Brad sat, stupefied. His father was a dungeon master, and he’d never known!
He opened up his father’s Bakery Logs.
[ShadowBane Bakery Log]
Entry #4097
If yer reading this, I went and got myself killed.
Sorry ‘bout that.
Now before ye get all in yer head thinking I was some kind of hidden dungeon master… don’t. This here dungeon was left for ye by yer Ma. Was supposed ‘ta give it ‘ta ya when yer all done and grown. Yer ma wanted me to wait two years after yer coming of age to give ya some time to really figure out what ye wanted out’a life.
She didn’t want ye tied down to some dungeon before ye could decide if ye wanted something else out of life.
Now, I’ve got a couple of pieces of bad news fer ya.
When yer Ma gave me this dungeon, it was an A-Rank dungeon, but seeing as I retired an adventurer… it was sort of neglected. A dungeon is a lot of responsibility ye see. So over time it shrunk in on itself and well… now it’s an E-Rank. I don’t think the dungeon is very happy with me about that, but what could I do?
The next piece of bad news, which ye’ve probably already figured out for yerself… is that the dungeon somehow attached itself to the Bakery. I’m not really sure exactly how it happened, but when the dungeon lost its B-Rank, it changed itself. Guess it was some kind of self-preservation mechanism… that’s also around when it stopped talking to me. Surly one that one.
But anywhoo, I’m sorry yer old man squandered yer birthright the way he did, but well. I simply couldn’t keep adventurin’ without yer Ma. She was… one of a kind. I hope ye find someone that completes you like that one day. Find people you want to keep safe. People are what are important in life.
I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you grow up son. I know that yer probably rolling yer eyes at me thinking you all grown up by now, but ‘ta me you’ll always be my boy.
Be happy son.
[ShadowBane Bakery Log]
Entry #4099
One last thing. If ye want strength, this dungeon can help ye get it, but it is not the only way. If this is the road ye decide to take, there will be many sacrifices ahead of ye. There are easier paths to yer destination, and honestly I’d rather ye take one of them, but yer Ma made me promise I’d pass this on ‘ta ya.
Tears were rolling down his face by the time Brad finished reading the entries.
Daily Bakery Quest
- Feed 10 Shadowbane Citizens
Requirement: All Citizens must attain the ‘Well-fed’ buff.
Reward: +5 Oven Capacity
Daily Pantry Quest
- Process 10 Weetlizard corpses in the pantry
Requirement: All tasks must be completed while under the ‘Well-fed’ buff.
Reward: + 5 Storage Capacity
Daily Dungeon Quest
- Channel 100XPs attained with ‘Well-fed’ buff towards dungeon progression.
Reward: + 5 Dungeon Size
Daily Quest Completion: 0/3
Time Remaining: 16:37:54
Penalty: UNKNOWN
Current Dungeon Status: F-Rank
Requirements for E-Rank:
- 10,000XP
Current Progression: 0/10,000
- 15 Fully Identified Monsters
Current Progression: 0/15
[Minimum E-Rank]
- 5 Returning Customers
Current Returning Customers: 0
The notifications popped up as if on cue, and while part of Brad wanted to focus on them instead of his father’s death, he couldn’t put it off anymore. Shrugging the notifications aside and wiping off his face as best he could, he stood up and looked around. Smoke filled the early morning sky, and ash burned in his nostrils. He heard muffled sobs from behind him and turned to see the girl twin, trying her best to be silent. The girl’s brother stood beside her crossing his arms with a frown on his face.
The two looked like their skeletons had been replaced by twigs and yet they were the healthiest of all the others; it had been a very harsh winter. It was a miracle any of them had survived in the rags they were wearing. The morning breeze chilled even him, and he was wearing layers of cotton.
“’Ye gonna put him ‘ta rest?”
Brad flinched at the question and looked at its source, the boy. It caught him off-guard how similar his manner of speech was to his father’s.
“… Yes,” Brad finally said.
The boy nodded, “I’ll help ye,”
Brad nodded in turn and turned to his father’s body. He wished he could say the man looked as though he were sleeping, but that would have been a lie. The dead man barely resembled his father; the life was completely sucked out of his ghastly white skin. Deep wounds covered his limbs taking any pretense of an easy death with them. He had suffered, but he’d suffered for them; he was a hero.
