Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains

by Alexey Osadchuk

  “My heart is telling me we’re gonna spend another half a night sitting and talking,” Crum smiled mischievously, running for the cave exit with our quickly growing stock of capital.

  * * *

  The scene at the barrack was identical to last time. Livid was sitting on the stoop surrounded by underlings.

  Happy took my bag unceremoniously and handed it to Probe.

  “A bit more variety today!” the thin criminal said, digging inside my bag. “And more importantly, the bag’s fatter!”

  While Probe sifted through my loot, I tried to keep my cards close to my chest. No one was even talking to me. All questions were directed at Happy, who was answering monosyllabically.

  In the end, I had to wake up my guard when our shift was over. That was how deeply he was asleep. When he woke up, he was not the least bit surprised that it was almost evening. Then while stomping toward the village, he said:

  “After more than a day on my feet, the silence just made me pass out.”

  “I’m glad you got some rest,” I answered with an innocent look on my face.

  “Not a word to anyone about this. Feel me?”

  “I’d swear it,” I shot right out.

  “No need,” he waved it off. “You think I’m afraid of any of them?”

  “No. I don’t.”

  “Okay then. I’ll take you at your word. I bet you’ve got your own problems to deal with,” Happy laughed. “You probably stashed a couple esses away, too. Huh?”

  “Just a couple,” I mumbled, my head low. But my skin was crawling. Don’t blow it! Just don’t blow it!

  “That’s fine,” he nodded. “You earned it with your sweat and blood. Frittering some away is your sacred duty. If it keeps up like yesterday, you might keel over. Boss has been shearing everyone clean recently. Not just you. I can see that you’re up to something... But just keep quiet about it... Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “And another thing... Don’t forget to beg Livid for some food money. Otherwise it’ll look suspicious. If you don’t beg, he’ll think you’re skimming off the top. Feel me?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  And that is just what I did.

  After I asked them to leave me something for food, Livid tossed a gloomy predatory gaze over me and said:

  “You and that street rat did pretty well on those two esses yesterday. So today you’ll only get one. That’s all. Get out of here. Tomorrow you go into the mine again.”

  “Cheapskate,” I thought as I placed the essence in my pocket. He already knew. I’d have to tell Crum I accept his invitation. No reason to find another place to live now. Livid has eyes everywhere. If we stopped talking now, it would look suspicious.

  * * *

  The next two days were as alike as two peas in a pod. Happy snored. I cut moss. And Crum hauled away most of what I gathered.

  The cave with the lake had more than a day’s worth of moss left, in fact there were two. And in that time, I managed to cut down over twelve pounds of moss from the upper levels.

  In the evening, Crum and I were going to tally up the results of four days’ work. Tomorrow, I’d be going to a different cave. And we decided to keep our first hiding spot as an untouchable fallback for a rainy day.

  “So then,” raising a finger proudly, my business partner started. “Let’s start with the esses... Considering the junk and grub we bought, and Livid’s share... hmm... Three thousand one hundred forty...”

  “How are there so many?!” I asked in astonishment.

  “It’s from the mine,” Crum started facetiously. “There’s this kid cutting zero moss. He’s an idiot, but he got lucky... I’ll introduce you to him some time. Hehe...”

  “Very funny... I’m just kinda shocked. I didn’t think it would be so much yet!”

  “And take note,” Crum winked. “That’s from just four days. And it’s only the esses. Now let’s get to the tablets... We’ve got... bum-ba-da-bum... One thousand one hundred twenty-two clay... And six each of stone, iron, bronze and silver...”

  While I just stared on, quietly losing my mind, my business partner kept talking calmly. And it should be said that I was somewhat shocked by how little this affected him. Honestly, it was easy to explain... He had seen all the loot in one place already and was used to it, unlike me. And probably, knowing Crum, I could confidently say that he had already calculated our perspectives for the future.

  “I already quickly figured out prices... At this pace, in another two weeks, we can probably buy you off.”

  “And how much could you get for everything I have now?”

  “Let me quick do the math...”

  Crum thought for a few minutes. Eyes closed. Lips moving. This guy definitely came from a family of traders!

  “Okay then,” he said, his eyes open. “I made an estimate without my share.”

  Seeing that I was trying to object, he interrupted:

  “Don’t argue! You think if you had enough loot to buy your way out of peonage, I’d be demanding my share? You must really think highly of your business partner...”

  “Well, it’s just...” I started.

  “Just shut up,” he waved it off and continued as if nothing had happened:

  “So then... If we decide to rush and sell it all in this poor market, it’ll get us around fifty gold coins.”

  “Woah!”

