Welcome to Abarrane [Part 1]

by S. A. Devane

  “You’re the dungeon boss?” Charlotte shouted across the hall.

  “Come closer. Nothing's going to attack you until I tell it to.”

  We hesitated. “Have I ever lied to you before?”

  We cautiously walked down the winding path, weapons ready, looking for anything that might attack from the shadows. About halfway he spoke again, “That's far enough. Allow me to introduce myself to your new friend. I am the dungeon boss, Mayor Blume of Burnshire Village, and your captor once again.”

  “The hell you are,” Kraznick shouted, red faced.

  Charlotte set her hand on his shoulder, “careful, he’s level 20. We need to get out of here. We can’t beat him and if he has more golems we are all going to die and we’ll be back to square one.” Kraznick mumbled some swear words under his breath.

  “You know what, I have a prior engagement to get to.” The Mayor pulled a gold pocket watch from his vest and looked back to us. “I’m in a generous mood. Let's say you each pay me 5 Mystic coins and I’ll let you walk right out of here. No ill will. How does that sound?”

  “How did you become a dungeon master?”

  “Oh, the troll speaks, and it's not about my mother this time.” He glanced at his pocket watch again. “Sure, I’ll tell you. I bought this dungeon core.” He motioned to the rose gold glowing gem. “It cost twenty mystic coins, it a surprisingly efficient way of gaining experience and money or so I’m told. The creatures kill you, the dungeon auto loots everything. All I have to do is sit here. After you surrender or die I’ll have surpassed my investment. To be frank, ever since that elf escaped, bounty hunters have been after me. I’m guessing that's what your friend there is.” I turned looking for Roy, but he must have stealthed at some point. “I can still seeeeeee you.” The mayor taunted. Roy turned off his stealth, annoyance flaring off his face. The Mayor continued, “It notifies me of intruders. Your group is the first. You know what they say, you always remember your first.”

  Charlotte whispered to the group, “we have to destroy the core. Then it will be just him. All the monsters should die.”

  Roy pulled out his bow. The Mayor smiled faintly, “so you’re ready to fight then?” Roy released the string on his bow, the arrow soared through the cavern and before hitting the glowing gem a rose gold shield covered the pedestal, the arrow deflected down into the shadows below. Then the shield cascaded back into the stone. “That was a good try. But every decent dungeon crawler knows you have to defeat the boss before you can get to the core.” Checking his watch again, “you have five more minutes to decide.”

  “Well it was a good shot,” I said to him.

  “Why?” Charlotte asked Mayor Blume.

  “Why what?” The Mayor asked in return.

  “Why are you doing this to people?” The Mayor gave us a tired look and seemed to ponder for a moment. “There are the weak and the strong. You are weak, I am the strong.”

  “Then arm wrestle me!” Kraznick blurted out. “I’m not talking about that dwarf there that can lift a boulder. I’m talking about making the hard decisions.”

  “What decisions have you made that makes you stronger than any of us?” Roy said biding time.

  Blume sighed, “Why not. About forty years ago, my friend and I were drinking. Walking around the neighborhood and we saw this moron had left his keys on the seat of his car. So we did what any delinquent kid would do, we took it for a joyride. The car was a piece of crap. A dirty, dented, old SUV. I can still remember the color, maroon. We were drinking and driving and going a bit too fast.” He paused and reluctance entered his voice. “You know my dad told me never to tell this story, but I doubt the police could get to me in here. Well, anyways, I turned a corner too fast and hit two little girls.” My eyes grew wide in realization. “I didn’t only hit them, I could feel the car rolling over their little bodies. We drove away and dumped the car a few blocks down the street. I told my dad and he said to never tell anyone and to make sure my friend Eddy knew he would go to jail too if he ever said anything. We were scared shitless. Every day for months my father drilled it into my head, never say anything, if the cops ever try to talk to you just say I want my dad and a lawyer. What do you say? He would always ask. And I’d reply, I want my dad and a lawyer. But it never came to that. The police arrested the loser that owned the car. Some bum that worked at a gas station. He ended up getting forty years to life for double manslaughter. He was the face of evil on TV for months. I felt guilty for years, but I eventually realized it was for the best. That guy was throwing his life away. A 27-year-old loser. Me on the other hand, I had potential, I could still do something with my life. I became one of the highest paid lobbyists in the country. I could get anything done as long as the price was right. Need that 3rd world countries resources, sure I can convince a few senators to overthrow a fledgling democracy. Need a tax cut, blackmail some cheating spouses into voting for the president’s deal.” He glanced at his timepiece again. “Well, the strong are the ones that can make things happen at any cost. You are the weak. You can’t set aside your arbitrary morals to make yourself stronger. That's why I’m going to live forever and you will die today, and tomorrow, until I have taken everything from you. I have to go; my little speech ate up all your time. But I want to say thank you. Thank you for letting me tell you that story, I feel like a very old weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And thank you for your contribution to my immortality. Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow in the cells.” He turned to leave and I shouted, “Wait!” He glanced back at me confused. “What was his name?”

