What if Sienna was teleported to the start of Goblin Slayer II: Dai Katana?
"Darlings, get back!" Sienna yelled out, reaching to pull Saltzpyre away from the altar, but it was too late.
The light exploded, enveloping the group in a blinding flash.
Suddenly, Sienna was overcome with a foul smell, one that was familiar to her. It was the smell of the essence of dark magic: Dhar.
As the wizard's vision eventually returned, she realized that she was completely surrounded by darkness. The only thing she could make out from the void around her was a thin outline of the room's features.
"Aqshy!" Sienna chanted as her body began to glow brightly, immediately illuminating her surroundings. However, for whatever reason, the light seemed to suddenly cut out after a set distance away from her. It was as if the light was being rebuffed by a barrier of darkness, no doubt an effect of the magic that permeated the room.
"Well, that's annoying," the wizard muttered as she began to wander the halls and pondered her predicament. Whatever happened at the Citadel of Eternity seemed to have teleported her somewhere. She could be anywhere in the world, or maybe even somewhere outside of it. "Is this really the Realm of Chaos? Honestly, so far, it's much more boring than I expected."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, dear sister," a familiar voice replied.
Sienna quickly turned to face the speaker but was met by only the emptiness of the surrounding void. The wizard's face took on a look of confusion as she wondered if what she'd heard was real. She had gotten used to the voice of her sister subtly whispering in the back of her mind, but the voice she'd heard just now sounded as if it had come from right beside her.
"The air down here must be getting to me," Sienna remarked, trying to calm herself as she continued traversing the halls.
When she turned a corner, she saw a small, hazy figure in the distance, one that seemed to be moving. As she approached, the figure gradually became less distorted until she could clearly make out what it was.
"Is this… jelly?" the wizard said confusedly as she examined the thing before her. It was a round, gelatinous blob that was coloured a vibrant shade of blue.
As Sienna knelt down to examine the blob more closely, it suddenly lunged at her, enveloping her head. But the blob didn't anticipate the fiery heat of its prey; it began to bubble before suddenly bursting apart, sending steaming bits of itself across the hall.
"Eugh! Never doing that again!" the wizard said disgustedly as she wiped herself off and intensified her body heat, removing the large chunks of the slimy residue that coated her and causing the smaller remnants to evaporate.
As she recovered her bearings, Sienna noticed several more blobs approaching her. It appeared that the thing had not come alone.
"Oh no, you little dungheaps aren't surprising me this time," she said before shooting out a rapid barrage of flaming bolts at the slimy creatures. As each bolt impacted its target, each of the blobs boiled internally before bursting, painting a violent rainbow of slime across the surfaces of the hall. With that, it seemed to be over.
As the wizard's posture began to relax again, she heard the sound of clapping behind her. Sienna tensed up once again and turned around, where she was confronted with a ghastly sight.
"Congratulations, dear sister," Sofia Fuegonasus said as she continued her applause. "You've splashed at least a couple dozen jars worth of jelly all over this perfectly good hall."
"How are you here!?" Sienna asked, shock filling her voice and visage. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"Well, dear sister, I still am, thank you for reminding me," Sofia said as she tried kicking a nearby rock on the floor, only for her foot to phase through it. "I don't know why you're acting so surprised, you've known about my presence for a while now. You know, ever since you and your friends killed me."
"Okay, first of all, you're not going blame your death on us," Sienna countered.
"And why not?" the ghost questioned. "You're the ones who caused it, after all."
"You tried to take over Olesya's tower, then you refused to leave when we confronted you, and then you tried to kill us when we tried to stop you," the wizard argued. "Sure, you ended up dying because of us, but you were given a lot of chances to just walk away. If anything, your death was just as much your fault as it was ours."
"Of course, whatever helps you sleep, dear sister," Sofia replied dismissively.
"And second of all, you've never been... like this before," Sienna said trying to gesture to her sister's appearance. "You've always just been a little whisper at most."
"Ah, that," Sofia said, realizing her sister's concern. "Well, you've probably noticed it already, but this place is flowing with dark magic; necromancy, to be exact."
As the ghost finished her answer, Sienna's form tensed up.
"Did you do this?" the wizard asked suspiciously. "Did you bring me to this place to enact some kind of necromantic scheme?"
