The Wizard (Dungeon Core Book 1)

by MJ Kaltenbrunner

  "Fuck it," she said out loud.

  A passing woman who was carrying a basket of dried fish stopped and gasped with wide eyes. Tehra noticed the figuring of the Mother of Mercy around her neck on a cord. That was one of the most goody-goody religions around, like a cult of being offended and sucking up to the gods.

  "What?" asked Tehra. "You've never seen an elf talking to herself and saying fuck?"

  Shaking her head, the woman walked on and didn't make eye contact with Tehra again.

  "Fuck off," the elf mumbled to herself. She was dirty, tired, hungry, her feet were hurting like crazy, and she was paranoid that some monster had her scent and was going to eat her eventually. "What the hell are you doing, girl?"

  Tehra entered the adventuring company, or 'Benevic's Righteous Adventurers for Hire', as the sign put it. When she came through the large wooden door, there was an air of silence that made her uncomfortable. It was like she'd just arrived in time to catch the last moments of several conversations, and then they'd been cut off instantly as she came in. That could have been the paranoia getting the best of her. Or, maybe she was completely justified in feeling that way. The looks on the faces of the men and women inside did not disagree with her worry-induced theory.

  "What do you want?" asked a gaunt woman. "We don't need any elves here, thanks. We're fighters, not flower pickers." She was nearly six feet tall, almost eye to eye with Tehra. But the human woman was thicker, stockier; her exposed arms holding tough looking muscle like ropes tightly wound together, even if not overly thick. She had on leather armor that was perfect for moving swiftly and maintaining stamina. Her belt held up two short swords and several long daggers. It was almost certain this woman was a rogue.

  "Jillis!" boomed a man's voice from higher up in the building.

  As Tehra looked around to search for the source of the voice, almost warm and melodious despite the tone of reprimanding, she began to walk into the building. Whoever had called out did not agree with the plainly stupid attitude of this leather-clad woman at the door.

  "What are you doing?" asked the human woman. "I just told you that—"

  "And you were told to shut up. Was that your boss? Where is he?"

  "Up here, young elf," said a tall and proud standing man from a raised floor at the far end of the wide, very long hall that ran almost the length of the entire building. There were some small wooden doors leading to other chambers, but they must not have been substantial in size. "I'm Benevic, the owner of this company. Excuse Jillis. She's rather roguish."

  "That's what you hired me for," said Jillis, but without the same snarky tone in her voice, or the leering expression. Her eyes grew kinder despite her confrontational words, and she went back over to the bench she'd been working at, sharpening steels.

  "What do you want, though?" asked Benevic from his high up platform. There was no one else up there with him, but stairs went from the edge of his level and spiraled downward at the far left corner of the building. "Are you looking for a job?"

  "I am," replied Tehra, her heart starting to beat faster already. Could it really be this simple? Did she just have a certain look about her that inspired confidence in the veteran adventurer?

  "We are looking for someone to cook and clean, since our current company maid is recently with child and looking to leave for a year."

  "Oh, well, yes I can do those things," Tehra called back. Her cheeks were growing hot, and she wondered if they were turning bright red. It would have looked very silly with her naturally pale skin complexion, and everyone in the huge hall would notice for sure. Paranoia is not always a thief's best friend. She did become painfully aware that she'd been yelling out across the room of people, experienced fighters and trackers, skilled detectives, the adventuring sort who she was eager to impress.

  There was a table full of men over to her right, not far from the bench where the rogue woman was now back to sharpening various blades. Each of the men at the table was turned to face her, snickering and making comments among themselves. At least once, 'elf' came from them and not alongside any compliments. That was for sure.

  "Can I come up and speak with you?" Tehra shouted out, each word making her cringe as she felt the burning distaste of all those sets of eyes directly on her. The urge to slink away back through the front door and find someplace less respectable to look for a job with was becoming strong in her. "Or can we at least stop yelling at each other from the opposite ends of the room?"

  The men at the table started laughing at that.

  "Very well, come and talk to me!" Benevic called back, then walked away from the railing at the edge of the higher floor and out of view.

  "So, why do you want to be a rogue?" Benevic asked her once they were seated at opposite ends of a small, round table up by the top of the spiral staircase. There were several wooden stools around it, but they were nothing fancy. While Tehra had been expecting something grand to be up there, or perhaps even things of value that were being carefully watched by the company owner, there was just some basic furniture, cupboards, shelves, trunks, a bench, and the table and chairs they sat at. “Do you have any training?”

  “No.”

  Benevic starred at her, his face stone-like. It was hard to read what he could be thinking, but the urge to leave was getting more powerful.

  Tehra’s cheeks once more grew hot, and she started to become flustered again. "You think I'm a joke, don't you? Why have you called me up here if you have no intention of taking me seriously?"

  Benevic looked earnestly offended. "Excuse anything I have done to give you that impression, young lady. It's obvious that you don't want to be a fighter, and you don't have the walk of someone who spends a lot of time on horseback. To assume you were a wizard or healer might be a touch racist, don't you think? Is that what you wish to trade in, being an elf?"

