Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains

by Alexey Osadchuk

  “I am completely lost.”

  “Let me explain. It all started when the Marked One somehow ended up with a map. Or rather, a small fragment of one. It’s a very valuable item. It once belonged to the Ancients.”

  I unwittingly touched the button on my chest.

  “Somehow Skorx got it in his head that the bit of map shows some of the underground tunnels of our mine, which was not actually a mine in the time of the Ancients.”

  “And knowing that the Departed wouldn’t have drawn a map for no good reason, he is blindly trying to find something connected with it?” I voiced my guess.

  “Exactly.”

  I felt a tingle run down my spine:

  “And you mean to say that you know...”

  “Yes,” Crum nodded. “He doesn’t even suspect it, but the thing Skorx is searching for is the Temple of the Ancients.”

  Chapter 8

  “THE TEMPLE of the Ancients?” I asked in a whisper.

  For a reason I couldn’t understand, when I mentioned the temple, all the hairs on my body stood on end. A chill ran down my spine and my heart, beating like mad, was about to burst out of my chest.

  I didn’t understand what was happening to me but some internal sense helped me to recognize that I needed to reach that place. Maybe there I would finally find answers to all my questions about myself.

  Meanwhile, Crum continued:

  “The old prisoner, whose name was Targus, is who saved me. A bit more than a year ago, Skorx was putting together his first scout team and I was the first person he asked.”

  He gave a pensive smile at the memory.

  “Oh, Rick, you can’t even imagine how proud I was! And that isn’t all! Skorx personally offered to make me a scout! Even now I remember how jealous the older boys looked when they made fun of me.”

  Crum giggled and stroked the back of his head.

  “I remember puffing my chest out feeling important and telling Targus the news. But instead of being happy for my success, he started desperately trying to convince me not to agree to the Marked One’s offer no matter what.”

  “By the way, why do they call him the Marked One?” I asked.

  “It’s an old story. Back when Skorx was in the army, the mages miscalculated a fire spell and accidentally torched his entire unit. He was the only survivor. As a reminder of that battle, half of his face is covered with an ugly burn scar, his mark. He was never a handsome man to begin with, and now all the less so... Let me give you some free advice — when you go to speak to him, never stare at the burn. He hates that with a passion.”

  “Gotcha. And so how did the old man find out about the danger?”

  “As I already said, Targus used to occupy a high post in the Imperial capital. Something connected with roads. Basically, he had a very good understanding of maps and all kinds of diagrams. By complete coincidence, while he was in Skorx’s office he saw a fragment of the map. The Marked One didn’t much try to hide his treasure. He must have thought that all the prisoners were uneducated.”

  “And so your Targus was able to determine from the map fragment that it’s a Temple of the Ancients?” I asked with mistrust in my voice.

  “Ha! That wasn’t all he was able to do! He was a very bright old man! He was always trying to convince me to invest more in Mind. Targus sincerely believed that Brother Mage was the most powerful of the brothers. Warrior and Hunter he called half-wits, always landing themselves into scrapes.”

  I just chuckled in response. I agree, Mage is the smartest of the Three. But the way my father taught me, the strength of the brothers was in their unity. And I was in complete agreement with him. Funny that a simple miner was wiser than some book-smart jerk from the capital...

  “Anyway, he explained to me that when he was young and studying in the academy, he was shown some ancient maps. Basically, he knew what he was talking about. Just so you know, Burdoc knew what he was talking about when he warned you not to stick your nose into the northern shafts. According to Targus, the temple of the Departed can be found down there. That, by the way, is where many of the people from the first scout team died. And where I refused to enter, which made all the local boys ridicule me even more. Honestly, when they heard every single scout died, they changed their tune.”

  “Hmm...” I said. “The old man really did save you.”

  “And I will be eternally grateful to him for that,” Crum nodded seriously.

  We spent a bit of time in silence. Crum was clearly luxuriating in his memories while I digested his story and tried to find an explanation for the strange feeling his tale gave me. I felt drawn in by the mysterious temple of the Departed and its riddles... They both quickened the blood and scared me so bad my knees shivered...

  “Well Rick?” Crum chuckled. “What do you say? How’d you like my secret?”

  “I’ve got just one thing to say. You shouldn’t have been afraid to tell me your story. And to cop a phrase, let me give you some free advice. You’re on the right path. Keep on it.”

  Agreeing, he nodded and said:

  “Now your turn. I hope your secret is at least as good as mine.”

  I smiled.

