Jayden
Jayden was pumped. Ever since he hit the age of exploration, sixteen, he has been looking forward to hitting a dungeon. Unfortunately, he was not blessed with magical abilities or innate talent. So he had to train. Alot. Now 18, he was finally ready. At six foot two, and two-hundred-twenty lbs. of mostly muscle he is a beast. Or so he told himself. But clad in iron plate and wielding a longsword and shield, he felt like a beast.
Now if only he didn't have to wait on incompetence. His group were clearly not the Glorious Empire's finest if they were not there... an hour early.. like he was.
The rest of his team showed up fairly promptly on time, two young women, by the names of Adrienne and Viera, a rogue and mage respectively. While lacking the healing power of a priest, the pair were allegedly competent in their fields, for their young ages of eighteen.
Adrienne stood short and lean, with a grace and balance to her movements that echoed her profession, as well did her leather armor and twin daggers. Blue eyes, black hair and a bored expression completed her look.
Contrast to the rogue, Viera was a tall and willowy sun elf mage, brilliant gold hair atop her head shining in the sun, with rich green eyes that could double as emeralds. She wore full robes that were fitted snugly around her waist, only giving light teases as to the figure beneath.
"Finally! Adrianne, and Vera, right? Alright," he said, before they could answer to the mispronounced names, "The Green Room is a beginners dungeon, but that doesnt mean slacking off and making me do all the work. We don't have a healer, and frankly I want to go unconscious tonight from our celebration after defeating the floor boss, not because a hobgoblin used my head to rank up his club skill. Got it? And yes, I am in charge because I am rank Three,." he declared importantly. Pointedly ignoring that his party poster specified rank Ones and Twos.
Adrienne rolled her eyes, in a clear "whatever" mentality, while saying, "Sure, fine. As long as the loot is split properly."
Viera's brows crinkled, and she asked cautiously, "Have you been here before? I've done plenty of research, of course, and know the layout from others who have gone in, but it would be better to have firsthand knowledge."
"Yeah yeah, loot splits evenly, except class specific stuff. And noooo... I haven't been here before. It's not exploring if you are just following a map. What a buzzkill. No spoilers!" He demanded of the elf as he readied his sword and shield and headed for the entrance. A pair of wide double green doors with a smiling goblin split between them. He stopped as they opened and said, "Oh hey, shouldn't the rogue be in front?"
Viera looked highly offended by his dismissal of her, but clenched her teeth. Loot. All anyone ever wants is loot! How annoyingly mundane. Adrienne pulled out her daggers, sauntering past the warrior and up to the door. Giving it a cursory inspection, she muttered, "If I'm in front, you're going to have to shut up so that you don't get me killed. Deal?"
He countered with her own eye roll and 'duh'. As they proceeded into the depth, he stayed about 10' behind her as she was carrying the light and looking for traps. Someday, he hoped, they would not need light. But alas, for now, no stealthing down the tunnels with a human rogue and fighter.
Viera and Jayden walked side-by-side, and while the mage was keeping a careful eye on their surroundings, even as Adrienne seemed to be stepping with greater confidence down the passageway. She couldn't help but notice though, that Jayden's gaze never seemed to really move, always fixed ahead. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps he had tunnel vision on the darkness just past Adrienne's torch, but after following his eyes, she found his gaze leveled on Adrienne's firm, round, leather-covered rear as the rogue led the way.
Viera fell a few feet, not wanting to fall prey to similar scrutiny and glowered at the back of the human's head, resolving to report him to... someone once they returned to the surface. Surely he had a trainer or someone who would care to hear of his lecherous behavior. Of course, she would also warn Adrienne to not remain in this group for longer than this one run if she didn't want to be leered at by some immature boy.
The first level of the dungeon was designed to build complacency. Few monsters roamed its halls, and the traps were more annoying than lethal. Alarm trip wires, trip ropes, and 5' pits, most of which were seen and disarmed by Adrienne. The few goblins encountered were quickly slain by blade or spell.
Both girls would quickly learn, if nothing else, Jayden was competent. He immediately interposed himself between them and danger and fought until it was clear. No cowardice or laziness there. But it was also quickly obvious he expected perfection. Quick to chide them if they held back or did not execute their attacks perfectly, his tone condescending as if he thought himself to be their teacher.
Between the tense, but uneventful first level run, the ease with which they dispatched their foes, and the inter-party grumbling, there was no surprise when Adrienne found a neck high choke wire and rolled her eyes as she moved to disarm this fifth one.. then in a moment of hubris and overconfidence, she stepped forward and found herself falling into a pit trap that dropped her ten feet down. Surprise had her landing hard on the stone floor and she felt her ankle twist, spraining painfully.. Hidden doors on either side of the hallway above opened and a pair of hobgoblins emerged, attacking the fighter and mage at the same time.
Viera responded in self defense immediately, casting a shield of force around her to absorb the first attack that came her way while backing off in hopes of either surviving long enough for Jayden to take his attacker down, or by using weak instant spells to whittle the goblinoid that swung viciously at her down, while staying beyond his reach. Adrienne was stuck, well and truly, without being able to jump on her sprained ankle, and she was too short to close the distance between her fingers and the lip of the pit trap to pull herself out. She called out in impotent frustration for them to come to her aid, but her words fell on battle-deafened ears.
For his part, Jayden tried to get both of the hobgoblins on him. But, smarter than goblins, the hobgoblins were drilled to kill the mage first. But Jayden saw an opening and bashed the one closest to him with his shield, knocking him out of the fight... and into the pit, even as he attacked the second hobgoblin from behind, finally pulling from its advance on Viera.
In the dark hole, Adrienne looked up for help but only found a chain armored gray form falling down, colliding with her and sending a spike of pain through her ankle and, with snarl of pain, the light-sensitive hobgoblin snuffed her torch, causing Jayden to go blind above as well.
Adrienne screamed now as her ankle was fully crippled, the dagger in her free hand knocked from her grasp just as the torch was snuffed. Pain drove all rational thought from her, and she scooted back until her back pressed to a wall, where she cowered, defenseless in her pain and fear. Viera reacted in a panic, and a wave of force exploded around her, sending both Jayden and the flying from their feet and she heard weapons clattering to the ground amongst the groans of pain. While both fighter types quickly came to their senses, Jayden was at a distinct disadvantage as the hobgoblin had no trouble seeing in the pitch black and immediately grabbed his sword while Jayden fumbled around for his. The magically drained elf's vision gave her a clear view of the dull blade rising and falling on the warrior's head. In the pit the injured and enraged hobgoblin grabbed the blind girl and yanked her up, starting to punch her until she went still.
Lacking heroic impulses, the mage turned tail and began to run while Adrienne was beaten to unconsciousness. Her scholarly memory and prior research served her well in this, as she took the correct turns, and successfully navigated her way towards the entrance. Looking back at it, panting and shaking, she knew the others were lost.