  "Racist? I honestly don't think I have ever heard anyone worry about such a thing in this city. Are you really as noble as all that? How are you the head of an adventuring company for hire? Oh, sorry... I didn't mean to say that."

  "Sure you did," Benevic replied, shifting himself so that he was leaning back slightly, with one foot extended out and to the side a little, and the other tucked beneath the stool to give him balance while he let his guard down, on the exterior at least. "Believe it or not, there are ways to float to the top in this city without becoming a piece of shit."

  "I… yes, you might be right," she said, starting to laugh. "I'm sorry, but that was the last thing I expected you to say, sir." Did you just call him sir? she thought, amazed at such a display of subservience toward a man she had only just met. It felt okay to give in a little to him though, with his stoic and good-natured appearance. Plus, despite being middle-aged, he was a handsome specimen, with a chiseled jawline and thick, dark brown hair that would not be out of place on a twenty-year-old man.

  "I believe I am right, and I also think I'm proof of that saying. Sure, bad deeds often lead to prosperity, but they more often lead to the end of a sword. In many cases, that righteous sword belongs to one of my men... or women. Now, tell me, are you a rogue or not?"

  "I'm a… not technically. I do have some skills that would be suited to that kind of thing. I'm not officially trained, though..."

  "You're a thief, aren't you?" he said, his face changing suddenly. He must have known, maybe had been stringing her along and getting her to go up there for this private little meeting just so he could get the guards to come and verify that she was, in fact, Rufer's killer. "Are you worried?" he asked.

  Tehra was starting to sweat under her arms and around her eyes. "You're, what are you saying? I have to go—"

  "Please, calm down. Do you honestly think every professional adventurer started out with a perfect record? Half of the most famous and even noblest heroes throughout the ages were ne'er do wells as youths. But it often takes a bad deed to make a person see that they prefer to do good."

  "Yes, I'll admit that I grew up on the streets. I
was an orphan, and then a street urchin. You won't find any warrants out for me though, I promise."

  "So, you're either not as bad as you think, or you're just a very good thief. Either way, I think I might be able to give you a trial run. I would be lying if I said your being an elf had nothing to do with this. I know you could have some very, 'unique' talents that I just can't find in a human. Unless that bothers you, please consider yourself temporarily hired, for now."

  Someone came to the door, a runner with a folded letter. "I have a message from the city guard!" he called out.

  "Yuri, will you get that?" Benevic yelled out, and a stocky man went to get the message. On closer inspection, Tehra realized it was, in fact, a dwarf!

  "I didn't realize you had a dwarf here," Tehra said quietly. "I… it's been a long time since I've seen anyone who wasn't human."

  "Well, you are in a human country, so that's not so strange is it? Yuri is one of our fighters. You might get along with him, especially if you pretend you don't like humans with him." Benevic was smiling but sounded sincere in every word he said. His good-natured humor somehow mixed together with a total air of earnestness, and it was impossible to figure out how he managed to pull that off so well without seeming like an ass.

  "Maybe," said Tehra. She was finding it harder and harder to come up with the right words, and it seemed easier to say less than to risk making herself look foolish or even more inexperienced than she already must have seemed.

  "Here's your message," said Yuri from the top of the stairs. He handed over the folded paper, which was sealed with wax and an insignia. He was damned quiet for a dwarf, not even making a sound while he was going up the stairs. Tehra had never been so close to one, in fact, but she could only imagine it must be hard to sneak around with such a stocky and stunted body. There were also plenty of stereotypes about it. It was impossible that he really got up to the higher level without her hearing him; elves were experts at listening. She must have just let her nerves overcome her sense of awareness. That was a dangerous thing, especially for someone in this line of work.

  "Thank you, Yuri. Oh, meet Tehra. She's going to trial as a replacement rogue while Phillips is away."

  "Hello," said Tehra with a nod toward the stern-looking dwarf. His dark beard covered much of a sun-damaged, ruddy face. From atop the bush of facial hair were a rounded nose and two beady, piercing eyes with black centers. He looked perhaps middle-aged, which could still have been a very long time in dwarf years; Tehra was not very familiar with their race, but she’d heard even the females had beards. Was that even true? His belt and chest harness were rowed with small throwing axes, while a two-handed falchion hung from his belt. He was wearing no armor, just regular cloth, but would no doubt have something heavy and steel to cover himself when they went out on a quest.

  "This is quite a nice surprise," he said. "I've been stuck around all these humans for far too long, and never expected to encounter such a lovely young non-human while in this cursed city."

  "If this city is so cursed, you know how to find the harbor, and I'll give the money for a boat elsewhere," replied Benevic with a big grin. "Try not to infect her with your addiction to cynicism right away, okay, Yuri?"

  "You have it," said the dwarf, "Oh, great human master." He winked at Tehra and then went back down the stairs. His feet fell on each step with a solid thud, betraying his great weight and girth, despite his short stature. He must have made the same sound coming up the stairs. Or, perhaps he was just trying to be silent before and was now going at a relaxed step.

  "Don't let his exterior make up your mind about him," said Benevic to Tehra. "In fact, keep that particular lesson close to your heart always. Nothing is ever as it seems." He tapped his forehead on the side of his temple. "But you can drive yourself crazy with paranoid thoughts, so it's a double-edged sword really."

