Chapter Thirty Four: Opening Night Jitters

When Krane opened a portal back to Pree, Zuglah was astonished to find that the sun was still out. Chayah grasped his arm and said, “Mister Sun came back, Zuglah! It missed us too! Ooh, let’s take some more Leap!, and play the goodbye game again.”

Before Zuglah could even reply, Krane said gently, “I’m afraid that alcohol negates the effects of this particular potion, Princess. Perhaps you should say your goodbyes from the ground.”

Chayah stared at her brother in mock belligerence. “Well look who’s a clever Gnome. With your little round Gnomish face. I’ll have you know, Krane, that I live in a very tall tower. The sun, the moon, even the stars come and visit me. Birds, too. They all love me.”

Krane smiled gently and said, “How could they not?” And he opened a portal for them to their floor.

Chayah smiled and hugged her brother goodbye before she shuffled her way through the portal. Zuglah pressed the half full vial of Leap! into his hands in passing. “Please. Take it because I want you to have it, not because of any payment. I give all my friends potions, Krane. Ask anybody.” With that, he ducked through the doorway.

Chayah was already halfway across the common room when he crossed the threshold. Stuglas and the other Elves were occupying the lounge as always, and they were silently watching her come towards them. Betsy had spotted the inebriated strides of one of her girls right away, and was in the process of putting down a large armful of clean laundry. She finally just piled it neatly onto the floor, and scampered on all fours over to the High Elf Princess. Betsy was very protective of the girls on her floor.

Zuglah was far behind the two girls, but for some reason he thought it was important to arrive with them. He Blinked.

Chayah lurched to a stop directly in front of her husband, and Betsy came up beside her a half a moment later. Zuglah appeared beside and behind the Driole, towering above her. Stuglas’ eyebrows were dancing with questions.

“Husband, I am going to bed. Good night.” As if that was her cue, Betsy stepped forward, looped her arm around Chayah’s elbow, and steered her away. That left Stuglas, the big Wood Elf, and all the rest, staring at Zuglah in expectation.

What could he say? “So do you guys like potions?”

**********

The next morning the Princess was late for breakfast. Zuglah could not wait to tell her what a fun time he had had last evening, what a relief it was from the nervous anticipation that he had felt building up within him. Now, there was a soft warm glow in his belly that simply would not allow the nerves to take root.

As he enjoyed his eggs, he enjoyed the memory of Chayah barreling into him midair, laughing, as they Leapt! through the rolling hills and grasslands of his home. The way she had felt in his arms as they crashed along the ground, and-

“More gravy for your toast?” The large, silver gravy boat appeared before him, proffered by his teacher, Wizard Gamstone. Zuglah felt his wistful smile fade almost as swiftly as his plate of half eaten eggs sank back down to the table. Gamstone set the gravy down without looking.

The Dwarf was wearing a deep maroon robe with a golden ghost rose stitched across the breast and shoulders. His bright red hair was surprisingly long at the back, braided and hanging forward over his shoulders to lay beside his equally red beard. His visage was milder than Zuglah had seen him in days, picking up a strip of cured bacon and munching on it blandly.

“Are you quite certain that you don’t need more time to prepare for this run, Zuglah Glun?” Zuglah looked down at his eggs. They were awash in gravy. He dropped his fork and sighed.

“Honestly, I’m not arrogant or cocky. I wish that I could explain, but-” Gamstone held up a huge, callused hand, stopping him.

“The time for explanations is past. If you’re sure that you are ready, then let’s go.”

Zuglah was surprised. “What? You mean today? Now?” Gamstone simply gestured for him to lead the way. His belly was pleasantly full, and he needed to change, he thought to himself as he stood, scratching himself and stretching languidly.

A strange voice behind him echoed loudly as it declared, “Can we move this along, please?”

Slowly, already knowing what he would see, Zuglah turned. Hanging in the air behind him was a portal. It was large, almost eight feet tall and wide enough for a regiment. He had a good look at the sheer number of people watching him swiftly pull his hand away from the backside of his trousers. To give himself time to understand what he was seeing, he slowly walked through the portal.

Slorric was there with a group of older Humans, bearded and robed and puffed up with self importance. And likely very powerful Wizards and Mages. There was a Dark Elf standing beside the Humans, and they were all watching him, waiting for him to approach. He figured that he had been rude, and kept them waiting long enough. He rushed to meet them.

To his relief, Slorric stepped forward to greet him, taking charge of the introductions. “Zuglah Glun, this is the Praxus, Strew Shinefly, the Dean of Glorious Lightning Or Ultimate Thunder.”

