Stern put the coppers into the jug before her. “Three, if you can add a little extra sauce with them.”
Seeing the coins in the jug, she smiled. “Gladly. Like the flavor of the sauce, do you?”
“Always have,” Stern replied.
“Here you go,” she said, handing him two lamb pockets after shaving the meat from the skewer. “Enjoy.”
“I will.”
Holding a pocket in each hand, he headed away. The first bite made him sigh in happiness— the spiced lamb and cucumber sauce melded perfectly. He was smiling as he walked and ate, trying to ignore the people giving him a wide berth. As they continued to shy away, his happiness ebbed and he hunched forward as he made his way to his next destination.
Entering the shop, the jingle of a bell announced him at the same time the smell of herbs hit his nose. The jumbled scents made him blink a few times as his eyes watered.
“How can I help you?” the old woman behind the counter asked him warily.
“Salves for wounds,” Stern said, wiping at his eyes.
“One of the newest class?” she asked with a piercing gaze.
“Yeah. I’ll be going in today,” Stern said, not meeting her eyes.
“You sick, boy?”
“No, ma’am. This is just the way I was born,” he said honestly. He was glad for her blunt nature, but still hated the question.
She snorted. “Your mother would’ve been split wide open if that were the case.”
The humor in her tone set him at ease and made him smile. “True. I’ve always been pale and skinny, is what I meant.”
“I’m sure they had you seen by the sisters. Very well. How much salve are you wanting?”
“Enough to help with a dozen injuries?”
Lips pursing, she eyed him for a long moment. “Clumsy, are you?”
“No, ma’am. I’ll be going in alone and want to be safe about it.”
“Very well, but that much salve is expensive. A silver.”
Feeling her sadness, Stern nodded and pulled a silver from his belt pouch. “I knew it would be, ma’am. I won’t try to haggle you, as your salve might save my life.”
The old woman slowed in reaching for the coin and sighed. “I see. Wait here.”
She stepped into the back for a moment before coming back out. “Here. A salve tin and an antivenom. Not that this dungeon will cause you worry in that regard, but it might come in handy later.”
“Ma’am, I didn’t mean to make you do that,” Stern said respectfully. “I was just being honest.”
She set the items on the counter. “If I’d thought you meant it otherwise, I wouldn’t offer.”
“Mom always said being honest and respectful was the best way in life,” Stern said as he took them. “Thank you.”
“You know that you should find a crew, right?”
“Yes, ma’am, but your reaction to me was mild compared to some.”
Sucking at her teeth for a second, she nodded. “I can understand that. Think you’re blighted, do they?”
“If I’m lucky.”
“Hard life,” she grunted. “Anything else?”
“No, ma’am. You were my last stop on the way to the academy.”
“Surprised you weren’t there first thing this morning.”
“I’ll be going in last,” Stern said softly. “It’s better that way.”
“Could be, could be... Going to be a Walker?”
“Yes.”
“Best of luck, then, child. You best find a crew, if that’s the case.”
“I hope to before I finish the first three.” He bowed his head to her. “Thank you. I’ll remember your kindness.”
“Bah, get on. Go save some souls.”
“That I will do,” Stern said with a smile before leaving the shop.
Chapter Three
The sun was past midday when Stern reached the academy. Going to the bulletin board, he checked the test scores and snorted. His name was at the very top with a perfect score— the next closest to him had gotten eight questions wrong.
With a knowing smirk in place, he headed for the dungeon. Walking around the academy building, he passed six people coming the other way. A few had bandages wrapped around their arms or legs, and one of them was hobbling along with the help of a friend. All six eyed him as he went by.
“Asshole… you’d think he’d have died by now,” one of them snorted.
“Whatever is wrong with him, it’s obvious that the Goddess won’t heal him,” another said.
“What’s with that armor? Looks like he just splashed the stain on it at random,” another snickered.
“Leave him be,” the limping man said. “He scored perfect on the test. It’s obvious he knows his stuff, even if he is a dick.”
Stern’s jaw set, but he hoped the one with the injured leg would be okay. Better than I get from others, like his friends.
Passing the building, Stern’s pace slowed when he saw the cave ahead of him. Just outside the mouth of the cave were some guards and the professor. The professor stared at him, though not with his usual contempt, but with curiosity. The guards all frowned at the mottled leather armor Stern was wearing.
“Stern, you passed,” the instructor said bluntly. “I’ve only had a couple of perfect tests in my twenty years of teaching. How did you manage it?”
“By listening,” Stern said, noticing that the undercurrent of disdain was still there from the professor.
Grimacing, the older man snorted and turned to the guards. “He’s the last one.”
“Yes, sir,” the captain said, turning to Stern. “You understand that possible death or dismemberment waits beyond the portal?”
“Yes, sir,” Stern replied, as the captain was just doing his job.
