Dungeon Walkers 3, page 24
“If your sister is who you think she is, we’ll be happy to meet her,” Stern said.
“Thanks.”
“After we grab the tents, want to have a drink before we get things all packed up for tomorrow?”
“Sounds good to me,” Jon chuckled. “Should surprise the women if we manage it before they get home.”
~*~*~
“Thank you for coming over,” Stern said, greeting the sisters.
“Thank you for having us,” Marvella smiled. “We were surprised when the hall sent us a message.”
“It was very nice of you to invite us to dine with you,” Maverna said, following her sister in.
“We wanted to see you before we left the city,” Trish said.
“Oh? Are you leaving soon?” Maverna asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” Cyra said. She hugged both of them in turn. “We wanted to see how things are going for you.”
“Surprisingly well,” Marvella said. “When I went with her to the hall yesterday, they had a list of potential crew members for us. Said friends had asked on my behalf.”
“We even met one of them. Lindon was very respectful. He felt pity for me, but no anger or hatred,” Maverna said. “I’m not sure how I feel about that, honestly, but it’s nice to feel something different.”
“He’s a caster who specialized in dark magic. We’ll have to hope we can get him a second element, just in case, for later dungeons,” Marvella added, “but that still gives us the basic three positions of all crews.”
“With three more spots,” Nicole said.
“We filled out, actually,” Maverna said as she took the seat Stern directed her to. “A pair of twin brothers, though you’d never know it. Each took after a different parent. James has the wings of his angelic mother, and Sean has the infernal wings of their father.”
“Those two races do seem to end up a lot together,” Nicole said.
“They really do,” Stern chuckled.
“Both of them were respectful,” Marvella said.
“James likes you,” Maverna snickered.
Marvella frowned. “Doesn’t matter. Not interested.”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Maverna sang.
Stern snorted and patted Marvella’s shoulder. “Sisters, am I right?”
“Yeah,” Marvella said as she sat down at the table.
Nicole’s smile slipped for a second, thinking once more of what might’ve been if her parents had been more like the lykians’.
Cammie touched her arm. “It’s okay.”
Nicole inhaled sharply, then smiled sheepishly. “It’s just a passing thought.”
“That’s only five in total,” Jon said as he stayed standing by the table.
“The last one is Shelly,” Marvella said. “Nice girl. Half-dwarf. Very serious about her axe and getting in close, and she uses a shield so she can help with protecting others. Actually has a few bulwark perks to balance her offensive ones. A solid addition.”
“She’s eager to be part of the crew. Her parents were in a crew with an irregular and mentioned how often they had odd perks show up,” Maverna said. “She actually hugged me.”
“Nice,” Stern grinned just before a knock came on the door. “There’s the food. Be right back.”
“The inn has good food,” Marvella said.
“It does, but this is from a local place, not the inn,” Trish grinned. “Stern wanted you both to have a great dinner. When do you go in?”
“The day after tomorrow. We’ll be having dinner with them tomorrow night.”
“They were all eager to run with Sis,” Maverna chuckled. “Her perks had their full attention.”
Stern and Jon started bringing the food over to the table, with the help of the delivery people, as it was a veritable feast. Both sisters were shocked at the amount and quality of the food. They wondered about how this crew had managed to afford it, but were polite enough not to ask.
The meal was delicious— everyone ate their fill, if not more. There was no food left over, and the last of the wine was distributed amongst everyone.
“Goddess, that was amazing,” Maverna sighed, patting her stomach. “I hope I still fit into my armor.”
“Right?” Trish laughed. “I have to put mine on tomorrow. I’m worried about it now.”
“You wear scale,” Marvella snorted. “You’ll be fine. You’ll want to see about getting at least a breastplate by the time you reach bronze. Things from there on out start getting trickier for bulwarks in less sturdy armor.”
“She has Reinforced Iron Skin,” Cyra said, her words a touch wobbly, “but we’ll be putting her in better armor before then, anyway.”
“You already have that perk?” Maverna asked in surprise.
Trish glanced at Cyra with an amused smile. “I forget how easily she gets tipsy.”
Cyra blinked slowly, then blushed. “Sorry.”
Trish squeezed her hand. “It’s fine, my dear bunny. And yes, I have that perk already.”
“You’ll be good for a couple of tiers, minus bosses who might be able to hit you hard enough to cut through that,” Marvella said. “Nice pick up.”
“Got it on our first run with Nicole and Jon,” Trish said. “Irregulars change the chance for perks showing up. Your latest member has that right. We’re taking stock of what we get offered when. If we can quantify it, maybe others will be more open to allowing irregulars a chance.”
“Oh…” Maverna looked thoughtful. “I’ll do the same. We should mention it to the hall. Maybe they can pass it along to other irregulars, and that information can be gathered faster.”
