Pocket Dungeon 3, page 11
“No problem,” I said. “I’m going to make myself some coffee, so you can change in the bathroom. It’s that door there.”
I pointed to the slightly closed bathroom door over my shoulder as I began making my way into the small kitchen.
Elaene shuffled out of her blanket nest and grabbed the stack of clothes from the other side of the couch. Without another word, she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door with a soft click.
She seemed a little more comfortable in the apartment now, but there was still an awkwardness hanging around her, like she wasn’t quite sure how to act or what she could do.
I logically knew it was because of the situation she’d just gotten out of, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I wanted her to be able to relax, but it would take time whether I liked it or not.
While the women got dressed, I quickly made myself a pot of coffee. As I waited for the pot to brew, I ate the last slice of the cold, leftover pizza and leaned up against the island in the center of the tiny kitchen.
A few moments later, Iris emerged from the bedroom with Yasha in tow. The blonde woman wore a pair of dark green, velvet bell-bottoms with a loose, flowing top tied at her waist.
Meanwhile, Yasha wore one of her preferred flowing skirts and a tight, cropped t-shirt with a picture of a cartoon fox on it. She’d pulled a pink beanie on to cover her ears, and it matched the bright spots of pink in her skirt.
“There’s coffee,” I said, and the comment was directed primarily at Iris. Yasha wasn’t too fond of the drink, unless it was practically a milkshake.
“Thanks,” Iris said. “I think I’m going to take Elaene to one of the nearby shops though, the one down from Monty’s.”
“That’s a good idea.” I smiled as I filled my own mug. “I’m glad you two are getting along.”
“We have similar life experiences,” Iris said. “Not exactly common ones at that.”
“Valid point,” I said.
At that moment, the door to the bathroom swung open, and Elaene shuffled out. The flats looked a little big on her feet, but that had sort of been the point. I didn’t want to add more pressure to her already injured, bandaged feet if I could help it.
I’d also given her a skirt, similar to the one Yasha wore, except this one was in various shades of light blue, and a plain t-shirt. She’d pulled her hair back in such a way it covered the tips of her unusual ears, and I was glad to see she’d already taken the precaution on her own. Clearly, it was something she was used to.
“Hey,” Iris greeted. “I was just saying I was going to bring you to a coffee shop before we head to Monty’s place. That sound alright?”
“That sounds very nice,” Elaene said. She moved awkwardly in the clothes, and I wondered if it was the first time she’d worn something similar.
Surely that couldn’t be the case, considering she’d said before she was occasionally brought out into public, but then again, I really had no idea what her life was like with Archibald Black. The most I was able to assume is that things were generally unpleasant.
“You ready, Yash?” I asked the fox-woman after I finished off the last of my coffee. “We should probably get a move on now. Will you two be alright walking?”
The question was primarily aimed at Elaene, because I knew for a fact Iris enjoyed the walks to Monty’s music store.
But that wasn’t the only reason I asked. Sure, I felt better about her being out and about now that Harper was dead, but we were still being followed by God only knew who. The only reason I was somewhat comfortable with her walking around without me was because I knew she’d been packing heat ever since she’d killed Harper, plus I’d given her a pretty simple cell phone to call me or Monty if she felt like anything or anyone was sketchy. Getting her a concealed carry license had been the hardest part about everything, given the fact she had no real identification, but who would have thought money could buy you brand-new IDs?
Yasha had a phone too, and I was definitely less concerned with her being unarmed considering her supernatural strength, speed, and general badassery, but I’d been able to convince her to at least carry a taser. A gun had been far out of the question, for everyone’s safety.
“I’m ready.” Iris nodded in a way that I knew meant she would bring her firearm with them.
“I will be alright,” Elaene said. “My feet already feel much better.”
“Good,” I said. “I’m glad. We can change the bandages out tonight to make sure they heal properly.”
“Go on,” Iris said and waved me off with a flick of her wrist. “We’ll be fine.”
“We’re going, we’re going,” I said. I set my newly emptied coffee mug down in the sink, made my way over to Iris to press a kiss to her cheek, and did a mental check to make sure I had everything I needed.
Keys, wallet, magical bag that held all my gold, double crystal.
We were good to go.
“I’ll call the shop when we get back,” I told Iris.
“Have a good day,” Yasha said as she followed me out the door.
The two of us walked side by side to the parking garage and slipped into the SUV.
Goddamn, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to how nice this damned car was on the inside. I felt like I was climbing into my own private jet every time I got in the driver’s seat.
“I am glad Iris and Elaene are getting along,” Yasha remarked as we began to drive out of the city.
“So am I,” I said. “I was worried she might not take well to someone else in the apartment after everything with Harper, but she’s really adjusted well to the new world.”
“It is quite an adjustment,” Yasha admitted. “But I quite like it here. I like that you are here.”
I grinned. “Oh, really?”
“Yes,” Yasha said matter-of-factly. “You are brave, noble, and I have never orgasmed more than when I am with you.”
I nearly veered off the road at her bluntness, and I had to take a few seconds to catch my fucking breath.
“Right,” I wheezed out the word. “Same.”
