* * *
“Hey guys. Everything going ok?” Joe asked as he settled into the line with the other two, hoping to distract them from Kilniara’s obvious embarrassment. Joe himself wasn’t bothered but understood Kilinara’s feelings and didn’t wish to put her through too much. Maybe I pushed her too hard, but she didn’t seem really bothered by holding hands, so… well… I guess even in another solar system, girls are hard to understand.
“We’re all good. It was boring. You are OK?”
“Just fine. Just had an annoying problem with the priest at the temple, but I’m fine. Is the line moving fast?”
“It’s pretty quick today. We should be through the line pretty quickly.”
Joe smiled and nodded even as the line slipped forward another couple meters and they made it through the dungeon protective wall. As Joe turned to speak with the boys once again, he was interrupted by a solid cry from the dungeon entrance.
“Ahhh! Master Joe! It is good to see you again,” called the Captain as he left the dungeon entrance to come to Joe’s side.
“Captain. It is good to see you again. How are you?”
“Good. Good. Please. Come forward and I’ll allow you to enter. I’m sure your apprentices need their training as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you, Captain, but I’m more than willing to wait in line. I’m sure all those who are here are anxiously waiting to enter as well. I do not wish to hinder their entrance.”
The captain seemed to hide a grimace and Joe blinked, trying to understand what he’d done to bother the captain, although the captain continued as if he’d not been bothered at all, “But how could I let a great Master be delayed in training his disciples. Please, follow.”
Joe almost declined once again, but when he looked to the line ahead, he noticed almost everyone in front had shifted to the side, all nervously looking expectantly at him. His glance turned to Garnedell and Kilnara, seeking advice. Kilniara seemed excited to skip the line, which seemed obvious in retrospect. She doesn’t know I need help or that I’m that much of a foreigner… or she’s still high on holding hands. Joe stifled a smile at remembering holding Kilniara’s hands and turned to Garnedell instead, eye’s obvious in their desire for help. Joe smiled when Garnedell offered a subtle nod and he then took the time to look back at the parted crowd in front and the captain to his side before finally nodding.
“Then I will take the offer. Thank you much, Captain.”
“Of course! Of course! It is only right that I return the favor you offered us! My troops have been devotedly practicing your spells you taught us only a few days ago. Many have claimed to find great strength in them.”
“I’m glad that they are helping,” Joe replied with a smile as he stepped forward.
“Yes, they certainly are!” the Captain enthusiastically replied.
“Good. Then we might pass each other again in the future. Have a good day, Captain,” Joe nodded, then turned to the entrance and began walking down it, the other three quickly following behind.
Joe grimaced as his face turned away, frustrated, as he was so uncertain of how to react in this situation, despite his multicultural youth back home. All that doesn’t seem to translate well to here. Joe sighed as he realized he was still so handicapped, despite now able to speak the language. Maybe I should ask … yeah… I think I’ll ask the three when we get down there, before we start fighting.
Joe marched down the stairs firmly then directly led them across the floor to, what was now, their corner. He settled everything in the corner, dropping his pack off with their meal for the day before settling in against the wall and nodding for the other three to join him in sitting.
“OK. Um… Sorry, but I need … I was wondering if I could get you guys to explain what happened with the Captain? I do not wish to offend him or … do wrong by him and the others there, but… I believe I may have failed, somehow. At my home, people do not… it is not good to skip lines. It’s expected that you stand in line and wait your turn. I did not wish to bother those in front of us, but … I don’t know. Could you explain?”
His three friends glanced at one another before turning back to him, Garnedell taking the lead. “You gave a great favor to the captain and his men when you trained them. He is only repaying the favor.”
“But, I was repaying him his favor for healing Kilniara. He doesn’t owe me anything.”
Garnedell glanced at Kilniara and Zilnek before looking back, “You paid him with the cores.”
“I… that…” Joe found himself trailing off, uncertain what to do before sighing and looking around, “I guess … yeah, I could see that, but it’s all together as one thing. Why is he … pushing it so much.”
“He probably wants to gain your favor,” Garnedell replied.
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“Hmm,” Joe grunted, nodding before turning away, his annoyance growing clear on his face and in his stance. “Well, let’s head to the fight then.”
Garnedell followed well enough behind him, Kilniara and Zilnek trailing further behind before catching up closer when they made it to the border of the safe zone and prepared to head across to their favorite corner.
They made without mishap, easily enough, and Joe dropped their baggage in the corner before sliding down the wall to sit but then stopped with a pained grunt when the rough walls of the dungeon ground into his back. Ouch! Crap.... not going to be able to easily slide down walls anymore without getting splinters and rashes.
Joe pushed himself off the wall and then settled to the floor more carefully, stretching his back a few times first to unstick his shirt from the skin of his back. He settled to the floor and swallowed a grimace as he leaned back against the wall once again, his head dropping back.
“I’m sorry, Master,” Joe hear Kilniara whisper quietly.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I caused you problems.”
Joe straightened quickly, looking at Kilniara. Her head was down and body closed with arms and legs wrapped around her torso as she tried to bury herself into the wall behind her. Joe’s surprise and confusion quickly morphed to shock and anger at himself.