  “Who’s name?”

  “The 27-year-old you framed.”

  Blume shrugged, “I don’t remember. He was just some loser.” My body twitched as I shuddered in anger. Daggers seemed to flow into my hand like water, I threw all five in succession as he closed the door behind him. With five thuds, they all stuck into the wooden door. He reached his hand back out to wave at us, and he said one last thing before he left, “your mother.” Shutting the door again. I stared at the door, ignoring the shaking ground, cracking rocks, and plumes of dust shooting around the room as the massive stalagmites and stalactites unfurled into giant spiked golems. The groups voices seemed distant, incoherent. I felt the dwarfs callous hand grab my arm, I shook him off and sprinted at the wooden door, unsheathing my scimitar. I smashed into the door, not trying to slow down. It was solid, I turned the knob, it was locked. Turning to see the core still glowing a faint rose gold light. I raised my sword up and brought it down with all my might and fury, connecting with the stone, it bounced up into the air and tumbled to the ground. I was confused. Where was the shield? Blume left, so did we defeat the dungeon boss? I reached down and picked up the stone and a notification appeared.

  *Would you like to claim or destroy this weak earth dungeon core?*

  “Destroy,” I said cruelly and it disintegrated in my hands. I turned to my comrades. Their faces in awe as the eight spiked golems crumbled around them.

  I waved the prompt away to see gleaming smiles. “You did a damn good job Joe!” Kraznick bellowed happily.

  Roy pat me on the back. “Damn, that got me to level eleven, but that stone was worth twenty Mystic coins. I’m a bit torn.” He looked at my downtrodden face, tears of anger flooding my eyes, “But you did a great job.” Trying to salvage his words, thinking he was the cause of my pain.

  I stared off into the cavern. “You two go loot those golems,” Charlotte snapped. They looked at her suspiciously, then to my face. I could only imagine the sadness I was showing. They left without question. She put her hand in mine and I looked down at her. “Did you know the man he was talking about?” “Yes.” I blubbered. I folded my tongue into my teeth and bit down, hoping the pain would overcome my sorrow. It didn’t. Tears ran down my face. Charlotte pulled on my arms and I knelt into them, hugging her. My voice was muffled as I told her, “it was me. It was me.” After minutes of this I took deep breaths and pulled away. “It’s okay Joe, we’ll mak
e him pay.” I nodded trying to breathe normally before Roy and Kraznick returned.

  “That was a good haul, each golem had an Allerium shard, That’s two per person.” Roy put them all into his bag of holding.

  “Alright, everyone get back.” Kraznick said raising his warhammer overhead, bringing it down onto the doors knob. Roy kicked it open, both swords drawn. The room had only a single bed and an empty dresser. We were all annoyed, but continued down a corridor to a row of three cells. The first two were empty. Then in the third cell we heard an unnaturally raspy voice, “Go away. I’m not giving you anything.” I peered in the last cell to see something in the back corner draped in shadow. Charlotte's voice was soft, “we’re here to set you free.” She examined it and told us what she saw.

  Splintir, Level 12 Plagueland Ratakan

  Attributes:

  Intelligence: 10

  Agility: 20 (30)

  Strength:20

  Charisma: 1 (.5)

  Endurance: 12

  Wisdom:1

  Perception:10 (15)

  Luck: 10 (15)

  Racial Traits: Mischievous Survivor: Agility, Perception, Luck increased by 50%

  Hated Vermin: Charisma decreased by 50%

  His tail shot out of the darkness pointing at Charlotte's face. In a deep scratchy voice, it asked, “what's your name girl?”

