Adrith shrugged as he was asked about how he had no debt, “There wasn’t much I can say how I exactly don’t have debts. However, it seems that from when I was promised to become a land owner of my time, all my holdings and the such were carried and I was even given an exemption on paying taxes”.

The room was quiet for a moment until Evelyn spoke, “Wait. So you have land and have money?”

Adrith nodded his head. Evelyn then asked the next question, “So your assets weren’t taken by the Lord or given to anyone else?”

Adrith shook his head. “I have no one who would have taken them or it would have been given to”

Everyone looked among each other as they continued to question, “So your holdings were kept even though you were dead?”

Adrith nodded his head one more time, “Yes. What, is there something that I’m not getting?”

Connor said somewhat exasperated, “Well yeah! You have things. For everyone when you die anything you own is either passed to the next of kin or immediately taken by the state. They normally wouldn’t hold things, and for someone like you, you should have arrived with nothing and had a big debt to pay”.

Adrith leaned in, a thought entered his head that he needed answered, “That reminds me, why is there this crazy debt system that they keep track even through death?”

They all sigh as they lean back, each of them looking at each other as they begin to think, it took a moment for then Connor to answer, “So that came about when Lord Michael came back to Fellwinter. As when he returned a large influx of awoken began to appeaear. Many of which had nothing, no homes, no jobs, and many didn’t wish to constantly fight and die over and over again. The Lord, in his ever gracious wisdom-”, his words were steeped in venom as he continued, “-began to look through the records and began to account each person. The scribes and advisors began to pour over the tomes and found every person, created accounts, and then every account was counted as lost time to the city”.

Adrith began to nod as he looked among everyone, many seemed to solemnly nod as he asked, “So lost time. Do you mean like they tax you for every year you are dead?”

Connor nodded his head, “Every year. No one needs to pay this debt at least. Everything goes as normal with death proceedings. Yet if you come back, that is when it gets complicated”.

The room went silent as Connor then continued, “Most Awoken were quite shocked, many lost what little they had, and for those who were around before then, were no exception. Land was taken, items, cores, anything and everything to strip us of what we had. And then they still demanded more. Required amounts of cores, required time within the dungeon, taxes that rise further and further as entering the city requires you to pay such a steep tax that you could find yourself with just enough to pay off a bit of your time. But it keeps rising”.

Adrith listened, it was strange to think such a thing would happen. Such a situation would befall the people of Fellwinter, Connor continued, “So, we are surprised that you got anything at all. With how the Scribes and Advisors are, they would take and take, often they wrote laws that affected the Awoken the most and make sure nothing can be done. Hell, eating is a luxury to us, being able to get something to drink is doubly so”.

Connor lightly gestured his hand as he continued, “So please, tell me how you kept these things. Since it seems you have many things that should have been taken already and not given back”.

Adrith just answered quickly, “Well, I was promised it as payment for entering the dungeon to help clear it. I suppose I was never given the payment, which means I got to keep it. I’m unsure about the tax exemption. Yet if I had to take a guess it was because I was a Knight of Fellwinter”.

Many of them tilted their head as the smaller woman Adrith knew as the mage of Connor’s party, Gloria, spoke, “May I ask, what order is that?”

Adrith nodded, “Ah, it’s an order that isn’t exactly an order. Our tenants were very straightforward, we worked to protect and preserve the longevity of Fellwinter. I think I remember once hearing about people talking about how my captain was unilaterally exempt from taxation, yet I never thought to ask. I think that my captain may have gotten that exemption for all of us as it would pass on to the next ‘head’ of our house. Meaning our family mostly would get to live well for the deeds we were to do. Yet seemed like I never was able to pass it on”.

Some looked to Adrith as it was Connor who asked, “Did you have a lover? Maybe some direct lineage?”

Adrith shook his head as he sighed, “No. I never had something like that. I was too busy being in the dungeons. I was just hoping some miracle happened and I had a child somehow”

Everyone began to roll their eyes as some chuckled at Adrith’s joking comment. Evelyn spoke up as she asked, “So, since we now are all together. What will we be doing? Are we going to be heading to the dungeon now or what will we be doing here?”

Evelyn asked as she lightly rubbed her shoulder, “Most people here, especially those in this outer area, seem to really dislike our existence”.

Connor lightly waved his hand, “No, we will be staying here for a few days”

Evelyn looked to Connor with a tilt in the head as she asked, “Why? What can we get here that won’t come from someone who absolutely despises us or might not even give us the light of day?”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Connor began to lean back in his seat as he said with a light chuckle, “We will be here to resupply for our next dive into the dungeon. Talk to some locals, and see if anyone needs anything specifically. Maybe we will even get lucky and someone might need some new building material since we seemed to come onto some very useful materials, courtesy of you fine folk”.