The Wizard Praxus daintily shook his hand, obviously wary of Zuglah’s claws. He waved vaguely towards the cluster of bearded older Wizards hanging back and observing. “Those old buzzards represent the Board of Directors. We are here to see how our newest commission turned out.”

Zuglah had no idea what the man was talking about, until Slorric said, “The dungeon. Zuglah, this is Lieber Cant. He’s been eager to meet you.”

Lieber Cant sidled forward, leading with his chin and one hip in a way that reminded Zuglah of the way Meegar spoke. Perhaps they both had trouble addressing people. He was shorter than Chayah and almost as slight. His hair was jet and his complexion deep ocher and mottled ash. He wore an expensive doublet and hose, holding both a wine goblet and cradling a fluted wand each in a much begemmed hand.

“Zuglah Glun, it is pleasant to make acquaintances with you.” He even spoke in a similar way to the Kaeet Alchemist. Perhaps it was because they were both Enchanters.

They were in a long, flowing balcony that led off into the darkness. There were people that he recognized from the school, stretching all the way back into the darkness. He saw Chayah waving, and he smiled and waved in return. Krane was with her, nodding in respect. Or perhaps it was just to wish him good luck. Denton was also there, as was the rest of the class, dressed in their full armor and gear. Everyone except Warwick, that was.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Warwick was dressed in a nice, lace-trimmed tunic and leather pants. He was accompanied by a beautiful young Human lady, and she was also dressed like she was going out for a fancy dinner. Standing with them was Pliesson.

“Nice to meet you. Excuse me.” Lieber Cant had his mouth open, an entire range of topics all jostling to be the first to climb over his teeth and escape into the larger world. He smiled graciously and gestured for him to go.

Zuglah felt a great sense of relief as he rushed over to greet his friends. He had been scared that Chayah or the Fighters would miss the event, but it seemed like everyone had been informed of the timing except him. He wondered if Gamstone hadn’t done it on purpose out of resentment.

Chayah hugged him warmly, and the others all shook his hand or slapped his back in greeting. There was a charged air, an atmosphere of anticipation. The school had been without its training grounds for over a week, and had its first new dungeon in years. People talked about the two first timers who had managed to not only complete a run, but close out the entire dungeon. Now everyone was looking at Illusionists, and Pliesson specifically, with renewed interest.

Both Zuglah and Pliesson had been approached by every single potion society, as well as Warwick, who Zuglah was surprised to learn was a student of the Glout. Part time, of course. There was very little they could teach him about being a Priest that The Zig could not. But it was convenient for him to round out his education here, because he lived in Loud, and his parents were rich.

Denton, he had learned, was the son of a footman who was employed by one of the Merchant Princes of Pree, and as such he had earned his spot in The Lists by beating the stuffing out of anybody in his Barony his age who tried to take it away from him. The pair had been best friends since childhood.

Denton gestured towards the balcony, and Zuglah walked over to the elaborate granite railing to join him. Gazing down, he saw that this balcony could possibly run for a hundred meters or more. The panoramic scene below was indeed a stylized cauldron.

There was a thin, almost delicate stone arch that came halfway up to the balcony. At the apex of the arch was a random, scattered pile of stones, as though the stone bridge’s builders had just finished, but had yet to tidy up. Beneath the arch was a black, onyx crystal capstone that could have contained a volcano. It drew every light and reflected it, making it seem to be an inky black sea. At random intervals, different colored waves of light would travel, in a line, from one end of the crystal top to the other.

The various colors allowed different glimpses down into the Cauldron itself. When a clear, white light swept quickly through the blackness, a gasp arose from the collected spectators. The babble of voices rose, as people turned to their neighbors to compare which details they had glimpsed. Shapes could be seen moving below the crystal, sometimes there when the light passed by, sometimes not. It was a deeply mysterious brew.

The other students were not as lucky as Zuglah, and none of them were against the railing where they could see what awaited them. Instead, they were crowded back near the wall, watching him. The ones that had gotten distracted were elbowed by their companions, until the entire cluster of students was looking his way. As was Gamstone.

There was nothing for it. Zuglah took a deep breath, and went to talk to the surly Dwarf. He could not think of a witty greeting earlier, and he hadn’t gotten any inspiration in the scant minutes since they had last spoken. “Um, hi.” It was not his best opening, but he wasn’t about to waste a sandwich on somebody that would probably just throw it on the ground. “It’s starting to look like Randall isn’t coming after all. Do you think that we should just replace him?”

His teacher looked back at him and shrugged. “Randall has been here, waiting.” He nodded his head, and Zuglah turned around to look.

Being taller than most people there, Zuglah could observe the crowd parting for a longish line of people, all moving towards the small opening that they had available on the stone balcony. Before long, a group appeared, led by a tiny, beautiful woman with short, golden blonde hair and eyes like furious sapphires.

