Peek: First Inspection (Patreon)

Jarl keeps his eyes peeled as he walks the tunnel, the only sound the fall of his boots and the rap of his quarterstaff against the ground. He can't help but smirk at the staff, recalling the comments during his training about how maybe it should be called an eighthstaff. He didn't take it personally, and neither did the gnomes and halflings that trained alongside the dwarf to become inspectors.

Personally, with how thick he prefers his staff, he sometimes jokes about it being a long club. Still, he should focus. It's not every day he gets to delve a fresh dungeon, especially not one that seems to be as strange as the initial reports are suggesting.

Floatiness would usually mean air affinity, but how in the molten abyss would an air affinity dungeon coalesce so deep in the Holds? He doesn't feel a draft, either, which makes air a pretty unlikely candidate. His knowledge affinity is intrigued, along with the rest of him. This is exactly the sort of thing he joined the Dungeoneers to get to figure out.

He pauses once he crosses the threshold into the dungeon, scratching his beard as he tries to mentally describe the new sensation. Even standing still, he feels like he's about to climb a mountain, like he's on a steep incline, even though he can see the tunnel continues on flat. Maybe an illusion affinity? He cautiously probes with his staff, but what he sees and what he feels continue to be the same. There's no sudden incline or pit, nor any of the other telltale signs of a weak illusion. His affinity doesn't have much to say, other than it doubts the dungeon is an illusionist.

He carefully walks forward, grunting as his feet hit the floor with more force than he intends. Is it a strange sort of kinetic affinity? He uses his staff to help steady himself as he continues, and nearly slams himself into the ceiling as the force pulling him down suddenly eases off. He had been feeling like he had rocks tied to him, and now he feels almost like he's swimming!

He swipes his staff around a few times, confirming he's not somehow submerged. He's just... lighter, somehow. "Strange indeed..." he mutters to himself, taking mental notes of everything he can as he continues to carefully traverse the tunnel. He continues as he tunnel seems to slowly twist, adjusting his footing to keep himself stable, before he stops with a jolt. He glances back with a frown before striking the floor, leaving a good mark, before he backtracks.

What is this dungeon?! It had him walking on the wall, and he'd be willing to bet he'd be walking on the ceiling if he continued. He tries the tunnel again, trying to keep his feet on the actual floor, but his equilibrium demands he transition to the wall as he goes.

He doesn't get the chance to try to figure out the strange trap before he finally spots a denizen. It's clearly a construct of some type, looking like a clockwork beetle of some variety. That he doesn't immediately recognize the type is concerning, as is the scuttle of many more around the bend.

It might be an initial denizen, but he still plays it safe. He crushes it at the maximum of his reach, and he's glad he did. It dies with a loud bang, the sound echoing up and down the tunnel. It's unpleasant, and would probably be even more so if he lets the others get too close, but he's an experienced inspector, so he deals with the small swarm at the edge of his reach.

Once they're dealt with, he's glad they don't seem to be designed to draw attention. It definitely has thunder affinity, but he seriously doubts that is the base affinity of the dungeon. It's not common for an initial spawn to have an extra affinity, but not unheard of.

He continues to traverse the odd tunnels, glad he has a good sense of direction to navigate the weird effects of walking on the walls and ceiling. It doesn't take him too long to find the second denizen type: a little cave lizard. They're definitely designed to deal with invaders rather than delvers, but the defense is at the same time surprising and obvious. When he swings his staff to crush one, his weapon gets heavier or lighter at random, throwing off his aim and giving the denizen the chance to flee.

He considers chasing after it, as well as continuing his delve, but he wants to get the information back as quickly as possible. He's still confident he can delve the dungeon further, but it's not going anywhere. He can come back whenever he pleases. For now, he makes his exit, letting the young dungeon see he's no real threat, and in fact earns it more mana for having killed a few denizens.

He expects it will probably be a typical low-aggression belligerent. Whatever it's doing with weight could easily overwhelm delvers who aren't ready for it, and he didn't sense any particular malice in the interactions so far. He'll definitely need to study it further, though.

A dungeon with an unknown affinity? Discovering its secrets could make his career!

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Inspired by... well a lot of people wanting to see more of the gravity affinity and its impact on the world :P