Akira, not sure what to do, looked to those around him and they only shrugged, not sure what to do either.


    “Uh... sir?” said Zundar, unsure who he was talking to. “We''re a group of adventurers who came to clear this dungeon.”


    “So you''re trapped here as well?” asked the voice behind the wooden door.


    “I guess you could say that?” said an embarrassed Zundar as he rubbed one of his horns.


    “Are those damn Imps gone? They have been causing me no end of trouble lately,” said the voice after a short pause.


    “You mean those small ugly things that attacked us? We killed several groups of them since they attacked us,” said Sweety.


    The sound of locks clanking open could be heard before the wooden door opened. The inside of the cabin was dark as there was no light source. But Akira could see two glowing red eyes from the old man as he stood in the dark doorway.


    When he stepped out into the light provided by the glowing plants on the cavern''s walls, everyone let out a sigh. It was just a skinny old man with gray skin and white hair who walked out and shaded his eyes from the bright glowing light.


    He looked to be from some demon race that Akira had never seen before. He had overall average features that were not much to take notice of.


    Fluffball, curious as ever, continued to sniff the old man but found nothing odd about him. The old man paid no attention to Fluffball and looked at Akira for a second before focusing on Zundar.


    “Your voice sounds different than the normal dialect I am used to... have I really been trapped down here for such a long time that the way people speak has changed?” asked the old man.


    “Ahem... well I am from a very remote village so that might be why. Some people have mentioned that before...” said an embarrassed Zundar as he rubbed his head.


    The old man looked away from Zundar and scanned the tilled farmland with the hardy plants that were still growing.


    “The damage doesn''t look too bad this time. I''ll count this as being lucky for once in my life. It was a real pain having to hide for the last few days while those imps roamed around in large groups,” said the old man as he sniffed the air and scrunched his nose in disgust. “You all smell like you took a bath in slime acid and imp blood.”


    Akira and the others had not noticed any odd smells as they were so focused on surviving the bizarre dungeon that they had not paid attention to hygiene much. After a sniff of himself, he had to agree with the old man that it was not a pleasant smell.


    “We aren''t here to cause you trouble. We are just passing by on our way to find the last cavernous room of this dungeon so that we can clear it. Do you know of any other tough creatures that we need to be aware of? We haven''t met anything crazy yet...,” said Akira, having Zundar translate for him.


    The old man looked at Akira curiously not understanding his gibberish language and only nodded his head as he said, “Barbaric faction indeed.”


    “He is from an even more remote village,” explained Zundar.


    “I personally have not seen anything around here that would cause alarm other than the annoying Imps who constantly cause mayhem for my crops,” said the old man as he rubbed his chin in thought.


    Everyone was silent as they went through everything they had learned so far about the dungeon.


    “Although...” The man''s face twitched in pain as his body spasmed causing him to fall to the ground where he twitched for several seconds.


    “Sir are you okay?” asked Akira and Zundar.


    With the old man''s arms and legs flailing everywhere they did not want to get too close or cause him any harm as they were not sure what was going on. Only a few seconds later the man was lying on the floor breathing hard as he recovered from the flailing episode.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    He managed to stand back up and lean against the door frame of his log cabin.


    Sister Teresa stood nearby inspecting him but could not find anything wrong with his body. There was nothing that she could do to help him.


    “My health is not what it used to be... I was searching for a cure and documenting all my research in my book but when I was so close to completion... I lost my notebook when I ran from a group of imps while I was out on a research trip into the depths of the dungeon looking for medicinal herbs and minerals. Could... Could I ask you to retrieve my book for me? With it, I am sure I can finish my preparations and cure this ailment that curses...”


    Again the old man fell to the floor twitching.


    Ding!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    New mission received [Find that book]!


    The old hermit farmer of the Ancient Experimental Labs dungeon has asked for your help!


    Will help him find his lost notebook?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    “We are going that way anyways so that should be no problem. Do you want to come with us?” asked Akira.


    The old man shook his head after listening to Zundar, “With my current health I would be more likely to drag you down or die if I went with you. It will be safer for both of us if I stay here.”


    What he said made sense and it would lessen their worry... but it was still a pain in the butt having to walk back here just to give him his notebook...


    “We can do it for you. Just sit tight inside your cabin for us,” said Akira.


    The old man nodded and said, “I wish you luck.”


    With that said he hobbled back into his hut and closed the door locking it once again.


    Akira looked around the cave once more but found nothing of import so he silently motioned for everyone to follow him deeper into the dungeon.


    As they made their way through the many odd cavernous rooms of the underground dungeon it was as the old man said there were no major threats, only roving packs of imps that would attack them as soon as they saw them.


    “Where did he say he lost the book?” asked Akira.


    “I don''t think he gave a specific location. Just said deep down,” said Zundar.


    They had not seen any sign or clue of someone passing through the area before that could lead them to the lost book so all they could do was keep pressing on.


    Akira did not want to waste precious hours hunting every nook and cranny for the notebook. If they happened upon it then that was fine. If not... Well, that was bad luck for the old man. They would at least come back to help him out of this place. The more skilled medics outside might be able to find a cure for him.


    The lack of strong enemies caused Akira and the others to fear the worst case possible was now more than likely.


    After battling their way through over a dozen cavernous rooms filled with roaming imps they finally reached a swirling portal that was glowing red.


    “Yap!” said Fluffball as he sprinted over to a worn leather knapsack that was on the ground hidden by some rocks.


    “Good work Fluffball!” said Akira as he jogged over and picked up the leather bag.


    His happiness was only short-lived as he looked inside and found that it only had several herbs and minerals but no book.


    “Drat. Darn imps must have messed with the contents inside,” said Akira as he tossed the bag on the ground and looked at the floating portal in front of him for a few moments.


    “My skin feels all itchy for some reason just looking at that portal...” said Zundar.


    “I get the same feeling. Whatever is on the other side is not like these weak imps,” said Akira.


    “I much rather have the weak imps to fight against...” said Sweety.


    “We can just smack the head of whatever is in there a few times and show it who''s the real boss of this place!” said Beater, slamming his fists against his body.


    “YAP!” said Fluffball, agreeing with him.


    “Is everyone prepared? You need to be prepared to fight as soon as we enter,” said Akira.


    “We are ready,” said Rondie.


    “You should not be worrying about us. We can survive even if we mess up but you can not...” said sister Teresa.


    “Alright...,” said Akira as he touched the portal with his sword.


    Ding!


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Do you want to enter the Dungeon Guardians lair with your entire party?


    Y/N


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    “...HERE WE GO!” said Akira as he confirmed that he wanted to enter the portal with everyone.


    With a bright flash of red light from the portal he along with everyone else in the party disappeared from the small cavern room.


    In the dark corner of the tunnel, a pair of small red eyes blinked as they watched Akira and Co disappear.