  She gulped, “Charlotte.” The rat man's voice changed, softer now, “Charlotte?” He pulled his giant rat tail back and peeked his face out from the shadows. His bulbous black eyes appeared wet, his smooth black fur covering his entire body except for his glinting obsidian claws. “It’s me, Trevor.” “Trevor?” She said longingly. They rushed the bars hugging through them. The odd sight of child hugging rat monster seemed sweet and for that moment I completely forgot about my own self-pity.

  “That’s, your brother?” Roy asked in disbelief. The rat glared at him without releasing his sister. Roy looked away, half ashamed, half terrified. “Let’s get your brother out of there, we don’t know if more guards will be coming.” Kraznick lifted his hammer and broke the lock off in one swing. “He’s right, Trevor lets go. We can talk when we’re safe. Roy invite him to the group.”

  *Splintir has joined the group*

  As Splintir stepped into the light we could see his poorly wrapped arm still dripping blood. “Crossbow bolt?” I asked. He nodded and I handed him a health potion. He drank it and ripped off the bandage.

  “Thank you.”

  We ran farther down the corridor checking other cells we passed. But they were all empty. Up a flight of stairs that led into a room with two guards, before I could reach for my weapon Splintir dashed at them with blinding speed, He slashed the throat of the first guard, not stopping to admire his work and leaped through the air at the other guard whose face screamed terror. Splintir latched on, digging his claws into the man's shoulders and took a bite out of his throat, ripping the flesh away, blood squirting out as he dropped the body. Instead of spitting the man's throat out, he chewed it and swallowed it almost whole. We all froze watching the little girls brother enjoy his snack. He saw our looks of disgust and turned away in shame. With his back turned he addressed us, “this is how a monster race survives. Every human I ever encountered besides your group immediately set out to kill me. Once I realized how amazing they tasted I stopped worrying about hunting for food. It’s not cannibalism if I’m not human.” Roy was the only one with words, “is that how you justify it?” Splintir’s tail wriggled in the air, “don’t judge me human. You have no idea what it’s like to be hunted for getting a bad draw. Tell him troll.”

  I was silent for a moment, then it came to me. “I don’t know what your life has been like since you got here, but you have survived. If that's what it took then none of us should be judging him. Least of all the human.”

  “Whatever,” Roy disappeared in a blast of black smoke and left into the street. “Is he coming back?” Splintir inquired. I nodded, “he’s scouting ahead.”

  A minute later he cracked the door open and we heard a whisper, “all clear, let’s go.” We headed towards the graveyard, out of the village and into the forest.

  Chapter 11

  Less than a week later we arrived in Telonora. The forest only had wolves and deer, our new companion made short work of any threats. The cities stone walls were as tall as the trees we passed through. Groups of guards patrolled the outskirts and we walked towards the main gate. One of the patrols approached us. “Let me do the talking,” Roy told us out of the side of his mouth.

  “Halt. What business do you five have in our city?” The other nine guards behind him had their hands on their hilts eyeing me and Splintir. “Hello Captain, I am Roy of the Bounty Hunter guild.”

  The Captain cut him off, “and those are your prisoners?” “No Sir. These are my companions. Having strong monsters as allies makes my life all the easier. As a token of good faith let me give you this.” He held his hand out and dropped a single coin into his palm. The captain looked down in shock. After realizing this, he regained his composure and glared at Splintir and I again. “Make sure you keep them in line. No amount of money will keep them off the block if they hurt a citizen.” “But of course, good Captain.”

  “Let them through,” The guards parted and we walked over the drawbridge atop the moat and into the city. “How much did you give him?” I asked. “A platinum coin. Usually they only want a few silvers or a gold, but I never entered with monster races before. Best to err on the side of generosity.”

  “That was generous of you.”

  “No it wasn’t. It’s coming out of your share.” I chuckled at that.

