"...ere we go. Ah, I'll just turn around the viewfinder here so I can… oh, good, it's working." A mail shirt was all that could be seen at first, but it pulled back soon to show a man with a well-weathered face, wisps of white hair, thick glasses, and sturdy boots with a bit of dirt caked on them. He smiled nervously at the camera and gave a little wave.
"Ah, hello everyone! This is, ah, Basil Ainsley, but of course you know all that. Before we began today I'd just like to say a few things…" He reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a slightly crumpled bit of notepaper that he held up and peered at; casting hesitant glances at the camera as he did so.
"Firstly, of course, I want to thank everyone who's subscribed to my, ah, channel. I also want to specifically thank, um…" The paper was held a bit closer as he squinted at what he must have written earlier.
"Aim… I think that's meant to be 'Aim Edge', though they've used numbers as well. Your tips for how to balance my sound were very helpful. Oh, and Sen… Senomic? That mixture you recommended for getting the rust out of my mail worked wonderfully." After that he turned the paper over a few times and then nodded to himself; tucking it away. Then he looked straight into the camera and straightened up with a proud grin on his face.
"Now! Until now I've been just talking about, ah, my experiences in these 'Dungeons', how I got into all of this, oh, and showing you all how I do my weapon maintenance and things. But just last week I got my E-Rank license, and after I posted the video about the test I also reached a hundred subscribers! I really can't express just how grateful I am for all of the kind words you've been leaving. But, ah…"
Basil rubbed the back of his head with a bashful little chuckle and then walked over to the camera to pick it up and point it at the view he'd been standing in front of. There was temporary fencing there, on wheels but secured in place, with barbed wire at the top that bridged the gap between two buildings. With some delicacy he zoomed in on a plastic sign hung on the fence that read, 'Danger: Monsters Within'.
"This is an F-Ranked Dungeon that appeared recently, in the alley behind my local chip shop. It's a right nuisance, so some of the lads are going to go in and clear it out today. Now, I just figured out how to use this-" At that he zoomed out again and waved a hand in front of the camera with small black device clutched in it.
"New 'Go-Pro' that my grandson Jason bought for me. So I'll be taking some footage inside the Dungeon today. Only, I won't be talking to you while I'm in the Dungeon as it's important that I focus; so while you'll be hearing me talk to you, it's something I put in after, okay?" His camera went back on to it tri-pod and Basil moved in front of it again; frowning and pointing right into the lens.
"Remember, any time you do any dangerous task you must give it your full attention. Now, I know that when I'm woodworking I also listen to music sometimes-" The old man's hands parted in the universal 'hold on a moment' gesture.
"But that's because I've got fifty years of experience! Also, when you're using a bandsaw there's not much risk of some ghoulie jumping out and trying to stab you in the whatnots. So, when we're in the Dungeon the portable stays at home, and we're fully focused on our task. I know some of you are fine Adventurers in your own right, and I don't want a one of you to get hurt. Good? Good."
Then he walked up to the camera and the view turned off. When it came back again it was clearly a different camera; the resolution was noticeably better, and it was also obviously mounted on a helmet. After a moment the sound cuts out and a voice cuts in.
"Right, here we are at the, ah, start of the Dungeon. This is Basil again, but after the run ended; so don't worry, I made it out alright. Oh, ah, 'spoiler warning', haha!"
He was walking up to a gate with a man in uniform standing by it. The man had a slightly forced smile as he waved through a younger person in front that became far more genuine as Basil called out to him.
"Hello Frank," the old man began, "How's the missus and the little'un?" The gate guard, clearly Frank, broke out into a full on grin as he took an offered booklet which he then scanned.
"Oh, can't complain, can't complain. 'Ere, you've got a camera on your helmet today, Basil! And I see you've ranked up, too. Glad to see it, glad to see it, you work twice as hard as some of these kids, and don't I know it." Frank cast a withering glance at the back of the young man who'd gone in before, wearing what looked like a leather jacket with a greatsword hanging in a sheathe on his back. The view shook as Basil shook his head.
"Don't be so hard on them, Frank; we're all learning here, aren't we? Anyway, I best get in there before it's over. Maybe I'll see you down the pub after?" The guard nodded happily and Basil clapped him on the shoulder as he headed in. The audio cut out again as 'future' Basil chimed in.
"Now, what Frank was alluding to is that young fellow's weapon. You see, he's using a two-handed sword, looks like an English-style longsword rather than Scottish or German, but ah, anyway."
