always lose.”

He looked down at them as he walked along the ceiling for a bit. “Luckily for you, House Throk is not so… restrictive. But there are some rules that everyone plays by, because otherwise things would become very un-civil, very quickly, and that is not in anyone’s interests. Which is why the rules stand, no matter which House wins control of the city each Game.

“The first of these rules involves the line between combatants and noncombatants. As combatants in the Great Game, you will be given badges, which must be worn openly at all times while in the Upper City, save only in designated safe zones, such as bedchambers, inns, and bath houses. These badges are part of the enchantment that will allow you to return from death if you are killed in the Upper City. Anyone not wearing a badge is considered a noncombatant, and killing them is treated as the murder it is. Which means that, if you go ‘Champion Hunting’, you must ensure that your target is wearing their badge, and you cannot attack them in one of the designated safe zones.”

Catalina frowned. “So, no seducing a target into bed, and then killing them while they’re spent?”

Caazachir chittered, and shook his head. “Sadly, no. But I will mention that to the Scorekeepers, when we introduce you, and get your badges. That kind of thought speaks well of you. Though I suppose I should have expected it from a succubus.”

He continued on, not giving them time to stop. “The second rule goes along with the first, and has to do with the gravity field. Whether through the force of one’s blows, or through different skills and items, at a certain level of power, forcing your opponent to move against their will is simply part of a fighter’s kit, whether they’re a fighter or a mage. But you need to be careful, as intentionally launching or casting someone out of the gravity field, so that they are sent hurtling to the Lower City below is treated the same as killing noncombatants.”

“Because it throws them out of range of the enchantment,” Catalina nodded. “But the use of ‘intentionally’ has some implications, there. What about use of illusions to interfere with senses, or spells that alter how an individual’s skills work, causing them to throw themselves out of the gravity? Or having an explosive trap that accidentally threw them a bit too far, since it was designed for larger specimens, or heavy vehicles?”

Caazachir nodded his head. “Yes, definitely telling the Scorekeepers about you. Already asking all the right questions. Mind controlling someone and making them jump down to the Lower City would be against the rules. Interfering with senses or abilities, or even just removing someone’s ability to fly temporarily, without telling them? All those are acceptable, but try not to get caught or earn a reputation for it, or the houses may see about putting bounties on you, or having the assassins of the Lower City start watching for you.”

“Good to know,” Catalina nodded.

“The third rule,” Caazachir continued, “is more about collateral damage. In this case, we’re talking about more than just the noncombatants. While some damage to the city and its buildings is expected when dealing with fights that can literally send people flying, some level of restraint is required. Excessive damage to the surroundings, especially in House Throk’s section of the city, will cause your standing in the House to drop. The same with engaging in ‘friendly fireballs’. Setting off a fireball on top of a friendly half-demon who is immune to fire but is fighting creatures who definitely are not is fine. Doing the same to a friendly plant-kin creature who is weak to fire? Very much not fine.”

Ryan, her Hellfire Sorcerer and Master Alchemist, nodded once. “No blowing up friendlies, and keep property damage to acceptable limits, understood. That just means we have to get creative about the size and shape of the explosions. Or hand out some resistance potions to ensure that the friendlies are able to shrug off the hellfire.”

Caazachir was still chittering with laughter as they made their way to a large area that looked like a fancy reception area. If they weren’t in a dungeon, Catalina would have sworn it was the first floor of an Adventurers Guild hall. There was even a ‘quest board’ in the [House Bounty Board] she could see from the stairs.

The dogik led the way to a reception desk, and called out to another dogik. “Zik’tho, baby! It feels like years since I’ve seen you!”

The receptionist, evidently a female dogik (though Catalina admitted she couldn’t tell the difference), spat out a curse that sounded as much insult as comradery. “Caazachir, you buzzfly! What do you mean, years? You were just bothering me last week. You better not be trying to convince me to take you to bed. I told you what would happen the next time you tried that. Now, what do you want, and who are these people?”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Zik’tho! I really am here on business, today. These are some of the newest Players in the Game I scouted for the House. They’ve been making a name for themselves in the Lower City, a group of those newcomers who’ve been dropping in and out, the last few cycles. No injuries on the flip-over, and they’ve been asking the right questions about the rules. They just need formal registration, and their combatant badges.”

“Fine, you lot, come forward. Caazachir, you stay there. I don’t want your pheromones within ten feet of me.” Zik’tho’s attention turned away from the talent scout, and focused on the new recruits as they approached the desk. “Well, you certainly look like you’ve got what it takes, but looks aren’t everything. Here are your registration forms. Fill them out, and we can get to work on your [Combatant Badges].”