  “No, not ‘woah!’“ Crum grimaced, not sharing my enthusiasm. “Just so you have an idea, in Orchus, one silver tablet is worth five to seven gold. And in the imperial capital it’s a whole ten!”

  “Yeah, but you need to get there first...” I noted.

  “Can’t argue with that. But still. I think selling silver tablets in this little backwater at just one gold a piece would be criminal. So to my eye, we should sell it all off in Orchus. The esses and the tablets.”

  “And how are we gonna do that?”

  Crum gave a heavy sigh.

  “Well, the thing is I can’t get there on my own. Only via caravan... But there won’t be a caravan for a while. It’ll be two weeks. But merchants also drop by sometimes. For the area they pay a decent price but it’s still a pittance.”

  “Hmm...”

  “But even if I can get to Orchus somehow and don’t get robbed along the way, where’s the guarantee that nothing bad will happen in the city? Just imagine... An eight-year-old orphan with pockets full of esses and tablets... I’ll either be spotted by a guard or a group of criminals. And either of them will strip me to the threads. “

  “Then sell everything you don’t really care about here.”

  “And leave money on the table? Na... I’ve got a better idea.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Before the caravan comes, I’ll look for someone reliable who is also planning to go to Orchus. I’ll spin them a yarn about needing to visit a healer or something... And then I’ll convince them to also pass by a vendor dealing in tablets and esses. And I’ll pay him for his trouble, naturally.”

  “Is there anyone like that here?”

  “There is,” Crum nodded. “We can’t fully trust anyone, but most people around here are decent. Like Kril...”

  “I know him,” I nodded. “We traveled here together. He was also riding with his son.”

  “Exactly. He’d a decent old guy. He’s also waiting on the caravan. I’ll probably go with him.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. “Let’s call that our plan. But for now, let’s count out your share and go hide the rest. I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow. I’ve got a new cave waiting for me.”

  Chapter 11

  MORNING OF THE next day greeted us with a cloudy sky and cold wind. In the mountains something bellowed and boomed. Must have been another cave-in. As a native of the plains, at first such loud sounds scared me half to death but, much to my surprise, I got used to them within a week. I barely even flinched now. Honestly, if there was a loud enough crash, I did still wake up at night. Crum though, as wi
th all the locals, had no reaction to the noise. Seemingly, he didn’t even hear it.

  We’re sitting sleepy around the table. We eat breakfast. Our delicacies of the day are some slightly stale yeast buns, sour farmer’s cheese, sweet honey and milk. Despite the constant exhaustion and chronic lack of sleep, we are very happy with ourselves. Finding lots of loot, eating more or less okay and having a soft bed to sleep on does a great job bringing your mood up and keeping it there.

  By the way, Crum couldn’t resist the temptation and bought us each a pillow and sleeping bag. That comfort ran us a whole three silver coins, but it was worth it. Furthermore, my partner got me all kinds of little stuff like a steel fire-starter, spoon, flask, tin plate and cup and another couple knickknacks. We decided not to buy any clothes yet so we wouldn’t stand out. And mine would still be fine for a while.

  Last night, we made four hiding spots. Three for me and one for Crum. We decided to follow an old piece of wisdom and not put all our eggs in one basket. For the record, every spot I made gave me the same rewards. And not clay but bronze. That confirmed a guess I had. The more valuable the contents of a hiding spot, the bigger the reward.

  “I wanted to ask you a personal question,” I turned thoughtfully to Crum as he chewed.

  “Go ahead.”

  “You’re four now.”

  “Sure.”

  “Yesterday you told me price for silvers...”

  “You wanna ask if I sold the tablets I got for levelling?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “I mean, you get three every ding. Right?”

  “Exactly. If you add it all up, I have earned eighteen silver tablets. That’s including the ones I got for being born. Would that be a decent amount of money? Yeah? Hehe.”

  “Well, I know what happened to your level one silvers. Your parents spent them on you. But the others?”

  “I was six years old when I hit level two. I was living at the house of Madam Drina, the bordello owner.”

  “There’s a bordello here?” I could feel my face turn crimson.

  “Not anymore,” Crum answered, somehow even too casually. “Madam Drina and her henhouse packed up and moved to Orchus.”

  “And what was it like living there?” I asked, burning in embarrassment.

  “You know, Rick, not that bad,” he answered. “At the very least, I never went hungry.”

  “But why a bordello?”

  “My mom got me setup there.”

  I coughed.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Crum chuckled. “She was earning some side money cleaning up there and I helped. And when she died, Drina took pity on me and let me stay. I was an errand boy. Make appointments, run to the market... Basically, it was a tolerable life. But then Madam Drina moved. Right when the decline started here, she caught wind and got out of town. May Random give everyone her good sense...”