  "Yes, I'll remember that. Did you want me to start working on something here? I can cook... if you really need someone to help out."

  "Nonsense," said Benevic. "I can hire one in any thousand women to help with that." He broke the seal on the message and began to read it. "In fact, that would only be a distraction from your first official job as a rogue in training."

  "In training? A rogue? I—"

  "Just think of rogues as thieves who don't break the law, with better equipment for fighting of course. You can fight, can't you?"

  "Small blades, yes."

  "Good, because there's something nasty that's killed a whole group of peasants out in the hills. I'm going to have you shadow Jillis on this one. Just do what she says, unless it's going to get you killed, then remember to ignore whatever she says."

  "Okay?"

  "Good!" He stood up and walked to the railing again. "Listen up everyone! We've got ourselves an ogre to slaughter!"

  20

  Tehra could not have been happier. She'd come in with nothing but the dirty, ill-repaired clothes she'd been wearing almost every day for a year. Try as she may, it was impossible to wipe the grin from her lips as she strapped on the shiny leather armor she'd been handed by one of the men.

  "Thank you!" she said, fully aware of how much she sounded like an excited child seeing their first toy store. But it was impossible to avoid feeling that way, and some of that enthusiasm was bound to spill out and make her embarrass herself again. The company even had some rooms permanently rented for their company to use, and some of the adventurers chose to stay there to save money, rather than finding places of their own to live. They were apparently not much, but they were neat and secure, right near the company building for convenience.

  The ten adventurers who'd been chosen to go on this quest were gathered around a series of tables, chests, and benches, putting their armor on and making sure their weapons were in good order. Some of them were stringing bows or testing out the mechanisms on crossbows.

  "It's just some used armor we keep for training fresh meat," said Jillis, the company's on-duty, fully-trained rogue. "If you get so excited about a two copper bit of equipment like that, I wonder how you'd feel getting your hands on something serious." She went over and grabbed a short sword from a chest full of arms. "Like this." Handing it over to Tehra, she smirked and waited for Tehra to accept the sword.

  "Is that for me to use?" the suddenly very shy elf asked.

  "You're not going to try to take on any ogres with that letter opener you've got strapped to your belt, are you? Although, as far as knives go, it looks decent enough. Here, hand it to me."

  "I've had it since I was old enough to hold one..." Tehra was worried that the human rogue was waiting to play some cruel prank, perhaps involving the wanton destruction of the sentimentally valuable knife.

  "I'm not going to steal it, but I was in charge of making sure every weapon in this building stays sharper than sin. If you're going to take that with you, hand it over and let me do my job."

  "Oh, alright." Tehra gave the knife to Jillis and hoped this she was telling the truth. Thankfully, the rogue did take out a sharpening stone and began carefully working on the slender knife's edge and tip, giving it the kind of attention to detail one would only expect from a master jeweler, rather than a cut-throat.

  "Don't worry about her," said a gruff voice from Tehra's side. It was Yuri. "She doesn't like competition from other rogues, but you're already in this one with us, for now. Jillis is a professional, and she's not going to sabotage her own quest by fucking with you. Just, don't expect her good nature toward you to keep up once we're all back alive."

  "If we get back alive," replied Tehra.

  "A long-limbed beauty like yourself? I wouldn't go worrying too much; you're sure to be the first one to safety if things do go sour." The broad-shouldered dwarf startled the elf with a pat on the back, on the very low back just on the top of her behind. He was a sneaky one, that was for sure. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to adjust for my height. You're taller than the average woman this city." A cheeky wink made it certain that he’d done it on purpose.<
br />
  "Thanks," she said. "Just watch your hands, unless you'd like to lose one of them next time you 'accidentally' give me a pat on the ass."

  Yuri just laughed, nodding in agreement. "Very well then. Hey, I think I like this one, lads. She's got a sense of humor on the violent side! You do have the best eye for them, Benevic!"

  The men laughed, but Jillis was too busy making sure the elf's knife was a perfectly honed blade. Benevic didn’t laugh, nor did he reply or so much as look over at the group of prepping adventurers. He was staring at the door. "My gods," he said. "Can it really be you?"

  Every head in the large hall pivoted to face the door. A thick silence lowered over the building, each person seemingly aware of the importance of their young, female visitor, except for Tehra of course.

  "Who's that?" she whispered to the dwarf who was still standing beside her.

  He shook his head a little and edged closer to the elf, tilting his head back so he could whisper right by her ear. She ducked down to accommodate this, hoping it wasn't just another ploy to try to cop a feel. He whispered, nearly in complete silence, "His daughter returns."

  The woman was wearing white, dazzlingly bright in the afternoon light that came from outside. Her radiance seemed to emit not only from her extreme beauty, but also from the way she stood there unmoving, unspeaking, and yet seemed to be perfectly at ease in the world around her. Or, even still, it was like she was not a part of the paltry place this city was, or even this land. The gentle breeze rolling down from the street outside was the only thing that seemed worthy of touching her. It tussled the edges of her long gown and shroud.