  “We’ll see. You recently mentioned that Random didn’t give you many tablets? Haha! You’re looking at someone who got nothing at birth. Not even level one... I spent a few years confined to a bed. The only indication I was even alive was the meager numbers in my supply bars... Hmm... A living corpse, without any way to use esses or tablets. A pitiful Bug-damned cripple... Just imagine, I can’t even eat complex food! I don’t know the taste of candy or cake... And my mother was an amazing cook! Holidays were a torture for me. So many delicious-smelling treats at the markets!”

  “If it’s any reassurance, I’ve only ever tried cake once in my life. On my birthday. Back when mother was still alive... But that wasn’t what I wanted to say... But I mean, now you can move though, right?”

  “Yes,” I answered. “Thanks to these items here.”

  I pointed to my button and ring.

  “But how...?”

  “They have no restrictions.”

  “Hold up,” Crum got up from his chair in excitement. “Are you trying to say...”

  “Yes. These are artifacts of the Ancients.”

  The boy gulped loudly.

  “But those things are worth a fortune!”

  “Indeed,” I agreed glumly. “Father took some very sizable loans from the bank to give me even this semblance of a normal life. And that is why I’m here. After my parents died, the debt was never fully paid, even after they confiscated all of our property.”

  Crum whistled.

  “And you cannot sell them...” he started thinking aloud. “Otherwise you’ll turn back into a vegetable...”

  “Exactly,” I agreed. “Honestly, I do have one little item I can sell if I really need to. Here...”

  And I handed him Dragonfly.

  Crum took the knife with cautious enthusiasm.

  “This is the first time I’ve ever held an item of the Departed! And what does it do?”

  “Nothing. For now it’s just a very simple item. It can only do two units of damage. Your everyday kitchen knife would hurt somebody more than my Dragonfly right now.”

  “So then what’s the trick?” the kid frowned.

  “That’s easy. Your knife will always be a kitchen knife, but mine can be improved. Both in damage and characteristics. Though honestly, I don’t really know how I’m gonna do that.”

  “Look at you!” Crum admired. “What else?”

  “Items of the Ancients are scalable.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let me explain. See this ring?”

  The kid gave a captivated nod.

  “How many Strength points you see?”

  “Two.”

  “Now you put it on.”

  Crum’s flexible fingers gave a slight shiver. They were thin and covered in small burns and scratches. When he was trying to get
that lock fixed, the blacksmith must not have been too worried about his temporary assistant’s safety. His right pinky was slightly bent, and his left ring finger had no nail.

  “What finger?” Crum asked.

  “Any finger,” I answered. “The ring will change size to fit you.”

  “Would you look at that!” the kid admired when he saw the steel band smoothly grasp his middle finger.

  “Now look at the ring’s characteristics,” I said. “How much strength you see now?”

  “Six points!” Crum admired. “How’d that happen?”

  I chuckled. When father showed me the very same trick, my face looked approximately like Crum’s did now.

  “Your level is added to the characteristics of the ring.”

  “Woah!” he scratched the back of his head, stunned. “So that means if I were, let’s say, level twenty right now, the ring would change to twenty Strength?!”

  “Exactly,” I nodded and added:

  “And if you improve it, it’ll get more characteristics.”

  “Oh, Great System!” Crum stared at the ring on his finger, struck.

  “Now you understand why these items are so expensive?”

  Crum nodded fitfully and delicately returned my ring.

  “Rick, just imagine what Skorx or Livid would do for these artifacts. Don’t even think of trying to sell them here! Even if push really comes to shove! As soon as you show anyone this ring or knife, you’ll be a goner! First they’ll rob you, then they’ll kill you to keep you quiet. I’m surprised your father stayed alive when he bought them...”

  Crum’s last words put me into a daze... After all, I’d never considered that! For real, how did he ever pull that off?! A chill ran down my spine... After all, my father couldn’t have... No! I don’t believe it!

  Seeing my state, Crum put an arm on my shoulder reassuringly:

  “Listen, Rick... Don’t pay any mind to what I’m saying... I’m sure your father was an honest man...”

  I slowly sat down on the stool. Crum is right. A thousand times right!

  “You shouldn’t doubt your father,” the boy continued. “And especially his actions. In one way or another, everything he did was to help you. I’m afraid to even imagine the kind of risks he had to take.”

  “You’re right!” I answered firmly. “He and mother dedicated their lives to me!”

  When I spoke, I felt confidence, but questions remained... I didn’t know who to ask them to when the time came...

  Crum understood that we shouldn’t keep discussing my parents and turned the conversation down a different path:

  “Hmm, Rick. I have to agree. Your secret is at least as good as mine! Hehe! So then, what was your business idea?”

  “Hold up, Crum, I haven’t finished yet.”

  “Woah! You’re just like my trunk — filled with all kinds of mysteries! I’m listening.”

  Rubbing his hands together, the kid crouched down next to me on the chair.