The two of us drove in comfortable silence until I finally pulled off a nearby exit a good ways outside of the city. There wasn’t anything around except for some seemingly long-since abandoned construction work, which made it a perfect place to enter a crystal.
“Are you ready to kick some ass?” I asked Yasha with a grin.
“Yes,” she purred. “I look forward to it.”
“Then let’s go,” I said.
The two of us stepped out of the car, and once I made sure it was locked, I joined hands with Yasha, and together, the two of us peered into the crystal.
Then everything went black.
Chapter 8
When I opened my eyes, I was in the equipment room with Yasha by my side.
It looked the same as it had the day before, with the same candlelit chandelier, massive table in the center of the room, and a mounted ladder to the wall.
Apparently there wasn’t much of a difference between a level twenty dungeon and a level twenty-one.
And just like the day before, Mimic was still nowhere to be found.
“I’m beginning to get a little worried about Mimic,” I said to Yasha as the fox-woman made her way over to her locker mounted onto the wall.
“Why?” she asked and pulled off her beanie. “The foul little creature hardly did anything while he was here.”
“Yeaaahhhh,” I said slowly. “But still. It’s weird he hasn’t been here for so long. Do you think something could have happened to him?”
I moved over toward my own locker next to Yasha’s as she began to swap out her street clothes for armor, and I tried not to gawk at her absolutely mouthwateringly sexy body as she changed.
It was a lot easier said than done, that was for sure.
“I do not know,” she admitted as she pulled her armored dress on. “I have never heard of a chest mimic disappearing from a dungeon before, but there is nothing to say it could not happen.”
“I just think it’s weird he went missing right around the time of everything with Harper going down,” I continued and shed my jacket. “I think the next time I head into a dungeon, I’ll try to make contact with Trog so I can ask him about it. He knows more about dungeons than anyone else I know, except maybe you.”
Yasha flashed me a grin, and her sharply pointed canines looked particularly prominent.
It was only after the words left my mouth that I had an unnerving thought. What if someone had… taken Mimic. We’d just found out about an entire black market selling things pulled from dungeons, so why not Mimic?
Sure, he was annoying as shit, and I had no idea if his abilities to turn items into gold would work in the real world, but it wasn’t crazy, was it?
Weirdly enough, I was suddenly a little worried for the grumpy guy.
“Do you want to try the Cloak of Protection?” I asked Yasha as I tried to refocus, and I pulled one of the newest items out of my locker. “I don’t think it’ll fit me, and besides, I have more armor than you anyway.”
I brandished the long, velvet cloak toward Yasha, and the fox-woman cocked her head to the side as she studied the garment.
“I will try it,” she said and took the cloak from my waiting hands.
I was pleased she’d wear it, because admittedly, I always thought she was a little under-armored in the dungeons. Sure, she looked sexy as hell in her skimpy armored dress, but I was always worried she could get hurt.
It was the ultimate battle between my head and my general horniness.
“Good,” I said. “I’m debating bringing the Giant Slayer’s Battle Axe. I really love Phantom Doomslayer, but the axe is pretty impressive, and I’m curious to know what makes up a beast of inordinate size.”
I pulled the axe out from my locker as I spoke and held it aloft to show Yasha. I adjusted my grip on the weapon so it sat comfortably in my hands, and then gave it a small test swing.
I couldn’t deny the fact it felt good in my hands, but it wasn’t specced into fire like all of my armor. Still... I found myself drawn to the weapon. And when else was I going to get the chance to play with a giant battle axe?
“I think it would be wise to test it,” Yasha said. “You may prefer it to your swords.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said as I set the axe down and propped it up against my wall-mounted locker. “I definitely like my swords.”
“As do I,” Yasha said. She pulled her katana free from her locker, and the candlelight made the blade glint menacingly. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the other side of her weapon, that’s for sure.
She sheathed her katana before also grabbing the Talon Blade of a Silver Dragon Wyrmling, the Opal Twins, the Braided Sphinx Hair Whip, and the Potion of Healing we’d gotten in the last dungeon.
Once the fox-woman was fully equipped, she draped the Cloak of Protection around her shoulders with a flourish.
The deep, nearly black shade of blue made her golden eyes gleam, and her reddish-gold hair seemed like it was actually made of a precious metal.
In a word, she looked hot.
And dangerous.
Okay, so in two words.
I didn’t waste any more time gawking as I finished suiting up as well. I ran the gamut of putting on all of my armor in its usual order. First came the Smelter’s Maile, then the Ruby Dragon Armor, the Pauldrons of Wisdom, the Leather Boots of Swiftness, the Promise Ring, the Ring of Invisibility, the Tanned Beginner’s Gloves, and finally, I strapped Aegis to my wrist.
I felt incredibly weighed down with all of my armor, but at the same time, I felt weightless. All of the buffs the armor gave me culminated to make me feel like I could have easily run a marathon or bench pressed an entire house. Or maybe even both at the same time.
The next thing I grabbed from the locker was my own Talon Blade of a Mature Ruby Dragon, as well as the Effervescent and Frost Orbs. I pocketed the orbs and slotted the Talon Blade onto my belt, and then once I picked up the Giant Slayer’s Battle Axe, I felt ready to go.