"You're giving me far too much credit, dear sister. I'm a bit flattered, really," Sofia replied. "But no, I wasn't the one who put you here. And before you ask, no, I don't know where any of your friends are either."
"Well, if you've got nothing useful to say, then keep quiet for now," Sienna said before continuing on her path. "I've got to focus on finding a way out of this dunghole."
"If that's the case, you're going in the wrong direction," the ghost retorted, before pointing down the path Sienna had come from. "The exit is that way."
"How can you tell?" Sienna asked as she turned around, looking at her sister skeptically.
"You're not used to being surrounded by such high levels of Dhar, it's messing with your senses. But luckily for you, I am," Sofia began as she once again pointed down the hall Sienna came from. "And I can tell that its potency is weaker over there."
"And let's assume you know the right way," the wizard began. "Why should I trust you?"
"Is sisterly love a good answer?" the ghost offered questioningly.
"No, it's not," Sienna replied, remembering how her sister had previously exploited their familial bond, along with the disaster that followed.
"Yeah, I thought so," Sofia relented. "Look, as much as I'd love to see the locals here tear you to pieces, I can't have that. I'm more or less bound to you; if you end up dying, that's the end of me as well. So for both of our sakes, I'll help you find your way out."
"I guess that makes sense," the wizard remarked. "But if this is some kind of trap, I'm telling Olesya."
"And what's that old crone going to do?" Sofia questioned smugly. "She may have beaten me once, but she can't play the same tricks with the way I am now."
"True, but she's pretty resourceful," Sienna replied. "And I bet that she can get her hands on a few things from the Light Order, that is, if she doesn't have something already."
"Well, just so you know, this isn't a trap," Sofia said, changing her tone. It was no secret that the magic of Hysh had the power to exorcise entities such as her. "So, no need to do that."
"I guess we'll see about that," Sienna replied as she followed her sister's directions.
After traversing the pitch-black labyrinth for some time, the wizard eventually arrived at a ladder that seemed to lead to the surface and began climbing.
"Long way up, isn't it?" Sienna remarked. "Bardin had a point about places like this, they really need to set up an elevator."
"Sure, I guess," Sofia said dismissively as she floated up alongside her sister. "Anyways, I've fulfilled my part of the bargain, so don't go telling that old crone about me, alright?"
"As long you don't give me a reason to, sure," the wizard replied as she kept climbing. "I suppose you're not the worst company to have for a treacherous, manipulative, dunglicker of a sister."
"You're still mad about Siernos?" the ghost asked. "Are you really going to shed tears over that one inquisitor? Sure, he might've been right about me, but think about all of the times he could've been wrong, all the innocents that he could've killed and tortured."
"And all of the townsfolk who perished, they weren't innocent?" Sienna questioned, refusing to indulge her sister's attempts to coax her.
"I never told you to burn down the whole place, I just wanted to escape," Sofia countered. "That part, all of those deaths, are on you, dear sister."
"You know what, I take it back," the wizard began irritatedly as she quickened her pace up the ladder. "I think I will have a chat with Olesya."
"Oh, so you're going to act sore over a few uncomfortable truths now?" the ghost mocked. "You like to think that you're better than me, you like to act as if I'm somehow beneath you. But the truth is, we're not too different. You enjoy losing yourself to the winds just as much as I do, I just didn't let anything hold me back. Oh, and I didn't lie to myself about it either."
"Sure, whatever you say, 'dear sister'," Sienna mocked back.
"Oh no, you are not going to turn tha-," Sofia began annoyedly before her image suddenly began distorting.
"Well, it seems that the world above isn't too corrupted with Dhar," Sienna remarked as she continued her climb. "Looks like I won't have to listen to your nagging for a while, at least not so loudly."
"Alright, act smug for now," the ghost said, her voice fading.'But I'll be waiting, dear sister.'
"Can't hear you," the wizard mocked as she finally made it to the top of the ladder and found herself in what appeared to be a large cavern. In front of her was a gigantic opening leading to the outside, along with a well-dressed, armed woman who seemed to be standing guard. As Sienna approached, the woman turned and greeted the wizard with a smile, but the expression seemed more ironic than friendly.
"Don't remember seeing you around here," the guard remarked as she sized up Sienna. "I'm guessing your run didn't go too well."
