LEVEL CLASSIFICATION
| Difficulty | 3/5 | The absence of any type of entity does not completely mitigate the danger of inhabiting this level, as it possesses a variety of environmental hazards. |
|---|---|---|
| Entity Count | 0/5 | Despite all the rumors and hearsay, there have been no confirmed reports of entity sightings on the level. |
| Chaos Gradient | 5/5 | It is a chaotic and aberrant space in which nothing can be taken for granted. |
| Basset-Frazier Index | 2.666/5 | With the proper equipment and instruction, it is possible to explore the level in relative safety. Not recommended for extended trips or settlements. |
DESCRIPTION
A chamber of the Crumbling Dungeons.
Tightly intertwined with The Halls are the Crumbling Dungeons, a labyrinthine complex reminiscent of a medieval castle's undercroft. The level presents a high level of decay. Cracks and debris are a common sight, with entire areas on the verge of collapse, waiting for the slightest touch to succumb. Every few rooms, torches can be found hanging on the walls, but they have long since been extinguished, leaving the level in complete darkness.
The Crumbling Dungeons are a convergence of death and rot, a corpse that resists the passage of time. The air has a putrid aroma, like that of a long-sealed tomb; the atmosphere is suffocating, which only contributes to the disorientation and confusion of those who dare to traverse its halls; and its passages are damp, result of the persistent leaks that, in some places, have eroded the paths to the point of obstructing them with puddles of unknown depth.
The physical structure of the level is not the only element in decay, as the Crumbling Dungeons have a significantly reduced dimensional stability. Throughout the level, one can observe areas where the very fabric that constitutes the Backrooms is weakened. Reports mention witnessing entire sections that had collapsed return to their original position, only to be shattered again in an instant. This erratic behavior is what provides most of the level's danger, as one can suddenly find themselves trapped inside a newly regenerated room, hit by a fragment of a wall that was shattered for no apparent reason, or, in the case of the unluckiest, buried inside a wall that reappeared without warning.
Due to its nature, navigating the level is a highly demanding task that requires resilience and fortitude. Any attempt to follow the paths established by its structure will be futile, as they will eventually be obstructed by one of the diverse signs of the Crumbling Dungeons' collapse. Although initially an effort was made to establish routes and map the level, these early explorers soon became aware of its chaotic state, and that any route they had laid out would be rendered useless within a few weeks. Many have tried to navigate it since then, and few have escaped its grasp unscathed.
> Foreign contamination
In certain places, the characteristic wallpaper of The Halls can be seen intersecting with the ancient brick walls of the Crumbling Dungeons. These sections of wallpaper can be seen "growing", consuming the Crumbling Dungeons' walls and transforming them into what appears to be a new segment of The Halls. This "growth" is, like the vast majority of the level's properties, unpredictable, which means that a recently transformed area may take years to advance a few more meters or cover dozens of chambers in seconds.
> Obscure frontiers
One slip can lead to a fate worse than death.
The further you move away from the entry points of the level, the more prevalent its moribund state becomes. If you go deep enough into its ruinous corridors, you may encounter the so-called "limit" of the Crumbling Dungeons. This is an area where the structural sequence of the Crumbling Dungeons is completely cut off, giving way to what appears to be an infinitely stretching void. This void seems to completely surround the level, as it can sometimes be observed in other areas of the Crumbling Dungeons.
Some have claimed to have caught glimpses of the room clusters that constitute various other levels suspended in the distance of this same void. The veracity or significance of these claims has yet to be determined. The fate of those who fall into this void can only be speculated, which gave free rein to all kinds of stories and legends. From endless falls to the most gruesome deaths and tortures. What is certain is that no one who has fallen through one of these rifts has ever returned to tell their story.
> Distinctive relics
Remains of extremely deteriorated objects, to the point of being unrecognizable, can be found on a regular basis. Occasionally, the circumstances in which the objects were abandoned have allowed their partial preservation, which has facilitated the recovery of a number of items from within the Crumbling Dungeons over time. These objects usually have unique properties, and are either endemic to the level or never-before-seen variations of other objects.
List of recovered Items
- A small barrel full of a liquid with a slight scent of iron.
- A Voice of the Dead with a crack at the top of the skull. No matter how long it was held, the Warning skull emitted only unintelligible mumbles.
- A small sealed wooden box. No one has been able to open it or damage it in the slightest. Each person who holds it perceives something different within it through the box's weight, smell, and the sound it makes when shaken.
- Three vials that appeared to contain diluted Amartía fruit juice. Upon closer inspection, however, it was discovered that, unlike its usual color, this juice had a milky white coloration. Individuals who agreed to drink the liquid, in exchange for a hefty reward, described experiencing a thirst that could not be quenched in any way. This effect lasted for about a week.
- A pile of half-carved red-colored beetle-shaped figurines.
- A note, written in Old Castilian, that roughly translates to: "If you're not careful and [TEXT DAMAGED] wrong areas, you'll end up in the Endless, where it's nothing but the stench of stagnant water, the madness of [TEXT DAMAGED], and the continuous background noise of burning torches, and [TEXT DAMAGED] of haphazardly segmented empty chambers to be trapped in. God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you…". The rest of the text is illegible.
> Uncertain predictions
All methods of communication and navigation do not work properly within the reaches of the Crumbling Dungeons, returning only static in the case of communication devices and inconsistent signage in the case of gadgets built for the purpose of facilitating navigation through the Backrooms. On top of that, reports of encountering the level have become more and more scarce over time, which has made studying its properties and characteristics increasingly difficult. Most scholars believe that this is due to The Halls somehow integrating the Crumbling Dungeons into itself, and that in the near future there will no longer be a level to document.
COMMUNITIES
Although there is no active community on the level at present, the remnants of multiple settlements may be encountered infrequently. These are more akin to barracks than to spaces created with the primary purpose of serving as living spaces, the last attempts to form a bastion against the siege of the unknown. Occasionally, rusted and deteriorated remains left by those who inhabited these barracks can be found. These are the only proofs that these spaces were inhabited. If you are lucky, the objects may be intact enough to be useful. Artifacts that have been recovered from these habitations range from broken spears and rusted swords to pieces of armor and leather clothing. Surprisingly, the remains of those who inhabited the chambers have never been encountered. Their bones long lost to time.
ENTRANCES AND EXITS
An entry tunnel to the Crumbling Dungeons.
Even though most of the entrances to the Crumbling Dungeons are found in The Halls, its erratic nature appears to allow entry from other nearby levels. Entrances to the Crumbling Dungeons take the form of tunnels carved in a reddish stone similar to that constituting the bricks of the level. Occasionally, these tunnels will not be easily noticeable, and it will be necessary to break through walls that are visibly deteriorated in order to access them.
ARCHIVING NOTICE
All documentation on the level is to be archived for historical purposes.
As of 2047, it has been 50 years since the last sighting of an entrance to the Crumbling Dungeons, and 53 years since the last reported successful expedition. These last expeditions experienced a level of precariousness that bordered on the safety limits established for an exploration with minimum safety levels. Over the years, the state of chaos in the level only increased and the distances from its entry points and its "limit" decreased. According to estimates based on the statistical models made by the Scholars, the level known as the Crumbling Dungeons relinquished its last portion of terrain about 23 years ago. Accordingly, the Archivists' Council has unanimously decided to declare it defunct.