“Worth a shot,” Stern agreed, “and we really do skew the odds. Pawly and Zasha,” he motioned at the two animals lounging near the table, who’d been cadging treats from the dinners. “Both of them are perks. Pawly is from birth, but Zasha and the perk to have them both out are from our runs. Add in their upgrades that Marvella has seen, and... yeah.”
Marvella frowned as she stared at Stern with her one eye. “Wait… that’s all of, or close to all of, your perks from dungeons.”
Stern tipped his wine glass slightly toward her. “Correct. For our tier, I’m the most powerful summoner ever, I believe.”
Marvella glanced at the happy dog and cat. “Yes... you would be.”
“All of us have had unusual perk options,” Jon said. “Your idea has merit. If more irregulars start reporting them, it’ll have a bigger impact quicker.”
“Then we’ll have the last laugh, as everyone will want us along with them,” Maverna said with a smirk. “Serve all those bigots right to know and be unable to have one of us with them.”
“It really would,” Stern agreed.
“If you don’t mind, can we compare perks?” Marvella asked. “I’d like to hear more.”
The crew exchanged glances— sharing perk information outside of crew and family was almost never done, though sometimes, close friends would compare their perks to see how they were each doing. A silent consensus was reached and Nicole cleared her throat. “I’ll start.”
Chapter Thirty-three
The group was ready to go shortly after breakfast, and Stern felt a hint of anxiety in his chest. He’d been keeping the fact that his family would meet them at Blackwood a secret. He’d marry his three lovers, see his family, and be there to support Jon in seeing his sister again. There was a lot that was going to happen during their time in Blackwood, including the dungeon run to let them finish the nickel tier.
“Stop for quests, and then we’ll head out. Zasha, you’ll get your perks once we go off the road,” Stern said. “Pawly normally scouts ahead of us, so you’ll be back with Cyra, Cammie, and Nicole.”
Zasha gave a soft bark, his tail wagging happily.
“I think he’s just happy to be able to go with us,” Trish grinned.
“He is,” Stern agreed. “Let’s see what we can find. I’m sure there will be a wolf kill quest on the way, at least.”
“Probably dark willow shoots, too,” Cyra agreed. “That seems to be pretty consistent.”
“It is,” Jon nodded.
They trooped downstairs, saying goodbye to the innkeeper before leaving the Slumbering Night behind. It wasn’t far to the Walkers’ hall, and they saw a good number of Walkers heading toward the dungeon.
“May the Goddess bless and keep them safe,” Nicole whispered.
“That I will always pray for,” Stern quietly agreed.
The room was nearly empty when they entered it, though Issa and Zander were at their desks. They waved at the receptionists before going up to the quest board. Just like they had thought, there were quests for wolves— both golden- and black-furred— along with dark willow shoots. All three quests were to be turned in at shops in Blackwood, the tanner and the alchemist.
“Stern, can I see you?” Issa called out when it looked like they were about to leave.
“What can I do for you?” Stern asked, stepping up to her desk.
Issa held out a small dispatch envelope. “Hand this to the receptionist in Blackwood, please. You’ll be paid well for it.”
Stern saw the Walkers’ seal affixed to the envelope. “I see. Very well. Cyra, come here, please? I need you to stuff this into my bag.”
Cyra helped him get the envelope deep into his bag. “All done.”
“I’ll make sure they get it when we arrive,” Stern told Issa.
“Thank you,” Issa smiled. “Safe travels and run when you reach Blackwood.”
“Have a good day,” Stern replied, turning to include Zander in that. “Maybe things will calm down for you now.”
“We hope so. The trouble crew left the city yesterday. They’ll reach Blackwood before you,” Zander said.
“We’ll manage,” Stern said, a small smile coming to his lips. “I pity them if they cause issues there.”
Zander’s brow furrowed; he didn’t understand why Stern seemed so confident. “Just be aware of it.”
“Understood,” Stern nodded. “The sisters said they found good people, so thank you for that.”
Issa giggled. “Did they tell you the name of their crew?”
“No,” Trish said quickly. “What is it?”
“‘Irregular Pack.’” Issa had managed to say it with a straight face, but she started chuckling.
“Almost like they had another crew to emulate,” Zander chuckled along with his wife.
“That’s cute!” Cyra beamed.
“One of their crew rules was unusual, too,” Issa said. “They’ll be reporting what each member gets offered when they finish a dungeon. They believe that having an irregular in the crew has a chance of skewing the perks toward the unique and rare.”
“We did discuss that, and we believe so, too,” Stern said. “We’ll probably be doing similar in the future.”
