Chapter Twenty Six: You Got Mail!

Zuglah felt awful the next morning. And not just because he had to turn down the King’s request to join his quest. That had been bad enough, but he also had to deal with a headache so bad that he had to take two sips of a healing potion before it went away. So much for regeneration.

It turned out that by the time the King brought up joining the quest, he was pretty drunk too, and they had both had fallen all over themselves apologizing for making the other feel uncomfortable. Krane and Chayah, both sober co-conspirators, had egged the pair on, urging Zuglah and “King Dewey” as he had taken to calling him… Zuglah was in the process of swearing off alcohol forever as the memories came back to him.

He found Chayah already sitting in a crowd of his roommates, including Pliesson, whose ferret-like face conveyed a surprising amount of smugness. The Princess herself could barely contain her laughter as she made room for him on the bench.

She assured him that she was not mad that he had excluded her father from the quest. She herself had forbidden him from choosing Wizard as a class or from coming to The Glout at all until she was gone. It seemed that her father had issues with boundaries, so she informed him. When he asked her why she didn’t warn him, she laughed again and told him that he could have read it all over her face, if he ever looked up from his food. He countered by telling her that if that's what she wanted she should serve less delicious foods.

Pliesson was astonished to find out that they had included him in their plans, and even more so when he heard that the King himself hadn’t made the cut. Zuglah didn’t really say so, but he hadn’t even thought about Pliesson, or Denton and Warwick either, until he had needed them to be in his party as an excuse to turn down King Dewson. But once he had said it, even intoxicated it had felt right. It still did.

He looked around the cafeteria until he spotted a red-bearded Dwarf who was at least as wide as he was tall. He realized that described almost every Dwarf, but finally spotted the one he wanted. He approached Foadan Gamstone sitting among his fellow teachers. After a polite greeting, he asked the massive Wizard how he could get ahold of Denton and Warwick.

That was when Zuglah got the letter. Gamstone had sat listening politely to his request, never saying a word. When his student was done speaking, he silently reached inside his doublet and withdrew a thick parchment envelope. It was red paper with a yellow border and yellow wax sealing it shut. His own name was written in fancy, yellow letters across the entire front.

When he looked up, he realized that every one of the teachers was watching him. He was not sure whether Gamstone would get in touch with Denton or not, but he decided to beat a hasty retreat. He took the mysterious envelope back to his friends.

“Dear Mister Glun, Hearty salutations! Glorious greetings! It is I, Lieber Cant, architect and designer of Spellman’s Caverns. I have been informed that you recently completed my dungeon, and closed it out! Congratulations indeed! Know this, my blue and bouncy friend. I have had a replacement prepared for some time, but when I heard about your exploits, I decided that it wasn’t good enough. Did you know that I am also an enchanter? To think that Phantom would end up in the hands of an Illusionist was more than I had hoped. I have enclosed a certain ring that I have always found to be an excellent companion to the blade. Could you please see that our friend Pliesson receives it? And finally, a word about your new challenge; every beginner dungeon ever created has been either three or five rooms. Not four, nor two. And certainly not six. At least, not until now. Because you are the first, there is nobody to warn you. Therefore I will; you are facing the world’s first six room beginner dungeon. I assure you that it is not impossible. A full party of sheyol sazal should be able to finish it, if they properly budget their resources. Of course, I thought the same about my last dungeon as well, until you came along. Suffice it to say that this one is significantly more difficult than the last one. Every room, a Boss. Every Boss, a key. I wish you good fortune. Lieber Cant.”

The ring was a thick, silver band with a tiny emerald sunken into the metal itself. He passed it to Pliesson, who placed it onto the table to be identified. Casting Talbon’s Shadows, major illusion once per day. Pliesson picked it up, astonished, and put it on his thumb. He smiled around the table. “Major Illusion. Crazy.”

This reminded Zuglah of the unidentified loot that he still had in his bag. He pulled out the ornate lance, chain cowl, short sword, necklace and the two disparate daggers. By the time they had their little pile of goods, they also had a bit of a crowd.

He placed the lance in front of Chayah. “Can you use this?”

