They were given a cottage near the square—small but clean, with three beds and a hearth already lit.
The villagers brought extra blankets and food and water, all of it offered with that same eager hospitality.
Dom waited until the door closed before speaking.
“Thoughts?”
“The Chief’s story matches the system’s readings,” Emma said quietly.
“The tower is suppressing the village’s mana. I can feel it.”
“And we’re not being poisoned.” Noxie flopped onto a bed.
“That’s refreshing.”
“Doesn’t mean they might not be lying about other things,” Dom said.
“Obviously. But we can’t do anything about it tonight.” She stretched, her cropped hoodie riding up.
“I’m going to sleep. If the villagers try to eat us, wake me before the killing starts.”
“I’ll keep watch,” Emma said.
“Just in case.”
Dom shook his head.
“I’ll take first watch. You rest.”
“You should rest too—”
“I’ll rest when we’re out of here.”
Emma opened her mouth to argue, then closed it.
She knew that look.
“Fine. But wake me in a few hours.”
“Deal.”
The fire crackled.
The village was quiet outside, the only sound the distant chant of some creature in the trees.
Dom sat with his back to the wall, watching the door, and waited for morning.
***
Dom woke to grey light filtering through the cottage windows.
He’d stayed awake through most of the night, dozing in short bursts between watches.
Nothing had tried to kill them.
No villagers had crept through the door.
No monsters had emerged from the forest.
The village had been quiet, peaceful, almost idyllic.
It made him uneasy.
Emma was already up, checking her gear.
Lume hovered at her shoulder, dim but alert.
Noxie was still sprawled on her bed, one arm flung over her face, snoring softly.
“Time?” Dom asked.
“Just past dawn,” Emma said.
“The village is already stirring. I heard them moving about an hour ago.”
“Any signs of trouble?”
“None. They’re… preparing something. I can smell food.”
Dom stretched, his joints popping.
“Let’s eat, then head for the tower.”
Noxie groaned from her bed.
“Five more minutes.”
“No.”
“Three more minutes.”
“Get up.”
“You’re a cruel man, Dom.”
“Sure.”
The villagers had set out a meal in the square—bread, fruit, steaming cups of something that smelled like spiced tea.
They ate quickly, standing, their eyes on the tower that rose above the cottages at the center of the village.
It was tall.
Taller than it had looked last night, its dark stone almost black against the pale morning sky.
The runes carved into its surface pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
The Chief approached as they finished eating.
It wasn’t a question.
“Yes we are,” Dom said.
“Good.” The Chief gestured toward the tower.
“The entrance is at the base. The door has no handle, no lock. It opens only for those the tower deems worthy.”
“And if it doesn’t deem us worthy?”
The Chief’s smile didn’t waver.
“Then you will know very quickly.”
BussyBlaster9000: That’s not ominous at all.
MomsCreditCard: @BussyBlaster9000 every time the Chief smiles, I trust it less.
ActuallyADruid: @MomsCreditCard agreed. something’s off about this whole setup.
“We’ll take our chances,” Dom said.
The Chief nodded.
“May the old gods watch over you.”
“Thank you.”
They crossed the square together, the villagers watching from doorways and windows.
No one spoke.
No one cheered.
The tower loomed ahead, its base wide and ancient.
The runes on its surface glowed brighter as they approached, pulsing in rhythm with their footsteps.
“Anyone else feel like we’re sheep heading for slaughter?” Noxie murmured.
“That’s a bit dramatic. But I totally understand,” Emma said.
Dom stopped at the entrance.
The door was a single slab of black stone, smooth and featureless.
No handle.
No keyhole.
No visible mechanism of any kind.
He reached out and pressed his palm against it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the runes flared, bright gold, almost blinding, and the door split down the middle, sliding open without a sound.
Beyond it, darkness.
“After you,” Noxie said.
“Ladies first,” Dom replied.
“You’re the one with the cat reflexes.”
“That doesn’t I have nine lives. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Noxie muttered something under her breath but stepped forward.
Emma followed.
Dom took one last look at the village behind them, the Chief watching from the square, its smile fixed in place, and stepped through.
The door closed behind them.
[Dungeon Instance: The Tower of the Devourer]
[Objective: Reach the bottom. Destroy the beast.]
The darkness swallowed them whole, consuming all light and hope.
The tower descended abruptly, a steep slope illuminated only by faint, flickering runes etched into the walls.