"I'm sorry, what?" the wizard said confusedly.
"You look battered, you're alone, you don't look like you're carrying much loot, and you aren't even bringing any bodies back with you," the guard observed aloud. "It's not too hard to put it all together."
"Are you talking about some kind of local custom or something?" Sienna questioned before remembering her priorities. "Actually, forget about that; I just need some directions, if that's fine."
"You're not from around here?" the guard asked, her smile turning to a look of confusion. "How did you even get down there?"
"Well, that's a long story, darling," the wizard replied. "But I guess the short of it would be teleportation."
"If that's the case, you're lucky to still be alive," the guard remarked. "It's not too rare for a bad gate scroll to put you right into a wall, and going down this place alone is practically suicide."
"Oh, believe me, I've heard the stories about teleportations gone awry, usually they're the talk of the colleges whenever they happen," Sienna responded. "But, anyways, what is this place and where's the closest town?
"Wow, you're really not from here," the guard realized. "Well, this is the Dungeon of the Dead, it's probably the most dangerous place in the entire Kingdom."
"Which kingdom, exactly?" the wizard questioned. It was difficult to piece together their current geographical location by context clues alone. The guard's outfit seemed to be styled in a manner that was vaguely similar to an Imperial soldier's and she spoke in near-perfect Reikspiel, but nobody would describe the Empire as a 'kingdom'. The closest term that would be used was 'principality', but that only referred to each of the individual provinces.
"You know, The Kingdom," the guard said as if it were self-explanatory. "Are you sure you didn't get hit by some kind of amnesia spell or something?"
"I know I'm getting on the older side, darling, but I can tell you right now that my mind is perfectly fine," Sienna assured confidently.
'Really? Is that so?'the voice of Sofia whispered in the back of the wizard's mind.
"Yep, perfectly fine," Sienna insisted.
"Okay," the guard said hesitantly before gesturing out the cavern opening. "As for directions to the closest town, you can't really miss it."
Following the guard's gesture, Sienna quickly realized that they were on top of a large mountain. Looking down, she saw a large, fortified city resting at the mountain's base with a noticeable path leading from the cavern entrance to the city gate.
"I'd recommend visiting the Golden Knight tavern first," the guard suggested. "They've got pretty decent lodgings and aren't too expensive. You look like you've had a rough day, so it'd probably be best to rest up and get your bearings."
"Can't argue with that," Sienna agreed. "But before I go, I just need to ask, did you see anyone else pass by here? Specifically, a dwarf, an elf, and two men with big hats?"
"Of course, I have," the guard answered.
"Really?" the wizard said surprised.
"Yeah, dozens of them," the guard continued. "There's a lot of adventurers that fit those descriptions."
"Well, the dwarf has a pretty big beard, the elf is dressed like a tree, one of the men is missing an eye, and the other has a really nice moustache," Sienna detailed.
"Do you have any idea how little that narrows things down?" the guard questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I figured, but it was worth a try, wasn't it?" the wizard conceded. "Well, anyways, thanks for the help, darling, I guess I'll see you around then?"
"Only if you intend to go back down there," the guard responded, pointing a thumb into the cavern. "But if you do, make sure you take some people with you."
"Noted," Sienna remarked as she began her trek down the mountain and to the unknown city.
It took a considerable amount of time to reach the city from the top of the mountain, and even longer to explore the place. On the surface, it didn't seem too different from a typical Imperial town, but Sienna noted a couple of odd things as she wandered the streets. She saw shrines dedicated to unfamiliar gods. She saw magic being displayed openly and seemingly without any concern. She even saw humanoid figures with animalistic traits, werecreatures in other words, but unlike the mutants she was familiar with, these beings, 'padfoots' she'd heard a passerby call them, held no trace of Chaos corruption about them and seemed generally harmonious with everyone else. She had no doubt that if Saltzpyre was here, the witch hunter would be foaming at the mouth and spewing accusations of heresy. He would likely also attempt to burn down every 'heretical' thing in sight, but that part was much less amusing and significantly more worrying to imagine.
Eventually, the wizard finally reached her destination; at a large, comfortable-looking building's entrance hung a sign that read 'The Golden Knight'.