She looked at him in surprise. “You’re giving it to me? But you haven’t even Identified it yet.”

He shrugged. “I’ve got Redda Mo, and Pliesson has Phantom. So it only makes sense. I’ve never seen you with a weapon, so I thought maybe you didn’t have one you liked.”

She smiled. “Well it certainly is a pretty weapon. Let’s see if it’s any good.” They Identified it together. Spear of Allegiance, changes hearts and minds, returns when summoned.

“Ooh, that sounds neat. I’ll have to try it out. Thanks, Zuglah!” She gave him a warm hug. He could have pointed out that she had been there when they found it, but that would have sounded too much like objecting.

The chain cowl was next, although none of them could wear such a thing. Intractable Helm, cannot be moved. Some of the students watching suggested they give it to the party tank, or healer. Zuglah silently agreed.

He picked up the necklace and investigated it. Antonia’s Aumna, undead-repellant aura. That sounded very handy. Zuglah wondered how powerful of an undead it could affect.

The short sword was called Sword of Warning, nearby enemies trigger an alert. Zuglah wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it, but for now he dropped it into his Bag of Holding.

That just left them with two daggers.

He learned that daggers were often worn just like any other talisman. The vast majority would confer a status effect, whether they were drawn or not. Wearing two daggers, however, would negate both. Briarthorn was pretty well known around The Glout, both the fact that he possessed it and its ability. People assured him that he could wear a status dagger without worry.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

He grew more curious by the word, until he finally just Identified one of the knives. It was a smaller blade, a clever handle made of some kind of horn or antler. His spell told him it was called, Seeping Vapors, enemies that come within ten feet choke up.

And the other blade looked like the dagger version of a rapier, with a thin, bladed foil meant for lunging and piercing. It was even called Proxy Foil. Proxy Foil, wield a floating blade.

He immediately handed Proxy Foil over to Pliesson. It sounded very much like Phantom, or at least close to the same effect. He told the Driole that he hoped that he could figure out some way to make the two work together. Pliesson nodded thoughtfully.

They agreed to meet on the ground floor at lunch, because that was where Denton and Warwick would meet them, if they got the message and agreed to come.

His morning was occupied with Firebolts and Lightning bolts, summoning Spiders and helgavolts. His class was entirely preoccupied with advice about what he was likely to face inside the new dungeon.

“Lieber Cant loves the Bea Thic. You can be sure that you’ll see them again.” This advice came from a Human woman unsolicited, when he asked her for help with his Lightning Bolts. He had mistaken her for one of his instructors because of her gray hair and her loud manner, but it turned out that she was a student that liked to gossip. And who was no help when it came to Lightning Bolts. She would much rather speculate about what the next iteration of the school’s dungeon might look like.

A Half Elf sidled up to him and let him know just how sinister Drow could be. “Beware of traps. Every time I went into Spellman’s, I always searched for them. I’m convinced that they were there, even if nobody ever found them.” Zuglah didn’t know all the nuances of traps exactly, but he was pretty sure that in order for them to work, sooner or later you had to find them.

Slorric had some insights as well. It seemed that even the faculty had taken to arguing among themselves about the next dungeon. Zuglah hadn’t told anyone that he had received a letter from Lieber Cant, and apparently Gamstone and Pliesson had been frugal with the information as well. Considering the level of attention he was getting without it, he was just as glad.

“Remember that he comes from the Nightside, just as you do. It would hardly surprise me if he brought a little taste of home to his next effort.” Slorric and the other teachers seemed to be looking forward to the new training grounds more than even the students. Zuglah figured that they would have to visit these dungeons hundreds of times each, whereas the students only had to run it a dozen times at most.

It wasn’t just in class, either. Zuglah was beset by students in the hallways, and faculty in the kitchens. Random custodians whose job was to keep the tower chambers clean and without dust all seemed to have a keen insight that nobody else thought of.

“He’s a werewolf, you know.” Zuglah was walking back from his lessons when he heard a voice at random from a seemingly empty corridor. He looked around, but still could see nobody.