“That’ll help,” Zander said. “If we can document it and spread it around the Walkers’ halls, it could have a real impact. Not names of the crews, but just a clear showing of rare perks being offered.”
“Yes, that’s my hope,” Stern said. “I’ll likely turn ours in after we run the next dungeon. That’ll be six with just me, and three with Nicole and I. Then, the same with Nicole: her six as the only irregular, and then our combined three.”
“Has that mattered?” Issa asked, sitting forward. “Do two irregulars skew it more?”
“We believe so,” Stern said, “but time will prove it out or not.”
“True,” Issa sighed, sitting back. “That’s all in the future, though, like the Travelers showing up.”
“Probably sooner than we all think,” Stern said. He held back, as he had a better idea of when that would be. His father had never said how he knew when the Travelers would show up, but Stern felt it wasn’t common knowledge.
“They will show when the Goddess wills it,” Zander said with a shrug.
Goodbyes were said one more time before the crew left the guildhall behind.
They were on the way to the gate when Jon asked, “Do you think the idiots will give us trouble in Blackwood?”
“Probably,” Stern said. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll deal with it.”
“If they left yesterday, we might not find much on the trip,” Cammie said.
“True, but we might also pick the other side of the road from them, too,” Trish said. “If we travel for a few days and don’t see anything, we can get back to the road and cross over.”
“Be less to turn in, but it’ll be better that way,” Stern agreed.
“You think the Travelers will be here soon?” Nicole asked Stern. “You seemed confident in your answer that they’ll be here sooner than most think.”
“I do,” Stern said. “I’m sure the Goddess will inform the acolytes so they can spread the word. This way, we can all be prepared for them.”
“Rumor says they’ll be obsessed with clearing the dungeons as quickly as they can,” Trish said.
“Or they’ll settle down and try to live normal lives,” Cyra added.
“Either way, it’s said they’ll come and go for long stretches of time. Not sure how they’ll work as Walkers, if that’s true,” Jon said.
“Fill-ins?” Cammie suggested. “The crew would just have to know that they’re Travelers and that means either waiting or knowing they’ll have to find another in time.”
“True... I wonder if they’ll be unique in other ways?” Nicole mused. “They always sounded so special. People who cross worlds to assist the natives... what would that be like?”
“Not sure I’d want it,” Stern said. “Not now, anyway.” His gaze went to his three lovers.
Cyra and Cammie gave him smiles, and Trish gave him a suggestive wink.
“I’d pass unless Nicole came with me,” Jon agreed. “If she did, then I’m not sure... I think I’d like to see a different world.”
“If they treated me better… yes,” Nicole nodded, “but only if Jon was beside me.”
They debated the supposed pluses and minuses of what a new world might mean as they walked across the city. When they reached the gates, they trailed off. Stern chuckled as he watched the guards on duty stare at Pawly floating up and over the wall.
~*~*~
“Tomorrow, we’ll start to find wolves,” Stern told Zasha, who looked sad. “The first day out is always slow.”
Zasha huffed, taking a seat as they set camp.
“No resting yet, buddy,” Stern laughed. “Time to go hunting.”
Zasha sprang back up to his feet, barking as his tail whipped the air behind him.
“Quietly,” Stern laughed. He looked at the others. “We’ll be back.”
“We’ll have everything ready,” Cyra smiled.
Nodding, Stern walked away from camp, his backpack left behind. He carried his crossbow while Pawly floated ahead of him, minus her electricity; that would alert too many animals. Zasha stalked beside him without his stone armor, so he could move with lighter steps.
Stern walked as quietly as his mother had taught him. He was half watching his feet and half watching the area around him for something to bring back as food. He always felt a little alone when he went out hunting, but also proud whenever he brought back something for dinner.
Zasha moved slowly, skulking beside Stern. The hound’s pride at being brought along made Stern smile. He was ecstatic that Pawly and Zasha got along as well as they did. He’d been worried that the two of them might fight when out at the same time, but they’d been close ever since he picked the perk.
Not finding anything for a good while, Stern was starting to get disheartened when he spotted a dark willow shoot. Edging over to it, he let out a soft whistle to let Pawly know he was pausing. Looking back the way he’d come, Stern mentally marked the location of the shoot. Pick it up tomorrow before we really get moving, he thought. He left the shoot behind as he started walking again, eyes scanning the undergrowth.
~*~*~
Making it back to camp, Stern had a dead wolf on Zasha’s back, its golden fur not as damaged as Stern feared it would be. “Sorry for the delay,” he said when he entered the light of the campfire.
“That’ll take a bit to get going,” Cammie said, going over to help him skin and prepare the wolf.
“First thing I found besides a dark willow shoot. We’ll pick that up tomorrow.”
“At least we know there are wolves and shoots on this side of the road,” Trish said.