  The streets were cobblestone. Donkeys and mules pulled carts filled with food and assorted crates. “Let's get to an inn. I need a shower and an ice-cold beer.” Kraznick said. We walked up the hill getting stares and looks of revulsion from the locals. I noticed a spire in the distance, “Roy, what's that building over there?” I asked pointing into the sky. “It’s the College of Telonora. You can’t even enter unless you pass some magic test. Trust me, I tried”

  “What other groups are there?”

  “The Bounty Hunters guild, Crafters guild, There's a few different fighting groups. But you don’t want to join any of them. They are all subject to the King. If he calls, they have to go fight for him. That's the price they pay to be in the city.”

  “Do you have to fight for him?”

  “No, that's different. We will hunt down escaped prisoners or traitors though. The guild still pays, but the King doesn't. I spent all my lower levels hunting escaped prisoners and low level thieves that escaped the guards. Got my perception to ten and tracking became much easier. The guild gives money and experience for every successful bounty. This was my first failure, but they shouldn’t be too hard on me. The bounty said the Mayor was level 9, not 20. Even still, I'm going to put it off till tomorrow.”

  An hour later we arrived, “Welcome to the Hoppy Brew.” Roy said with joy in his voice. We followed in through the thick double doors. “Stop right there.” A stern woman's voice said. She approached us, her face was older, eyes a piercing white blue, “my customers don’t want to be around no monsters.”

  “Come now Angelica, my friends are here for a room and a meal like the rest of this simple lot. Hell, you know what, to put you at ease they’ll pay double the rates.”

  “You’ll all pay double.” She retorted.

  “Come now. Aren't we friends?”

  “No. If you say anything besides yes Angelica, I’ll triple it.”

  “Okay you win. Where can we sit sweet Angelica,” Roy placed his arm over her shoulder. She shook it off and pointed in the corner, “there, Sweetie will be over for your orders soon.”

  “Actually, I’d like a shower first.” I said.

  She looked at me surprised. “Didn’t know your kind could talk. One gold coin for your room, Troll.” She said with disdain. I handed the coin to her and she gave me a key. “Third floo
r, first door on the left.”

  I turned to the group. “Meet down here in an hour?” We all agreed and an hour later we were all clean and sitting at the corner table.

  A young lady came to the table, she had the same brown hair that most of Telonora’s citizens had, and pale skin. Her corset was tightly squishing her small breasts together, “Hi, would you like to start with a drink?”

  “Beer, I’ll have two beers in your biggest glasses.” Kraznick said.

  “And the rest of us will have one beer.” Charlotte said looking up at her.

  “Aren’t you a bit young?” Sweetie protested. “Do you think some normal little girl would be traveling with these two scary gentlemen.” She pointed her thumbs at Splintir and I, as she sat between us in the booth. She nodded uncomfortably. “I’ll take a beer.” “So beers for everyone?” Charlotte asked looking around at all our faces. “Milk,” Splintir said shyly. “I’m sorry what was that?” Sweetie leaned in. “Milk please.” Splintir said. “Okay five beers and one milk coming up.” A larger woman brought the drinks moments later. “Here are your beers good sirs. And a milk for the little lady.” Charlotte rolled her eyes and took the beer she set in front of Splintir and started pounding it as it spilled down her cheeks. “One more, I haven't had a beer in years.” Charlotte said followed by a loud belch. The woman looked absolutely mortified. “What are we going to do about the Mayor?” I asked ignoring the woman’s gasp. “Let’s order our food before we get down to business Joe. I know you’re ready to get back at him, but we could all use a moment to relax and enjoy our freedom.” I nodded, they did deserve to enjoy it. We were all prisoners at one point, excluding Roy, but he helped us, not completely out of the goodness of his heart, but he did help us. I opened my menu and it was filled with illegible scribbles. “Can any of you read this?” I asked. Kraznick was the only one that shook his head no. I really should get my intelligence to level 10, I thought. I looked at Splintir dragging his finger across the page reading the menu. “Trevor,” he looked up at me. “Why did you get your intelligence to level 10?” “Well, every time I asked for directions the humans would either run or attack me. I figured if I got my intelligence to level 5 and I could speak. Maybe, if I increased my intelligence high enough I’d be able to read. I needed to read the signs to find my way to Burnshire.” Then he started lapping the milk out of his cup.