After the meal they headed up to their rooms. The four of them would share a single room, while Leah took her own room. With that being the case, Mash felt more comfortable talking with the others. She might have a skill to listen in, but he decided that it didn’t matter. He wanted to know what happened earlier. None of them were sleeping yet, each of them doing their own thing. Red was reading a book, and Jill and Luke were tending to their weapons. Approaching Jill, Mash asked her a question.
“What happened earlier? Why did everyone get so scared?”
It took her a second to realize what he was talking about, but he could see the recognition hitting her eyes. She responded quizzically; her voice unable to hide her skepticism.
“You mean you don’t know?”
“No, I didn’t mean to do anything.”
Mash shook his head trying to remember any details. She seemed genuinely surprised to hear that he did it unconsciously. He rolled his eyes at her as she dawned a stupefied expression. That got a response out of her.
“You kind of glowed, but in a creepy way. Your one eye and the scars on your body shone like the snake had. Also. it felt like you were going to take a bite out of the barkeep.”
She sounded far to smug as she explained the situation, even adding a joke. Well, he hoped it was a joke. He couldn’t find a clever response, or any response at all.
“Huh.”
That was not what he was expecting, believing that he had made a weird facial expression or something. There was nothing he could say to that, it still sounded impossible to him. He didn’t know if he could stop himself, the reaction had been instinctual, it was like trying to stop his muscles from being used. He might be able to stop it with meditation but didn’t know if that was safe either. That was another conversation he didn’t want to have. Though he needed to ask someone about the use of the skill when they arrived at town. When he saw Ellis.
He didn't want to ask Red or Jill about that topic, and left Jill to continue tending to her weapon. Though he might need to ask Red, since she was usually the one with the information. Hoping that Luke might have the knowledge, he approached him before Red. He was reading a book, and Mash sat next to him, choosing to whisper so that the others wouldn’t hear.
“This is going to be kind of random, but do you think it’s safe to use my meditation skill to control my sexual attraction?”
Luke was not prepared for that question, his mouth hanging open as he processed Mash’s words. He blubbered for a second before managing to find the ability to respond. Even as he spoke, it was clear he was struggling to hide his embarrassment and laughter.
“Sorry, I don’t know anything about that. I think you need to ask Red, unless it’s about her. That would be awkward…”
Luke couldn’t keep a straight face and broke into a smug grin. Mash almost thought he looked excited. Shaking his head at Luke, He gave him an answer quickly wanting to move past that topic.
“No, its not because of Red or Jill. I was just thinking about it because of the auction, and, um, Ellis.”
Mash scratched the back of his head as he spoke but was surprised to see Luke nodding in agreement. Honestly, Luke seemed reserved most of the time, and thinking on it, he was fairly reserved too, so he never expected a conversation like this. Somehow, the conversation seemed to lift something off his shoulders, and he felt better about broaching the subject.
Turning to head towards Red, he saw her looking at him. She must have heard her name being spoken. The fact that she knew that he was going to ask her something, somehow made him feel worse. He powered through anyways. Approaching Red, he didn’t bother speaking quietly since Luke and Jill were obviously going to listen in.
“Look, you’re the only one I can talk to about this. Do you think it’s ok for me to use my meditation skill to control my sexual attraction?”
Even if he spoke with confidence, it didn’t make the comment any less strange. He could practically see the gears turning in her head, as she heard his words. She blushed slightly and looked around frantically, while Jill and Luke began rolling on their beds with laughter. Mash couldn’t stop himself from smiling, and he waited for Red’s response. She was having an internal debate, but ultimately steeled herself to speak.
“Look, I’ve only ever heard of one other skill that effects a person’s sexual habits. One! It’s not like I was looking for it. I think the book said that it was more of a physical thing, so it should be fine. But I don’t know for certain.”
She was fidgeting slightly as she spoke, hiding her face in her hands. Mash contained his own laughter, thanking her genuinely, grateful for getting a real answer. It turned out that he could use the skill for that and was glad to find another use for the skill. His thoughts were cut off, by a thumping from the room above. The laughter had gotten too loud but went silent at that. They didn’t want to be kicked out for something stupid. However, they were even less tired now, and talked casually for a while.
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Mash woke up, not remembering exactly when he fell asleep. The others were still sleeping, so he took the opportunity to go for a run. Everything was moving so quickly, and he didn’t have much time for his usual exercises. He made a sign and engraved a message to the others on it, before heading out of the room. After cleaning himself up in the bathroom, he headed downstairs. Entering the main area, he heard Hugo talking behind the counter. Waving he called out to him.
“Hello Hugo. Do you have anything ready now, I plan on heading out for a bit?”
Hugo nodded, grabbing something from behind him. He spoke while getting the item ready and sounded a little hesitant.