The video had paused with the young man in question in sight, with his head awkwardly blurred out in a way that obscured part of the sword's hilt.
"Now, you know I prefer a good arming sword or shorter spear, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt; however, my main gripe is not really a matter of opinion either. The lad's sporting one of those back-sheathes, as you can see, which I will stress is perfectly fine for day-to-day carrying so long as you're tall enough. But, well, we'll talk more about him later on..."
His video skips a bit and now shows a faintly glowing doorway embedded in a slightly grimy brick wall. There's a few people loitering around it, four or five young men and a couple of young women, and Basil has done his best to blur out their faces; though he seems to err on the side of 'too much' rather than 'too little'. They sport a variety of weapons and armour ranging from light kevlar with a shortbow on one of the girls to mail with a heavy chest plate and a riot shield to accompany a one-handed mace.
They're chatting, and a couple wave as they see Basil approaching; an African teen, face unblurred, steps over, dropping his axe into his belt loop as he does so, and holds up a fist to the old man. Basil raises his own and they bump knuckles, then top, then bottom, and then he hesitates for a moment before his companion laughs and makes an explosion sound while opening his hand quickly. Basil does the same moments later.
Just barely visible to one side is the young man from before; he looks like he scoffs under the blurring and walks straight into the dungeon alone. In front of Basil the teen sighs and shakes his head.
"Man, Baz, wish we had a few more cool old guys like you instead of arrogant -------ds like that." His profanity is inexpertly cut out and he immediately looks apologetic as the view twitches from what must have been Basil wincing. "Oh, sorry bruv, I forgot; no swearing on the channel, right?" He waved at the camera with a wide grin and pulled the old man along to the others; the view turning just for a moment to show the arm put around Basil's shoulder.
"Baz, this is my gang and gang, this is the almighty Baz himself, Luton's oldest Adventurer!" The young man waves at everyone and then back at Basil. "He's filming, but if you don't want your face up on his channel just let him know, he's real good about that sort of thing. Baz, this is Chauncey, Shawna, June, and Kendrick-"
"Oi, it's Kenny ya plonker. Get it right." They all chuckle at their most heavily armed and armoured member's annoyance and each one happily shakes Basil's hand as he offers it.
"It's nice to meet you all. Wayne's talked about you all quite a lot." There's a chorus of whistles and cries of 'Oh has he now' from the group towards Wayne, who just waves them off and laughs. Basil continues, "Non't you worry about me so much; I might seem a bit slow but I just like to take it at my own pace. You kids just keep an eye on each other, and make sure you all come back safe."
"Aww, Baz, that's sweet." June, of Asian descent but still proudly sporting a thick London accent, gives the old man a quick hug and then gestures at them. "C'mon you lot, let's get in before that tosser spoils it." Basil watches them all go inside and then has a look around the alleyway they're in.
"Right. This is, ah, now-Basil speaking rather than after the run. It's alright for now since we're not inside the Dungeon yet. Ah, but, normally you must be careful even when you're just in the 'Zone'; which is what this is here. Now, it's quite a small one because the Dungeon is very weak. You see…" He looked at the doorway and moved toward it; holding out his hand and pushing it closer and further. Faint tendrils of rainbow light formed around his fingers.
"The brighter the door is, and the closer you get this, ah, 'aurora' effect the higher ranked the Dungeon is. It shows up very brightly indeed on the camera, but it's not quite so bad as this. What some young folks don't know is that the Dungeon entrances appear dimmer to you if you're stronger. Make sure you ask everyone in your party about how bright it is for them."
Basil looks down but doesn't quite capture his belt in frame; though he clearly removed something from it. He holds up into view a folding metal ruler that he puts up against the wall beside the door.
"What I would recommend is getting something like this, or just use a weapon if you've not got a ruler handy, and hold it up here; then get everyone to say about where on the ruler, or weapon, the light from the door seems to obscure to. This should let you know about how tough the Dungeon is for each of your party members." WIth his lesson concluded Basil folded up the ruler and stowed it away again.
"Now, you might here a few comments from me now and then, but I probably won't be stopping to talk to you directly again like this; so from now on you'll be hearing me from after the run is over. So goodbye for now, my friends, and I hope you enjoy the video!" The old man looks into the doorway and steps straight into it.
May 23rd 2019 - Small Channel 'BasilA' Posts 'F-Rank Dungeon Video, Part 1'