He wanted to carry his father’s body to some place distinguished, a hill or a lake, but the most he could manage with the skinny boy’s help was an empty spot in a newly formed crater around the bend. Finding a casket or appropriately sized crate proved impossible, and they settled on some old and ragged curtains from his home. Brad had wanted to use a blanket, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it after seeing the wistful eyes the silent boy cast in its direction.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The task took the rest of the morning, by the time they were finished all thirty two refugees had gathered around to say a few words and pile a few stones on his grave. Brad nodded his thanks and turned back to the bakery.
----------------------------------------
There were only a dozen or so loaves of bread left, so Brad occupied himself with baking some bread for the survivors. It gave him something to do while he considered what to do. The horde was gone and wouldn’t be back until the next full moon, that gave them all three months of relative safety. The monsters went after humans in the dark, but they didn’t stray from their territories unless provoked or aggroed.
None of the survivors could make it on foot to Westfall, at least not in the condition they were in. Brad himself wasn’t sure he could survive the journey alone. The year before he’d been accompanied by merchants, adventurers and a mercenary company that had kept him safe from numerous attacks. He was an F-Rank citizen; he could barely hold his own against the common Weetlizard the dungeon randomly requested.
Brad sighed; he honestly didn’t want to leave the people huddled in the bakery behind. They’d all followed him inside to hide from the cold and he didn’t fault them for it. The rags they were dressed in barely categorized them as dressed. Yesterday, he’d barely known of their existence. If he’d seen them on the street, he’d probably avoided them as best he could. Now, they were company. It was better than being alone, even if it cost him a full fifty loaves to fill them up.
[Daily Bakery Quest Complete!]
10/10 ‘Well-fed’ Citizens
[+5 Oven Capacity]
He’d almost forgotten about the quests. He wasn’t quite sure yet what he wanted to do about the dungeon, but he would get to it after figuring some other things out first. He flashed the notifications away just as he heard some shrieks from outside. Surprised, he grabbed a staff and headed out. The wards had worn off, he’d have to rely on himself from now on to survive.
“What exactly you gonna do with that stick there, boy?” Old Man Fergus said as he speared a MossWolf in the throat, evicting another agonized shriek.
“Ahm…” Brad stared in surprise as the old man wandered about, flanked by three of his beetles. The bugs’ antlers reached high above the old man’s crooked form, dwarfing him to a comedic extent. The sight wasn’t within Brad’s expectations, he could do nothing but gape as the man stepped around the monster corpses, looking for more prey.
“Git over here boy! I’m not cleaning this mess up by myself!”
Brad woodenly walked toward the man he’d assumed dead the night before.
“You two!” the man shouted in annoyance, “What makes you think yer exempt? Now come on, git!”
Brad turned his head to see the twins scurrying out of the doorway. The boy looked pissed, but he’d done so from the beginning. The girl looked petrified, but… she’d also done so from the beginning. The two jogged past him, and Brad followed.
Old Man Fergus distributed three wooden spears in short order and explained to them how to go about finishing off the beasts.
“The three of you work together now,” he said carefully, “I know they look dead, but we need to make sure. If they still breathing, have each other’s back. Don’t have the time to babysit you, we have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.”
The three nodded, still slightly baffled by the sudden turn of events. Catching their expression, the man sighed.
“Any other able-bodied people left?” he asked, nodding toward the bakery.
Brad considered the frail people inside and shook his head, he doubted any of them could even wield a spear. The twins had already shocked him in that regard.
“Well, that means we gotta do it. Don’t it?”
Brad nodded slowly, not wanting to aggravate the old man any further.
“If we don’t,” Fergus said in a cold voice, “they gonna gather the very last vestiges of their power and they are going to hunt us down. You think you can hold any of them off?”
A cold shiver ran down Brad’s back.
“No,” he croaked in response.
The old man nodded, moved to the next corpse and continued on his way. Brad looked at the twins with a questioning look and when they both nodded they moved in the opposite direction.
----------------------------------------
The day had remained cold throughout. At some point Brad had found the twins more appropriate clothes from his closet and they were almost done going through all the monster corpses in town. If they were dead, they had speared them anyway. If they were still alive, the girl -Agatha- would flank the dying creature on one side while one of the boys flanked it on the other. Most final blows were handled by Brad, but as the day wore on Xavier helped more and more.