She was wearing a yellow dryad’s tunic, and had vines wrapped around her lower legs, with leaves enveloping her calves and the bottom of her feet for shoes. She was carrying a slim, short spear that was no taller than she was, and had a knife at her belt that was so ornate that Zuglah wondered if it had even been sharpened. It looked ceremonial, or like a work of art. She had a blue tannumbage drawn on her cheek in permanent ink, and a thin golden ring through her nostril. The stylized whirls and tannum covered her hands also, from fingertip to wrist. The dread script throbbed in aether and mercury and made Zuglah’s eyes water.

This was Fenne. Zuglah would have bet all of his gold on it, simply because this was a scary group of people, and she was most definitely in charge.

Behind her came the Lick, with the most beautiful emerald crystal scales covering her from head to toe. She had a fat-bladed short sword buckled to her waist, and a shirt of mail covering her torso. Her namesake tongue tested the air constantly, and told her much more about her environment than Zuglah’s nose ever had. Her eyes were luminous gold, and they shined in the lamplight.

“Quaa.” Chayah’s voice was no louder than a moth’s wings, but it still conveyed her displeasure at seeing her niece. Then the Princess made a mock retching sound in her throat. “Vonca Bough. And those other two goons behind Randall are Shegn and Releth.”

Zuglah wanted to look at the goons, wanted to see Randall too. Maybe even wave to him. But he no longer had the luxury of looking at anyone except Fenne. She was shorter than he was, shorter even than Chayah and Pliesson. Yet she radiated a lethal might that was more menacing than anything he had felt since Boland had first shaken his hand. He forced himself to stay relaxed, not giving in and not bracing himself against the malevolent, mind sapping effects.

Without turning, Zuglah knew that most of his friends had lined up behind him, if not all. He also knew that the entire group of them would not even be able to injure this woman. She and her cronies, The Scions, were not only Legacies but also Veterans of the Great Maelstrom, or what the Ogres called Guo Nono, The Dungeon World.

“Welcome at last, Zuglah Glun. I am Fenne. I have been watching you, lately. Now we can finally see how you measure up. Try not to die too spectacularly.” She smiled, and sauntered away without waiting for a reply.

A tall, green-skinned man with a top knot shoved a slim, bearded young Wizard forward. “Hey, Randall. Thank you for coming.” Randall looked surprised by his warm reception. He nodded without saying anything, then as casually as he could he strolled over to stand beside Pliesson and Chayah. He was looking at no one so furiously that he was red faced within moments.

Although some of his friends were rather angry with Randall, Zuglah hadn’t really gotten mad. Seeing how eagerly he’d quit his new companions only served to make Zuglah feel more sorry for him. He didn’t appear to be there voluntarily.

Zuglah realized that he needed a couple of volunteers of his own. Wizard Gamstone must have been watching him out of the corner of his eye, because when Zuglah took his first step towards the massive Dwarf, he instantly opened his mouth and began bellowing.

“Okay, let’s have some quiet! With respect to our Praxus, Lieber Cant and various other visiting dignitaries, it’s time to begin the class. Thank you all for coming, but make way. Students to the front.” There was a great deal of jostling going on, mostly due to the fact that everyone on the balcony was of higher social status than the classroom full of saplings. Thus, all of the elbowing and shoving for position had to slowly be undone, until the twenty or so youths and new students were crowded uncomfortably close to Gamstone. Zuglah was feeling particularly enclosed in all of the flesh.

“Normally,” the Dwarf began, as though this were any normal lesson, “we would begin this class with a problem. And this one is a classic; we have a weak party with two glass cannons, a non damage dealing Enchanter, and no tank, no healer. Arguably a weak party, wouldn’t you agree?” Nobody in their right mind would argue with the boulder of a man, but he looked around before continuing. “So the question we ask is, how do we attract a tank, and more importantly, a healer?” There were no funny answers this week. Many of the visitors were the parents of these students, and it seemed that they were reluctant to make a wrong guess in front of them.

With a delicate cough meant to elicit the attention of the crowd, Lieber Cant sidled forward. “Fortunately this is not the case. I was allowed to modify the difficulty of the challenge, and thus, the level cap. Six rooms, therefore six levels.”

Gamstone looked at him in chagrin. “I thought we could still get a lesson out of it. But I’ll save the sound of my voice for people who aren’t in such a position to say no, next time.”

Denton strode forward into the clearing. “What are you saying? Are you saying that this Cauldron of yours is Gyiol sazal? Are you saying we can run it?”

Lieber Cant smiled, then bowed. “You don’t think I would just let you defeat my construct and walk away, did you? I simply had to have a rematch.”

Gamstone opened a portal. “What do you say?”