“Is this your first run?”
“Yes, sir.”
“As you undoubtedly know, your badge will be given to you when you finish the dungeon. Once you enter, there is no way out except completing the run. Choose your perk with careful deliberation, and spend your dungeon points wisely.”
“Yes, sir.”
The teacher was staring at Stern in shock. The young man was being respectful, unlike any other time he’d spoken to him.
“Very well. You may enter.”
“Before I do, sir, I have a question. Did they all come out?”
The guard didn’t answer right away, but he nodded slowly. “Today, they have. Going to be one of them, are you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Best of luck on your run. Remember, the dungeon is never the same twice.”
Stern nodded respectfully and stepped past the guards. Just inside the cave entrance, a thick, white mist swirled, spiraling in midair and being drawn to the center of the opening. Without hesitation, Stern moved into the mist.
Stern went still the moment he passed through it. Glancing back, he found only a solid wall. Just like dad always said... he thought. Crouching, he examined the cavern he was in. Natural cave, stalagmites, and stalactites helped break line of sight and would give him cover here or there. There was dim glowmoss, just enough to let someone barely see. Stern was glad his night vision was excellent— it came from his mother’s side.
He made the motions and Pawly appeared beside him. Instead of making noise as she normally would, she crouched and looked around. Whiskers twitching, she sniffed the air and cocked her head to the side.
“First dungeon,” Stern said softly. “At most, a dozen rooms and the boss. Slow and stealthy is what I’d like to do.”
Pawly glanced at him, then started to stalk forward, her large paws silent as she went slow and low. Stern grinned at her back before he followed as quietly as he could.
Crossing the first room reaffirmed what his father had always told him. First rooms never have traps or mobs. They’re there to let you prep for the dungeon. At least that’s what we’ve found. I could be wrong at some point. Stern pushed his father’s voice out of his head as he paused by the archw
ay that led into a tunnel.
Pawly crept forward a few feet before freezing. Stern looked where Pawly was and saw some movement near the right-hand wall. There was a small reflection of light that could’ve been easily missed if someone wasn’t looking for it. Pawly’s butt wiggled as she crouched, focused on the movement. Stern touched one of his daggers and waited to see what she’d found.
A small hop revealed a rabbit with a short horn on its head. It stopped in the middle of the hall and sniffed the air. It went forward with a single bounce and sniffed again. Pawly’s butt continued to wiggle as she prepared to pounce. Stern felt his hand start to twitch, and he forced it to still.
With another sniff, the bunnicorn turned around and started to hop away. Pawly shot forward in two long strides, then sprang, both of her front paws outstretched with her claws extended. The bunny looked back just before Pawly hit it— there was an angry yowl from Pawly and the scream of an injured rabbit that was suddenly silenced. Stern drew his dagger and rushed forward, ready to help, but Pawly stepped aside, leaving the bloody corpse where it lay.
Stern exhaled as he glanced at the broken body of the bunnicorn. He gave Pawly a glance and saw that she was cleaning her paws. “Uninjured?” he asked softly.
Pawly chuffed, continuing to clean herself.
The creature melted into the floor, and Stern nodded. The dungeon reclaims its mobs... the only loot is at the end when you spend your points. You can always carve them up before they’re reclaimed if you think it’ll have something to help you later. Needed an eye from a cyclops to bypass a trap once. That was—. Stern sighed and blocked out his father’s voice again.
“You ready?” Stern asked.
Pawly stalked forward again, and Stern followed her. He recalled the first time Pawly’d been hurt, and how his mother explained to him how to send her home. Once Pawly had vanished, she had him resummon her. Pawly came back healthy and whole, then headbutted him to try reassuring him that she was okay. Traumatic for a five-year-old, he thought to himself.
The hallway ended in another cavern. Inside the cavern, two of the bunnicorns bounced slowly along, nibbling at some moss. Pawly looked back at him, then edged to the left. Stern nodded and headed to the right. He held his dagger backward, up along his forearm, to keep it from reflecting any light to the mobs.
The bunnicorn he was closing in on glanced his way. He froze in place, his eyes mostly closed to give it less chance of seeing him. It sniffed the air, then went back to nibbling on the moss at the base of the stone outcropping.
He edged the dagger down so he was holding the blade. With a slow breath, he pulled his arm back, watching the bunnicorn the entire time. With a quick motion, it flew out of his hand and sunk straight into the mob. A heartbeat later, another brief scream came from across the room.
Moving to his target, Stern pulled his knife free, cleaning it on the dead bunnicorn’s fur. Mom would be glad to know her training at knife-throwing helped me, he thought.
Pawly came trotting over to him, her quarry held in her teeth. She placed it before him and smiled.
“Thanks, but I’m not eating a mob unless I have to,” Stern whispered, giving her a head rub. “Three dead so far. Let’s keep moving.”