“Don’t have a lot but can give you something quick now, and you can get more after coming back. Where’re you headed anyways?”
Nodding, Mash tried to respond quickly, happy to see the man speaking normally with him.
“Thanks, I just want to go for a run since I’ve never been in a city like this before.”
“Seen plenty of people like that. Eager to spend more time outside since there is plenty of safe, open space. When’s the last time a person could go for a run without risking a fight with a monster?”
Staring off into the distance, Hugo responded easily, an automatic reply that came from years of work. Mash took it in stride, accepting the proffered meal. It was a simple combination of fruits and cream placed between two sweet pieces of bread. He already liked the man, sweets for breakfast were truly a glorious idea. Taking it from Hugo, he paid the man and ordered more food for when he was returned. He waved goodbye as he headed out.
As expected, the food was delicious, but he was more distracted with his run. There were several people outside now, most were a bit younger than him. They were playing games of some kind, and whenever one of the kids spotted him, they all stopped to stare. He could see them pointing and talking, one of the girls had even screamed monster, making him have to stop and explain his situation to her mother. The run gave him plenty of reasons to buy an illusion item. He could check the guild after the dungeon. He didn’t want to buy one, only to find it in the dungeon, and he still instinctively disliked the idea. Somehow, he was able to tell that his inhumanity skill was the cause. He didn’t know if he should fight the skill or not, the skill was meant to make him better.
When he got back to the inn, he saw the others talking. It seemed like Leah was questioning them, and she turned to glare at him as he walked in. Spending the next few minutes getting chewed out had made him even hungrier, and he was glad to see Hugo bringing him some breakfast. He had paid for it earlier and told Hugo when he would be back. Glad for the distraction, he ate while waiting for the others to calm down. Once they finished with their meal, they made their way to the guild.
When Leah brought them to the building, he just stared at it in disbelief. It was less than half the size of the inn and seemed more like a glorified shack. Entering the building made it seem even more unimpressive, though that impression died when he noticed the stairs leading down. Other than the staircase, this part of the building was an empty room with a single counter in it. A receptionist sat behind the desk and there were posters of jobs arrayed behind him. He was an older man, with wrinkles around his eyes that gave away his age. He was smiling at them pleasantly when they entered, waving a hand in greeting. He wore a simple red tunic, and had a strange, pointed hat atop his head. Trying to remember the style of clothing, he stared at the man for a few seconds. Although, when Luke and Jill went to talk to him, Mash took the opportunity to look down the stairs.
They spiraled downwards, and he gasped as he looked down. It stretched endlessly, branching off into different floors and rooms. It didn’t stop though, going ever deeper into the earth, far past where the light reached. That wasn’t quite right though, it was more like the light was being cut off along the way. Then it hit him, this was the entrance to the dungeon, the one that they were here for. Davin had given them better directions than he realized, and he kept staring into the void. He was expecting another connection, a pull to enter. Nothing came, and he let his shoulders sag. He couldn’t tell if it was relief or disappointment.
He and Red were just looking down when the others arrived. They joined them in staring towards the abyss while Jill informed them on what they learned.
“So, there are two jobs we can take right now. One is hunting bandits outside the walls, and the other is hunting them down there. I would say take your pick, but it looks like we’ve already made one.”
Mash definitely had, and they started down the stairs. Stumbling down the steps quickly they talked about whether they were prepared. He knew that they were, they hadn’t touched much of their food supplies and still had enough to last for two weeks easily. They had no injuries and spent several days relaxing already. He told them that he felt no weird connection or anything and saw them visibly relaxing. Leah just look confused, ignoring the statement and saying that she would wait at the entrance, but she sounded hesitant. Her fists were clenched, and she looked towards the dungeon entrance with the same fervor as the rest of them. There was no need for debate or discussion, instead they used their descent to leisurely observe the many floors.
The floors were diverse, and he wondered if they were typical of guilds. The guild back home was also layered, and one of the rooms had been a giant auction hall. He took a peak whenever he could and saw a few very interesting sights. One of the rooms looked like a colosseum, and he could vaguely make out movement inside. A fight, or a training session? Another had been a market, but none of the stalls were occupied. One thing that kept reoccurring were patrols of guards. He thought about what Jill told them about the bandits and how they snuck in.
They pretended to be adventurers, and had silver ranked badges so the guards didn’t consider them a threat. After gaining entrance into the city, they robbed the guild and fled into the dungeon. They had classes designed around hiding and sneaking and were able to get the jump on the guards. Which explained why Davin and Ellis were watching the gates now. The others worried about the bandits, but Mash roughly knew the average strength of adventurers. Though, he was confident that they could handle the bandits.
The stairs grew more uncertain, and he found it harder to find his footing. Degrading into rocks, the stairs eventually just became a slight decline that headed downwards. They approached the growing wall of shadow. He braced himself, ready for an adventure.