  “And why didn’t you go with her?”

  “She had a condition that I didn’t like... And that opened my eyes to a lot of things... When I hit level two and got my tablets, Madam Drina offered to exchange them for clay. She was already level seventeen by then. As you know, clay can only be used up through level fifteen.”

  “Uh huh,” I nodded. “By sixteen, you can only level with stone or above.”

  “She really sold me on it, saying how we were friends and all that...” Crum continued. “And friends, as everyone knows, are supposed to help one another. She said if I gave her my silver tablets, she would give me an equivalent number of clays. Back then, I was under the spell of Brother Warrior and his heroic deeds. I wanted to become a great hero myself! Hehe! And that snake Drina played on my weakness.”

  “And what happened?”

  “I made the trade. She gave me thirty clay tablets of Strength and I gave her my three silvers. Back then I didn’t understand what a simple trick that was. I was such a dumbass. At first I was happy to be able to help her out, repay her kindness. But then when I found out how much silver tablets were really worth, I was horrified.”

  “Did you talk to her about it?”

  “No,” the kid shook his head. “What’s the point? What could I even say to her? Technically our transaction was honest. If someone is too trusting and doesn’t check all the info, that’s their problem. Hehe... But that taught me a lesson I’ll never forget. Ever since, I can say I haven’t wasted another set of tablets so stupidly.”

  “I can imagine,” I chuckled. “So what was her condition?”

  “That I keep making the same trade. She would take me with her, give me a roof over my head and food to eat, and help me level up. In return for that, I exchange all my silver for her clay.”

  “Was it hard to say no?”

  “Back then, no,” the boy said. “I don’t know why... Maybe because I held a grudge for when she tricked me before... When she left, I was all alone with this place. And I regretted my decision on a number of occasions. But eventually I settled in, and now I can see I did everything right.”

  “If you want to know my opinion...” I said. “I agree completely. Freedom, even if it isn’t always with a full belly or warm room is always gonna be freedom. That isn’t even all... I’m practically sure that this Madam Drina was only giving you a roof over your head because of those silver tablets.”

  “You know, Rick,” Crum sighed heavily. “Old man Targus thought the same thing...”

  And there the conversation ended all on its own, both of us now thinking about their own thing. I don’t know what Crum was thinking, but I was mentally transported back to a lesson from my father...

  Less than a year prior…

  “Why the grumpy face?” asked father, watching me pick at my plate. “Did you get made fun of in school again?”

  “Not too much today,” I waved it off. “I don’t even notice anymore.”

  “Good,” father nodded. “But remember everyone who insults you. Orchus isn’t a very big city. When you grow up, you’ll have to do business with some of them. This way, you’ll know who to keep your guard up around.”

  “Yes, father,” I nod in response.

  “Then tell me.”

  “You see...” I started with a sour face and fell silent.

  “Tell me, son,” father encouraged me. “I’m not just your parent. Sorry if this is going too far, but really I hope you can also call me a friend. Right?”

  “Of course!”

  “Well, if that’s so, we should tell each other our problems. What happened? I’ve never seen mom’s quiche sit on your plate for so long.”

  “Aw, y’know...” I scratched the back of my head. “It’s just Haakon...”

  “Haakon, Ulvar’s son? The hunter?” father clarified.

  “Yep,” I nodded.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  “Everything is just fine with him actually,” I sighed heavily. “He’s already level five.”

  “Woah!” Father admired cartoonishly. “And all the girls ogle his backside when he’s not looking?”

  “How’d you know?” I asked in surprise.

  “A wise man once told me there is nothing new under the sun. Everything that happens has happened before in some way or another. When I was in school we also had a Haakon, but his name was Drox. He also stole all the women’s hearts. He leveled quick, just like your classmate.”

  “And what happened to him?”

  “He left here early,” father shrugged his shoulders.

  “And why?”

  “Because he quickly got up to sixteen, then he couldn’t level anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “See, I was thinking you could tell me,” father squinted mischievously. “Just think a little and tell me your ideas...”

  “Alright,” I nodded, straining all my brain cells. This is a game father and I like to play. He gives me a riddle, and I try to untangle its threads. Often, he gives me a bit of direction.

  “What happens at sixteen?” he asked a leading question.

&nbs
p; “Hm... One second... Let me think... Don’t give me any more hints...”

  “Okay, you can do it by yourself.”

  I spent a bit of time thinking then, when it finally reached me, I looked at father:

  “He couldn’t use clay tablets anymore!”

  “Exactly. Keep going...”

  “He must have gotten all his level-up bonuses too quickly. If I’m not mistaken, you get forty-eight silver tablets for sixteen levels.”