Pawly let out a happy trill before walking away.
~*~*~
The next few halls and rooms were much the same as the ones they’d already cleared— single bunnicorns in the hallways and pairs in the rooms. Stern was comfortable with the pattern, but knew the dungeon was going to be ending soon. He was thankful that it didn’t have traps, as the monsters weren’t humanoid.
Stern frowned at the room they were crouched just outside of. It was a little bigger than the previous rooms, with a few more places of concealment, but it had four bunnicorns. Pawly looked at him as if waiting to hear what he thought.
“We won’t be able to take them all by surprise,” Stern whispered, “but we need to get the fat one. I don’t like the look of him. His horn is longer and looks like it has a point to it. I’ll go for him, and you get the other one on the left. We’ll have to be ready for the other two in case they attack.”
Pawly looked away from him before creeping into the room, staying near the wall. Stern waited a few seconds before gliding after her, his eyes on his target. Going from thick stalagmite to stalagmite, Stern did his best to breathe slowly and move quietly.
Hunkering down a few dozen feet away from the bunnicorn, he glanced toward Pawly. Pawly was crouched and had a butt wiggle going, her eyes focused on her prey. Exhaling slowly through his nose, he turned back to find his mob.
The larger monster was sniffing the air, its head turning slowly in his direction. Taking the blade of the dagger in hand, he drew his arm back. The mob looked right at him and shifted its weight onto its back legs. Stern let the dagger fly a moment before the bunnicorn went to leap.
He grabbed for his second dagger as the fat bunnicorn screamed— it’d fallen to the ground short of him and thrashed, trying to get the dagger out of it. A second scream, much shorter-lived, came from around another stalagmite. There were two more screams that came from across the room, and they were of anger rather than pain.
Stern rushed forward to stab the wounded bunnicorn. He got there as it dislodged the dagger in its chest. His arm came down as it whipped its head up. He hissed in pain as the horn gouged his arm, still managing to slam his dagger into its neck. Pawly went past him in a rush, letting out a hunting yowl as she went to intercept the other bunnicorns.
Yanking his dagger free, Stern stood up and nearly cracked his skull on a stalactite. Stepping to the side, he caught sight of the two bunnicorns rushing Pawly. The cat leapt at the closest one as it rushed her— they collided and Pawly let out a yowl of pain before sinking her teeth into its neck. The second one glowed for a second and slammed into Pawly’s side, knocking her and the mob in her teeth into a stalagmite. Stern growled and his arm flashed forward, the dagger flying through the dozen yards to impale the glowing bunnicorn.
Rushing across the room, he yanked his last dagger free, but the one he’d impaled was dead. He went to Pawly and found her chuffing in pain, but still with a death bite on the other bunnicorn. She looked at him with a glare as he knelt beside her.
“See you in a moment, okay? Go home,” Stern told her.
Pawly faded away in the same manner she always did.
When Pawly was gone, he became aware of the pain in his arm. Looking down, he saw an ugly puncture halfway up his forearm. Hissing as the pain finally registered, he sat down and pulled out the salve he’d gotten from the alchemist. Opening the tin, he used a finger to scoop out a glob and spread it on his injury. The pain faded, becoming a dull throb and, with a sigh, he pulled out a bandage and wrapped up his arm.
By the time he’d finished, the mobs had all faded, so he had to use a scrap of cloth to clean his daggers off. When he was done with that, the pain in his arm was dull and ignorable, but still there. Exhaling, he summoned Pawly back to him.
Looking at him, Pawly purred and headbutted his shin. Stern smiled softly and stroked her head in return. “Yeah, you stopped them from reaching me. I got my wound cleaned up, too. Stupid clumsy humans, right?”
Pawly meowed softly and bumped him again.
“As soon as we’re done, we’ll go have a celebration dinner. Fish and more for you.”
Pawly purred and began to rub into his leg.
“I think it’s just the boss room left,” Stern said. “Are you ready for that?”
Pawly meowed and moved away from him, heading for the tunnel out of the room.
“Me, too,” Stern whispered as he followed his friend, glad that she’d never have to suffer as long as he could banish and resummon her.
When they reached the next room, he found three large stalagmites as the only notable features. In the middle of those was another bunnicorn— it was massive, nearly as large as Pawly with a six-inch spike jutting out of its head. It was glaring at the entrance
while it nibbled some moss.
Pawly’s tail was puffed up as she stared at the beast. Stern had to agree with her. He knew this mob wasn’t going to go down easy. Continuing to watch the creature, Stern realized that its spike had spurs, so if it failed to puncture him normally, it was likely that he’d have smaller cuts, at the very least.
After a few minutes, he was sure that the stalagmites were the key to fighting this mob without taking a lot of damage. His father had drilled it into him that rooms with terrain were there to be used either by the boss or the Walkers.
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