Five hours into their task, Brad had completed the Daily Dungeon Quest. At first he’d disregarded it, but as their task became more and more mindless, he considered it more. How was the dungeon channeling XPs from what he was doing? He was seeing a considerable growth in his own Rank. He’d never killed any monsters other than the occasional rabbit or lizard, so it wasn’t very surprising that he was still F-Rank. The day’s activities had shot him through the mid-Rank and into the high F-Rank. He didn’t receive much XP for the kills; he’d done almost none of the work, but the monsters were simply that much stronger than him.
“Wow, I… I’m an E-Rank now,” Xavier said suddenly.
Brad was shocked for a moment, but then reconsidered it. The boy had probably had a much harsher life than himself, was it really that surprising that he was already at a higher Rank? He couldn’t be jealous of someone for having a harder life, so he congratulated him and moved on to the next corpse.
“Hey, Brad…” the boy said as if uncertain he was allowed to address him, the three of them had barely talked the entire day.
“… Yeah?”
“Do ye by chance have any more… bread?” the boy’s face went beet-red at the question.
“Yeah, course,” Brad said, reaching into his inventory.
“I-It’s not… I mean it’s just that the buff makes it easier…” he said, stumbling over his words.
“That’s okay,” Brad said easily, “I don’t mind.”
“I’m ah- I became a Returning Customer so I c-can pay ye back one day! I will, I’m in yer debt.”
Brad was taken aback at the revelation.
“R-returning customer?” he asked, uncertainly.
“Y-yeah, probably got the prompt from all the bread I ate today,” his face went even redder. “S-sorry I’m so weak.”
Brad merely shook his head in acceptance and handed a bundle of loaves over.
“Feel free to eat all of them, there’s a lot more where that came from,” something made Brad want to feed these two as much as he could; they were way too thin.
Considering Xavier’s words, Brad opened the neglected dungeon menu and was surprised when Xavier’s next lunge resulted in an experience gain for him.
[+2XP]
Scratch that.
[113/10,000]
It was the dungeon! The dungeon was leeching off of Xavier’s work.
Current Returning Customers: 2
- Xavier Pyll
- Agatha Pyll
“Did you become a returning customer too Agatha?” Brad asked.
The girl shrank back, bowed her head and then quickly nodded. Brad didn’t know what to make of it, but they didn’t have much time until nightfall and they still had a couple blocks to cover. He’d deal with the whole dungeon thing later, there were more important things to take care of. Right now, it was the least of his priorities.
----------------------------------------
By the time night came around, Brad and the twins were exhausted. Agatha had also become a Rank E, and after their unexpected growth the twins had immediately seemed a little less frail. It was a strange occurrence, but Brad gladly accepted their help when they offered it, to bake some bread. His little army of refugees was going through a surprising amount in a very short span of time. The small batch of fifty loaves he’d baked in the morning proved to be not nearly enough.
When he checked, the oven’s capacity was suddenly fifty five. He gaped until he remembered the quest. With a thoughtful look on his face he kneaded the next batch and the one after that. The refugees were slowly beginning to talk more amongst themselves, but conversation was very sparse, especially with him. He traded a couple words with the twins now and then, directing them on how to tend to the fire, but for the most part, he was left to his thoughts.
He thought a lot about what his future was going to look like and the decisions he would have to make. Prioritizing things as best he could, he tried to gauge the best course of action, but couldn’t come to a concrete decision with the lack of information he was pitted against. What he really needed was a minute to sit down and think this whole thing through, when was the last time he had slept? His head was all over the place and Brad thought of all possibilities, but they never veered to the potential consequences of not completing all three of the dungeon’s daily quests.
When midnight rolled around, he was taking the last batch of golden loaves out of the oven. In the midst of all the chaos, seeing the result of his work brought unexpected joy. The smell reminded him of home, his father and happier times. These thoughts filled his mind with peace and quiet for the first time in what seemed like years.
He was caught off-guard when notifications popped into his mind.
Daily Quest Completion: 2/3
Time Remaining: 00:00:01
Penalty: UNKNOWN
[Daily Pantry Quest not completed. Penalty INVOKED.]