  “The thing is, those crooks didn’t get all my trophies...”

  “So you did manage to squirrel a bit away!” Crum giggled.

  “I wouldn’t put it that way...”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Livid only got a fifth of what I made today...”

  When I said that, I watched my future business partner’s jaw drop.

  “But how is that possible?!”

  “To be frank, I don’t know myself. I spent all day cutting level-zero moss. I suspect the Great System was giving me the maximum possible drop for every resource gathered. I think it perceived every cut I made as the first of my life. I’m sure it’s because of my level.”

  “Agreed!” Crum declared.

  He jumped up off the chair and started walking from wall to wall in silence. He must have thought better that way.

  “And how much did you get all told?” he finally asked, looking at me and not stopping.

  “About seven pounds of moss. All told that’s four hundred fifteen esses and two hundred fifty-nine tablets. Well, and as I already said, Livid took one fifth of that...”

  Crum stopped dead. By his excitedly bulging eyes, I could see that he was on board.

  “That was from one day of work?!”

  I once heard my parents use the phrase “screaming in a whisper.” Until today, how to do that was a mystery to me... But now I know. Crum had just given a perfect demonstration.

  “Oh, Great System! How is it possible?! Rick, you’re like that goose from the old folk tale that lays golden eggs! If any of those creeps find out what you’re capable of... I mean you... Geeze...”

  “I know, Crum, I know...” I answered reassuringly. The kid was about to have a stroke. That was how hard he was breathing. Sweat came up on his brow. His arms were shivering.

  “You’d better sit down and calm yourself. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I never would have come to you...”

  “And where’s the rest?” he asked, now in a calmer tone.

  “In the cave where I cut the moss. In a hiding spot.”

  “You made a hiding spot there?”

  I can Crum’s merchant blood heating up.

  “Yes, on my own.”

  “So it’s simple then,” he said with vexation in his voice. “For some people in Livid’s gang, finding a hiding spot like that would be child’s play, Bug damn them!”

  “That means we need to hide it in a new spot as fast as possible!” I said, hopping up off the chair.

  “We can’t,” Crum said, sitting me back in place. “If you start messing around, you’ll ruin everything.”

  “Look, it’s night out there. Who will ever find out? I’ll go over to the cave in secret and take everything out of the hiding spot.”

  Despite our age difference, Crum looked at me like I was a silly child.

  “You’ll get nowhere. You won’t even be able to get past the guards. Even if they do let you through, tomorrow, Livid and Knud will know that you ran off somewhere in the night. Do you want that kind of attention?”

  “No,” I was forced to admit he was right.

  “Better would be to make yourself appear like the person they think you are. Who are you to them?”

  “A sheep?”

  “Baaa!” Crum bleated, smiling cleverly. “Exactly! Stupid, frightened and obedient. The last thing you want is to attract the wrong kind of attention. You need to lull them into a false sense of security.”

  “Do you think they’re on the lookout now?”

  “Of course! The fact you weren’t able to level up means they stand to lose around ten silver tablets. But you left the mine with your hands full. Today you brought the esses and tablets willingly because you didn’t suspect you would get robbed. Tomorrow, they’ll stick one of the gang to you so you don’t get any ideas about squirreling some away. Hmm, Rick... Now I see why you need my help. But I still can’t figure what’s in it for me.”

  “I will give you a cut of everything I gather.”

  “I want half,” Crum said with a clever smile.

  “Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” I answered with an equally clever smile. “Did you forget that I’ll get a haircut every day from Livid’s sheep shearer? And I need to pay Bardan back. Plus pay for a place to sleep.”

  “Well, don’t you worry about where to sleep,” he waved it off. “Me and you are in business together now, you can stay at my place.”

  I shook my head.

  “I’d be delighted, Crum, but no. If you do agree to help me, we can’t be seen together. Let everyone think I’m working alone. Otherwise, if I’m found out, you’ll be next... And I don’t want that.”

  “Hmm, I’ve gotta agree with you there.”

  “I’ll give you a quarter,” I said, extending a hand. “Including what I got today.”

  Crum gave a cartoonish sigh but then smiled happily and extended a hand.

  * * *

  In the middle of the night, after hammering out all the details, we sw
ore an oath. And after the Great System confirmed for both of us, Crum said:

  “You go to bed. I’ve gotta pay somebody a visit. I think I’ve figured out a way to trick whoever’s gonna be guarding you. But first I’ll need all your money.”

  After Crum left, I splayed out on the pile of old rags and closed my eyes. Only now, alone with my thoughts, did I realize how tired I was. My shoulders, back, neck and legs... My whole body was in pain. It felt like I’d been run over by a carriage going at full speed. And I’d never been so tired before...