Its surface was smooth, almost polished, guiding them downward into the abyss.
As they moved, the walls seemed to close in—their surfaces narrowing and pressing closer.
The air grew noticeably colder, a breath of chill that seeped into their bones.
The tower appeared to test them at every turn, as if alive and watching.
The first trap nearly claimed Emma’s life.
A concealed panel in the floor dissolved away with a faint grinding noise, revealing a hidden pit filled with rusted, jagged spikes that glinted menacingly in the dim light.
Dom reacted instinctively, grabbing her wrist just as she began to fall.
He yanked her back with enough force to make both of them stumble backward against the cold stone wall.
The next peril was even more brutal.
A narrow corridor lined with blade mechanisms hung from the ceiling, their sharp edges sliding in and out in precise, deadly arcs.
Dom studied the rhythmic pattern carefully, counting the seconds between each sweep.
He pushed them forward, one by one, dodging the deadly blades.
During one pass, he miscalculated slightly, and a sliver of steel nicked his shoulder, drawing a shallow, red line.
Yet, he pressed on without hesitation.
Emma’s ward spell barely held back the lethal fumes—her face paled with effort, sweat beads forming on her brow as she strained.
Her hands trembled as she maintained her barrier.
By the time they escaped the chamber, she was leaning heavily on Noxie, trying to stay upright amid the growing fatigue.
Next came a flooded chamber, dark and icy cold, filled with freezing water that reached their knees.
Only the faint glow of Lume’s enchanted light pierced the darkness, illuminating the swirling debris and faint outlines of submerged obstacles.
Noxie’s head went under twice; Dom reached in each time, grabbing her hood first, then her arm, pulling her back to the surface.
The second time, she coughed water violently for an entire minute, her chest heaving as she fought to breathe.
Then the monsters appeared, swarms of crawling, twisting things seeping from the walls, their movements disturbingly coordinated.
Behind them, hulking brutish creatures, bred for violence, lunged with savage intent.
Dom cut through the swarms with swift, practiced strokes; Emma warded against their bites and claws; Noxie burned with her magic, flames licking the darkness.
They pressed forward, relentless.
Finally, they reached the last chamber before the descent leveled out, silence falling over them.
No one spoke; their breathing was ragged and shallow.
They halted in a narrow alcove, gasping for air.
Dom’s shoulder oozed blood through his jacket, staining the fabric crimson.
Emma’s hands quivered as she rested them on her knees, dark circles shadowing her eyes from prolonged warding.
Noxie sat against the wall, her head tilted back, her cropped hoodie soaked through with sweat, her hair plastered to her forehead as she tried to regain her breath.
“Everyone alive?” Dom asked.
“Define alive,” Noxie wheezed.
Emma managed a tired laugh, then winced and pressed a hand to her ribs.
“I think I pulled something. Holding the ward through the gas was… a lot.”
“Can you keep going?”
“Give me a minute.”
Dom nodded and leaned against the wall, catching his own breath.
BussyBlaster9000: They look wrecked.
MomsCreditCard: @BussyBlaster9000 Dom’s been carrying this entire run. look at him.
PixelSlvt: @MomsCreditCard he’s bleeding. again. how many times is that today?
ActuallyADruid: counting the traps, the swarm, the brutes, and the water chamber — I’ve got him at four saves. minimum.
GoblinSlayer69: @ActuallyADruid and people still say he’s carried by his system. look at that footwork.
StinkyRiftDiver: someone get that man a healing potion. and a nap.
Noxie peeled her hoodie away from her shoulders and groaned.
“I’ve been through some ugly runs. This one’s in the top three.”
“Top three?” Emma asked.
“Top one, if I’m honest. I just didn’t want to sound dramatic.”
“You fell in the water twice.”
“And he dragged me out twice.” Noxie looked at Dom.
“I owe you one. Or two.”
“You owe me three. There was the blade corridor.”
“That one doesn’t count. You were saving Emma.”
“I was saving both of you. You were standing in the wrong spot.”
Noxie opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Okay. Three.”
Emma pushed herself off the wall, testing her ribs.
“How much further?”
Dom looked ahead.
The slope leveled into a wide, flat opening, no runes, no light, just a vast threshold leading into darkness that felt heavier than the rest of the tower.
“Not far,” he said.
“Just through there.”
The three of them exchanged a look.
Then they straightened up, checked their gear, and walked through together.