The timer in the corner of my vision marked an entire two hours to complete the level twenty-one dungeon.
“Are you ready?” I asked Yasha.
The fox-woman adjusted the hood of the Cloak of Protection before nodding.
“Let us go,” she said and gestured for me to lead the way.
The two of us emerged from the equipment room with slow, cautious steps. As much as I wanted to burst out through the door with my metaphorical guns blazing, I knew better than to do something like that.
After all, it was falling through an unstable floor that had led to me meeting Yasha in the first place, and as glad as I was to have the fox-woman in my life, I wasn’t particularly keen on breaking an ankle.
The first thing I noticed in the dungeon was how dark it was. Once the door to the equipment room swung closed behind us and blocked off the dim light inside, we were submerged in complete, total darkness.
“Shit,” I announced.
“I do not care for this,” Yasha said. The fox-woman moved closer to me until I felt her hand brush mine, and we curled our fingers together so we couldn’t lose track of one another in the dark.
Unlike me, Yasha at least had the ability to see in the dark to some extent. It wasn’t a perk of her armor, but the fact that she was part fox.
The only advantage I had at the moment was the Pauldrons of Wisdom. I could still see the faint yellow outlines of the space in front of us, but it was almost impossible to make out any real shapes in the darkness. It all just looked like a buttery yellow haze.
“Nothing is illuminated in red,” I said. “But I can’t make out anything in front of us. What’s it look like?”
I found myself whispering, which while pointless, somehow felt correct in the darkness.
“A long hallway.” Yasha matched my low whisper. “It is wide enough to lay on your back without touching either wall to the side. The floors are made of wood, as are the walls, and there are no torches.”
“Wood?” I asked in surprise. Some of the dungeons we’d been in before had wooden boards as the floor or ceiling, but we’d never actually been inside of one made entirely of wood before.
“Yes,” she said. “Wood. You said all is yellow?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll tell you if anything changes, but let’s just take it slow. Stay close to me.”
“I would not wish to be anywhere else,” Yasha murmured. She tightened her hand in mine, and together, we took our first step away from the now smooth wall behind our backs where the equipment room door had once stood.
The floor shifted beneath our feet.
“Fuuuuuck that,” I hissed and stopped moving as soon as I felt the ground shift.
Yasha did the same. The fox-woman still held onto my hand, but I felt her entire posture shift as she dropped into a slight crouch. I didn’t have to see her to know her free hand rested on the hilt of her katana.
“You are certain nothing is red?” she asked.
“Positive,” I said. I strained my eyes against the darkness and faint yellow glow to try and make out something, anything, in the utter darkness threatening to consume us, but once again, nothing took shape.
Fuck, I really wished I could use flashlights in here. I’d tried after a recent escapade in dungeon-fueled darkness, but just like firearms, they wouldn’t work at all. The batteries seemed to actually melt inside the casing the second I flipped it on. The same thing happened with one of those old-school crank lights, too. The wiring went on the fritz right when I tried to use it, so apparently when the dungeon wanted things to be dark, they were fucking dark.
Yasha growled in annoyance in the back of her throat, but the two of us began to shuffle forward once more. I didn’t even bring my foot up off the ground in the hopes the floor wouldn’t shift again.
But of course, it didn’t matter. The ground rocked beneath our feet like a boat on the waves.
Wait.
“Yash, do you hear anything?” I asked. “The sound of water, maybe?”
I felt Yasha still next to me in the dark, and I held my breath as I waited for her to say something.
“How did you know?” she asked and broke the tense silence. “That I would hear water?”
“Logic,” I said. “I think this dungeon is on a boat.”
“A boat?” Yasha sounded startled.
“Yeah, it’s something used to go on the water--” I began to explain.
“There is no translation issue,” she informed me quickly. “I am just surprised. I have never heard of a dungeon being aboard a boat.”
“It might not be,” I said. “It just definitely feels like we’re walking on a boat right now, and considering you hear water…”
“Fascinating,” she murmured. “It is something else to speak to Trog about.”
“You can say that again,” I said. “Come on. We don’t want to waste any more time, and the sooner we get moving, maybe the sooner we can get out of the dark.”
Yasha made a small noise of agreement in the back of her throat, and together, the two of us continued to shuffle slowly down the tilting hallway.
Now that I was aware of its presence, I could hear the water, too. The sound of waves lapping at the sides of this… dungeon boat were almost impossible to ignore, and if I wasn’t waiting for something to jump out and murder me at any given second, it might have been relaxing.
I kept the Giant Slayer’s Battle Axe at the ready in one hand as we continued slowly down the hall. The feeling of the ground shifting and rocking underneath my feet was less than pleasant, and even though I’d never gotten seasick before in my life, I felt a little green around the gills.
Maybe I just hadn’t been on enough boats to have experienced seasickness. Lake Michigan aside, Chicago wasn’t exactly coastal. Because one thing was for sure, I certainly felt sick now.
Each new step we took only seemed to make the floor rock even worse, and it was impossible to tell if we were really making any progress at all. Everything was bathed in the same, pale yellow light and blurred around me like a fog.