'Huh, that doesn't look like Reikspiel,'Sienna thought as she read the unfamiliar characters. Despite having never seen the language before, she could somehow read and comprehend the words naturally.'Might be a lingering effect, either from the Citadel of Eternity or that 'Dungeon of the Dead' as the guardswoman called it.'
With that, the wizard entered the building. It was pretty typical as far as taverns went, other than the oddities she'd already been made aware of while wandering through the city. She was about to head over to the front desk to ask for a room when a particular exchange caught her attention.
"Hey, identifier, are you trying to make fools out of us!?" a rough-looking man interrogated.
"N-no sir, I'm not! I would never," a young girl protested meekly. The table she was sitting at appeared to be stacked with a heap of garbage.
"Do you know what happens when people try to play us?" a brute, one who seemed to be the other man's partner, asked threateningly as he forcefully cleared the table of junk before piling a new collection of trash onto it. "Check this batch and get it right, it better have something valuable in it!"
"Yes sir, I understand," the girl responded weakly as she began to palm through the heap of what was, at best, scrap metal and tattered rags.
Out of the whole scene, it was the girl who drew Sienna's attention the most. She had a noticeable magical presence and her attire seemed to be more fitting for a temple or church attendant than a tavern patron. But it was her eyes that were the most notable to the wizard, their clouded appearance reminded her of a certain witch hunter, and she quickly realized what it meant.
'She's blind,'Sienna thought to herself, her expression of pity and disgust at the situation before her intensifying.'I thought this was distasteful enough already, but this takes it to another level.'
"I'm sorry, I don't know what they are," the girl said hesitantly.
Sienna could tell that the girl was only saying that out of fear for how the men would react to the truth; that being, all of the stuff they had unloaded onto the table was, in fact, worthless trash. The wizard's own witchsight told her that there was not even the slightest hint of magic among the items.
"Then do it until you get it right!" one of the men yelled.
"What a worthless girl," the other sneered.
"Alright, that does it," the wizard said under her breath as she approached the table. "Excuse me."
The girl was the first to acknowledge Sienna's presence, while the men just continued staring down the girl.
"Ah, sorry, I'm busy with another customer right now," the girl said apologetically. "Could you please wait for your turn?"
"Yeah, get in line, lady," one of the men grumbled.
"Actually, I couldn't help but overhear your exchange," Sienna stated. "From what I heard, it's your job to identify magical items, but it sounds like you haven't found any for these two, is that right?"
The girl looked even more discomforted as the wizard said her piece, aware of her customers' growing irritation. The men's attention was now directed towards Sienna, along with their frustration.
"What's it to you?" one of the brutes spat.
"One of you said something about being played for a fool," the wizard continued. "That got me thinking, how do we know that this girl's the real thing? What if she's just a fraud?"
"Huh, you make a good point," one of the men said as his attention returned to the girl.
"So she's been scamming us this whole time!?" the other man said furiously.
The girl looked even more frightened now, there was a noticeable shiver in her form.
"But wait a moment, that's a serious accusation," Sienna interrupted. "Thankfully, I have a way to prove it beyond a doubt."
The wizard produced a small, round container and held it up for the group to see.
"This object has a special enchantment that you'd never be able to guess," Sienna stated aloud. "If she's legitimate, she'll get it right."
The wizard moved to the girl's side and placed the container in her hands.
"You can do this, show these dunglickers how wrong they are," Sienna whispered to the girl. She would have given her a wink as well, but she knew that the girl wouldn't have been able to see it.
"Um, okay," the girl agreed hesitantly as she began to identify the object. "This is a tinderbox, but it's enchanted with a fire shielding spell, the matches inside it won't light at all."
"What?" one of the men said confusedly. "That's stupid, you made that up, didn't you?"
"So you were lying this whole time!" the other man accused.
"No, she was completely correct," Sienna countered. The tinderbox in question was one she'd made specifically to prank Saltzpyre. Whenever they were in the keep, she'd swap his out for her enchanted one. She found it hilarious how frustrated he would get when trying and failing to light his tobacco pipe, and it was always amusing when he would eventually ask her to light it for him. "Congratulations darling, you're the real deal and nobody can tell you otherwise."
The girl's tense form visibly relaxed upon hearing the wizard's words. She seemed both surprised and relieved that someone had actually taken her side.
"Wait a minute, you whispered something to her, I heard it!" one of the men accused. "You were working with her this whole time!"