“Excuse me? Who’s a werewolf, exactly?” He found it incredible that in a world with real magic in it people would still believe in fairy tales.

“Lieber Cant. He’s a werewolf. He will be your final Boss!” Zuglah searched frantically, but could find nobody. He cast Detect Magic and Identify everywhere he could, but found no invisible or animated objects.

“Who am I talking to, exactly? Will you come out where I can see you, please?”

He caught a smell, one he had encountered before. Only he could not place it. It nagged at him. Then, the scent and the presence were gone.

Zuglah arrived in the courtyard to find that Wizard Gamstone’s message had indeed arrived. Denton and Warwick were there, as was Pliesson. Chayah arrived shortly after Zuglah.

“What did I miss?” Chayah was almost out of breath, as though she had run the whole way, whether from tardiness or excitement Zuglah could not tell. Zuglah introduced her to the two newcomers, who were surprised but not displeased to find that she was of higher caliber than Randall.

Denton turned to him. “Zuglah, would you do the honors, seeing as it’s your quest?” It was his first time forming any kind of a group. He mentally invited them all, felt as they crowded into his awareness with a warmth and gratitude that he found comforting.

Zuglah and Chayah walked them through the details of the quest, with Zuglah giving them a boiled down version of his first Instance and Boss Fight. He also had to explain where he found the Intractable Helm, which led to the Mountain Drake.

Denton marveled, “It sounds like you’ve been busy. A Mountain Drake? I would need at least three Heals to solo one, and I’ve got resistances. Maybe you should tank, and I’ll learn how to throw a firebolt.”

Zuglah grinned, saying that there was no joy greater than casting your first firebolt. “Unless it’s Blink. That’s going to be my favorite spell for a long time, I believe.”

“Well I have to admit, you sure know how to use it. Okay, from what you have told me it doesn’t sound like we need to lay in stores or supplies. At least for this next bit. But this isn’t Preyd. How do you propose that we get there?” Chayah explained about the Inn full of siblings that she planned to draw upon, the first of which was Krane. Denton nodded thoughtfully. “It might suit us better to use a sender’s service in the future, though. There are safeguards in place that will afford us a greater measure of safety, should things go poorly. I do not know your brother Krane, but I don’t know a lot of High Elves who enjoy following a group of overcooked noodles around on a quest.”

“Krane’s not like that,” Zuglah told him. “He seems to be keeping vigil on this town simply because his sister is going to school here. Actually, there’s a lot of them. We may never have to pay for a single portal ever.” Zuglah didn’t actually mind paying for the portals, they sounded expensive but worth it. He also felt like they could rely on Krane. Zuglah trusted him, and said so. Chayah beamed at him.

They left the tower in search of the Elf, and found him sitting on the roof of the big inn with a large crowd of Elves and servants. On a beautiful night such as this the torches were lit and the wards against mosquitoes renewed, and a full-roast suckling pig was turning on a spit. Zuglah wondered what the Drioles had done with all of the extra wild boar meat that they had recently come into. He hoped they were able to make use of it somehow.

Chayah waved at Krane from the street, and he blinked. It always astonished Zuglah to learn that a powerful Wizard whom he admired didn’t know the fast version. But Gamstone had told him that very few people ever learned it, because it could not be taught.

“And so?” Krane asked as he landed with a soft clap of air. “Are you making your play for the gronnibox then?” Zuglah opened the small book of maps and showed him their destination.

A sickly green and orange vapor swirled itself into the mists of a burgeoning portal, and then it snapped into shape like a bubble. Rows of regimented crops could be seen marching towards the horizon. “The Stogar Estates. Do you want me to keep it open?”

“No thank you, Krane. I’m not sure what is in store for us, but I will summon you if needs be. Zuglah Glun will see us through. That much I do know.” She gave her brother a quick hug, then strode through the portal. Her presence in his head shrank down to insignificance and Zuglah’s only thought was to get across the portal to protect her, so he merely nodded to Krane and walked through. The rest of the party soon followed.

He didn’t think that he would be able to detect any difference, but somehow he could. The air smelled different, better. The sky looked more blue. The farmers, angrier.