“I’m not going … I’m not angry at you, Kilniara. It doesn’t matter who or what happened, I would do it again. We are a team and it’s our job to take care of each other. You would do the same for me and I am always going to do the same for you. I’m never going to drop you guys or allow others to hurt you, if I can help it. And if anyone gets hurt or anything, we will take care of them because they have helped us and taken care of us. I am not and never will be angry about taking care of you or spending money on you if you need help. I also hope you are not angry about money being spent on me,” Joe offered with a chuckle at the end.
The other three looked at him before seeming to brighten considerably while Kilniara actually blossomed, her arms and legs opening to a more natural position as she settled into a more relaxed posture. She wasn’t grinning as much as the other two, her small smile not bright enough to reveal much but her relaxed posture screamed her relief.
Joe nodded another time and reached out to grab her hand, “Kilniara. I will never be angry when a mistake happens and we need to fix it with money. That’s what money is for, to be used, nothing more.” Joe hid a grimace at his poor comment, unsure of how to properly express himself but quite certain he’d done poorly with this.
He maintained his smile trying to at least prove his sincerity with his body language, before sitting back and looking at Zilnek and Garnedell. All four soon relaxed and began to chatter a bit, Zilnek and Garnedell quickly forgetting the tension while Kilniara took a bit longer to join the conversation, engaging Joe. When Joe saw Kilniara was feeling more relieved, Joe brought the conversation back around to their daily plan and soon were back fighting.
Joe partnered Garnedell with Zilnek since Garnedell had his staff for defense to help protect Zilnek. Joe settled into fighting with Kilniara, positioning her back to the wall while he stood ninety degrees off from Kilniara while facing the room. Garnedell and Zilnek were opposite Joe and Kilniara, positioned in mirror on the other wall with Zilnek’s back to the corner and Garnedell backed against the wall like Kilniara was on his side.
The day slipped past quickly enough, Joe enjoying his time with Kilniara while she opened quite a bit more to him, engaging in pleasant banter that was soon quite flirty on Kilniara’s part. Joe enjoyed her attempts, smiling in acceptance of her behavior but kept his mind focused on training her well. Joe then swapped Kilniara with Zilnek, allowing him some time to train him as well before sending both of them to the corner to rest when they were exhausted and then he could spend some time training Garnedell. After that, they were able to enjoy lunch together before Joe reversed the order and asked if he could train Garnedell first.
“Alright. Is it OK if I train Garnedell first this time? You both still look quite tired, and I’m not comfortable putting you two together because neither of you have strong defense. Garnedell has his staff, which is actually a very strong defensive weapon. Your half staffs… I’m not sure about, and even if you have the rings, you don’t have enough training to use any other weapons. That OK?”
The two siblings nodded quickly, Zilnek’s slower response still positive.
Joe grinned and continued, “Alright. We’ll go opposite this time. I’ll go with Garnedell, then put Garnedell with Kilniara while I help Zilnek before finishing off with Kilniara. Alright?”
All three agreed, although Garnedell was quickest and replied with an extremely excited “Yes!” before turning to look at the other two with some chagrin. Kilniara smiled with amused mockery but assured Garnedell that things were fine.
Joe smiled at the two’s exchange before standing and nodding his head towards the center of the room and all the monsters, “Alright, Garnedell. Let’s take on a few goblins together!”
Garnedell nodded and jumped to his feet, his excitement returned, “Yes! Let’s go!”
Joe chuckled with a tired laugh and jumped to his feet just as quickly. Why do I feel like an old man already. I can’t be old! Joe’s tired smile turned to humorous chagrin and he jogged after him, meeting with him as Garnedell had already thrown a small pebble to smack one of the closer goblins. Joe smiled, his eagerness for a fight returning as he settled into a stance.
The afternoon went similar to the morning and the day went well as there were no unusual circumstances throughout the day. Soon, they found themselves leaving the dungeon a bit earlier than usual as Joe hoped to slip out before the Captain could see them although Zilnek was still able to make it to level six by the end of the day. As they started through the exit, Joe turned to the other three.
“I want to try to sneak out so the Captain doesn’t … bother us, OK?”
The other three looked at each other, Zilnek and Kilniara seeming to sober, but Garnedell actually smirked then began to laugh. Joe smiled as well before chuckling himself. Soon Kilniara and Zilnek also began laughing with a hint of underlying nervousness. Joe glanced towards Kilniara and smiled reassuringly before leading them all onward.
“So… operation sneak out past the captain!”
The other three’s laughter turned to polite confusion, although they still tried to acknowledge Joe’s poor humor and Joe could only stifle a sigh. Welp… guess all my jokes are going to be… useless. Joe let the poor joke go, not wishing to take the time to explain and soon came to the entrance.
Joe didn’t stop, stepping quickly out of the shadow of the entrance and striding quickly from the area. He didn’t stop or look around and soon found himself at the outer defensive wall of the dungeon, slipping through the tunnel like gate of the dungeon defensive wall. Joe was surprised to actually feel relief when they made it out and took a deep breath before looking back at the other three and smiling brightly.
“We made it! Free!”
The other three laughed, this time with quite a bit more enjoyment, now seeming to understand Joe’s simple delight. Joe turned and headed back home, leading all of them all out of the dungeon.