"Oh please, if you really heard what I said, you'd be much more upset," Sienna retorted provokingly.
"You should've minded your own business, you old hag!" the other man said as he attempted to grapple the wizard.
The man was quick, but he was quite slow when compared to a lunging skaven.
Sienna dodged to the side, leaving the man to only grab at the air, before drawing her dagger and plunging it into her attacker's thigh. The burning blade went effortlessly through the hardened leather armor the man wore and bit deeply into his flesh. As the wizard pulled the dagger out, the man's wound was immediately cauterized and sealed closed, but the pain remained and he went down screaming.
"You wrinkled bitch!" the man's partner yelled vengefully as he drew his sword and pointed it at the wizard. But before he could do anything else, a sudden impact struck hard against the back of the man's head, knocking him out.
Behind where the man once stood was a figure dressed in an odd style of clothing who held a sheathed sword in his hands. His attire reminded Sienna vaguely of a Cathayan warrior's apparel, perhaps he was from somewhere in the Eastern regions, though where exactly she wasn't able to pinpoint. He seemed considerably young too, which only made his feat of knocking out the large man even more impressive.
"Someone get this kid a sponsor," Sienna remarked, giving an impressed whistle.
The Easterner looked at the wizard confusedly. He asked her what she meant.
"Talent like yours is something that certain people would be very interested in having on their side," the wizard explained. "What I'm saying is, that arm of yours is going to take you places, darling."
The Easterner replied that his abilities were just a result of being taught by a good teacher, but thanked Sienna for her compliment.
"You've caused quite a scene," a new voice interjected.
The pair turned toward the voice's direction to see a young man in shining armour. The way the man carried himself gave off an air of nobility and authority beyond his youthful appearance.
"I'd say it's more like we ended a scene," the wizard corrected.
The Easterner supported Sienna's claim and noted that one of the men had attempted to attack her first; her actions were only in self-defence.
The groans of pain from the man who had been stabbed in the thigh brought the group out of their conversation.
"Oh, suck it up, it's not like you're going to bleed out," Sienna chided. "You'll be back to standing once that wound heals."
"I'll alert the guards to take these men away," the noble said. "I can't fault your actions, but keep in mind that this is a crowded area, if you're going to fight at least try to move it outside, most adventurers can handle a tavern fight, but civilians are a different story."
"Sure, understood," Sienna said as the noble dragged the two men out of the tavern. For someone who seemed to come from high society, he didn't seem to mind getting his hands dirty, and there was something admirable in that.
"Wow, we were gonna jump in and help out too, but it looks like you managed to get it all settled without us," A dark-skinned elf said as he approached the Easterner and Sienna. A short, pink-haired girl, one who seemed to have a magical presence, followed alongside him.
"Friends of yours?" Sienna asked.
The Easterner nodded and briefly introduced the wizard to his second cousin and the scout they'd met on their way travelling to the Fortress City.
"You're a wizard, right?" the Easterner's cousin asked, looking up at Sienna with wonder in her eyes. "You dodged that guy's attack so easily, where did you learn to move like that?"
"That? It's just experience, really," Sienna answered. "Once you've been through certain situations long enough, you learn to be quicker on your feet."
The Easterner remarked how moving with such agility would be much more difficult in heels, as he looked down at his cousin's shoes.
"Oh, but they're just so cute," the Easterner's cousin argued.
"He has a point though, sis," the scout remarked. "There's a reason why most of us wear boots."
"Ah- erm, excuse me, ma'am," the priestly girl stuttered nervously, still sitting at her table. In her hand, she held out the wizard's tinderbox offeringly. "Here is your item back."
"Oh, of course, thank you, darling," Sienna said as she retrieved her tinderbox. "So, how much do I owe you for the identification?"
"Oh, no, you don't have to pay for that one," the girl said. "After all, you already knew what it was."
"Nonsense, you deserve at least something," Sienna said as she placed a pair of silver shillings on the table. "Well, I'd best get going now, see you around, darlings."
The Easterner asked Sienna to wait before leaving. He explained that he wanted to discuss a matter with both her and the identifier.
"Alright, I guess I have a couple moments to spare," the wizard conceded.
With that, the story of the Dungeon of the Dead's downfall began.