Connor lightly cast his hand to both Evelyn and Adrith. He was about to continue when Adrith interrupted, “That reminds me. Where is our stuff?”

Connor looked to Adrith, stopping right before he was to say what he was going to say as he looked to Gloria, “Gloria has all of it in her pocket dimension. We slipped it into there while you both were getting presentable to be able to enter the caravan. It was so you wouldn’t lose all that sweet loot to some check”

Evelyn nodded understanding as Adrith asked, “Why are you trying to dodge the tax?”

Connor chuckled as some of the others chuckled and laughed with him, Connor lightly cast his hand out, “Well, that tax does nothing more than strip us Undead of all of the wealth we may have gained. Taking it and using it to whatever ends they believe is right. They try and pinch and rip every little bit they can within possibility without outright taking everything that comes out of the dungeon. And most of that only is used to feed the wealthy, to be turned into new equipment for an already armed guard, or to create new opulent structures for those who can wield enough power to levy it”

Connor leaned forward now, looking to Adrith as he continued, in a low and very intentionally serious tone, “Forget whatever you believe is good here. There hasn’t been a good thing to this city since the Lord and his countless mouthpieces came to power. All I’ve ever heard was loads of crap and little help to many of us. Us Undead have all been made into monsters and have been set to be the ones to enter the dungeon. If you can’t meet the tax requirement, you only have 1 place to stay. That’s the dungeon, nowhere else”.

Adrith tilted his head, now curious of that statement, “if the Awoken are treated so badly, why are you staying?”

Connor scoffs, “Would I love to. But where to? We’ve been here since the city was founded. There is nowhere else. And even if there was a palace to go to, any who try are found by the guards or even the Lord himself and are dragged back here before they are locked within a cell and forced to sleep before being punished countless times with corporeal and given more time to ‘pay for your crimes’. What a load of bullshit”.

Connor leans back as he looks around, a silence fills the air as many are reminded of the situation they were in.

This was not just a city that they grew up in. This was not a time when stories of heroes would one day come to save them from the monsters. There was no group of Awoken who would come to save them. They believed that Maidrin may have been that hope as she was an Undead from a far-off land, even though Adrith knew otherwise.

Yet with how she acted, they had no hopes. She seemed she was here just for the core of a Chimera Dragon and left without a word. Leaving nothing more than just cores she brought with her. Maybe there was some hope that there could have been something, yet they could never know. Maybe she was corrupted, maybe she had gone mad, maybe she was to never return and never thought about them at all.

To them, this was the last city.

It was the last place in the world that could have any life. The rest was filled with monsters and horrors that would drive even the Demi-Gods who walked the earth once with them mad.

And the only reason why they haven’t perished was by some miracle.

Or some curse.

Set upon them by some god who may have hoped for the world to be saved.

Or to play some sick joke.

None could know, as that was not for them to know. There was only one thing that could be known.

Adrith spoke, “So what’s the plan?”

Connor looked to Adrith, “Like I said, we will be here for a while, pick up some requests, and head back in. If we do this enough we will get enough to live a pretty decent life”.

Adrith looked at them, “That’s it?”

The entire group looked to Adrith confused, all but Evelyn who nodded as Adrith continued, “I think there is something else we should be doing”.

Connor asked in confusion, “Like what?”

Evelyn took a breath in and then looked around, “I think he is thinking we should clear the dungeon. It might be a way for us to live an actually good life”.

Connor threw his hands up, “Oh and how do you think we do that? We are a group of Undead who had just met. Many of us want to just live well enough to be able to eat and drink while in the city before going back into the dungeon to work”

Adrith then said, “Because not only is it the right thing to do for the city. It’ll get you honor-”, Adrith pointed in the direction of Connor as he continued, “-get you a good life rather than having to live in this cellar”.

Adrith gestured around at the cellar, there were roots and dirt around as he then continued, “And, it may be the only thing we can do. After all, what is to say that we are able to stay here like this forever? We’ll live for a long time. The moment this city is gone, what happens? We’ll probably be in the same situation as those outside the dungeon, if not worse because the monsters will constantly be killing us until they literally die of boredom”.

Many were quiet as they looked around, and many were quiet as it took a few moments until Connor finally asked, “So how do you plan to do that? You got some sort of magic that’ll just kill the big bad monster at the bottom of the dungeon like that”. Connor snapped his fingers as he looked to Adrith.

Adrith shook his head, “No, but I do know what we will be facing”

The others nodded as Gloria asked, “Well what is it?”

Adrith smiled as he sat down, there was something here. He could tell. There was some hope left in these people. That means there could be something they could do. They could possibly beat the dungeon.

Maybe.

There would be some retribution.

For the countless people lost to the damned dungeon.

And the incalculable souls it has taken.

And the countless more it has corrupted.

Maybe after this long nightmare.

There is a Dawn.