Erin collapsed in relief as he walked the last step to bring jode onto the portal. Despite Jode’s frame consisting of exclusively lean muscle, his actual weight far exceeded his appearance. Before Erin could gripe further, he was stunned by a blinding flash of white light.

“What the hell? Did I really just gain a skill from that?” Erin muttered.

He wasn’t given any more time to think about the strangeness of that fact before the female attendant from earlier rushed to him. Erin’s brain struggled for a moment, until it pulled the name Mal out of the ether. In the dark of night, she was like a specter; carrying a stick with a glowing white end that only illuminated the upper half of her body with a silvery pale luminescence. “What happened? Is he alive?” Mal asked, bending over Jode to check for injuries. Erin, during the long journey of carrying Jode to the portal, had had ample time to come up with a convincing explanation that would draw less attention than surviving the venom.

“He killed the spider golem thing while it was mid-attack. It fell apart, but its leg rocks kept going, and smacked him in the head. I think he’s ok, just knocked out.” Erin answered as confidently as he could muster.

Mal tutted at Jode’s still form, face stern. “I taught him better than that. I thought I drilled it into his skull, dodge then kill.” Jode emitted a soft snuffling sound as he breathed, and Mal’s icy expression cracked into a soft smile. “I can’t stay mad at him when he’s making such adorable noises. Fine, wait here for a moment.” Mal disappeared to talk to another gate attendant, and returned a minute later.

“Ok, follow me.” She told Erin. Erin’s acknowledgement was cut short when she lifted Jode’s entire body one-handed with no apparent trouble; his feet dragging on the ground as she supported him. “Not just a pretty face.” Mal told Erin, winking at him.

Erin just nodded dumbly, deciding there was no right answer. Mal grunted in amusement, and they began to walk. In the dark of night, with only the soft glow of Mal’s torch, and the light of a crescent moon, Erin couldn’t help feeling like he was back in the dungeon. The irregular clay buildings didn’t help matters, giving the impression that he was surrounded by tunnel walls similar to those in the dungeon. More than once, Erin shivered when he found himself anxiously searching for the tell-tale scratching noises of the blood shrews.

“I have a question.” Mal announced.

Erin jumped in surprise, having been caught up in his vigilance against enemies. “What’s up?”

Mal’s voice was subdued“Why did you jump straight into the intermediate dungeon? You know there are plenty of beginner dungeons in the area right? There’s even one within a day’s travel north.”

Erin cursed, which elicited a laugh from Mal. “You really didn’t know, did you? Here I was thinking you were some mage brat with more money than patience. Color me intrigued. How could you not know?”

Erin sighed, uncomfortable with the amount of time he spent thinking up excuses. “I came from a different town. I didn’t know there were multiple dungeons here. When I asked around, people pointed me to this one, so I thought this was all there is.”

Mal laughed. “What was wrong with your old town?”

Erin hesitated a moment, searching for something convincing he could say. He had a strange moment of clarity that faded before he could grasp it. “Family problems.”

Mal nodded. “The bane of adventurers everywhere.” Mal flicked Jode’s nose with her free hand, and he snorted in his sleep. “You can’t choose the family you’re born with, but be careful with the family you can choose. Sometimes they turn out to be loveable idiots.”

Erin laughed at the idea of Jode being an idiot, and Mal smiled at Erin indulgently. “I wouldn’t get too attached to this one if I were you. He runs from anything that might bind him. The most you can do is squeeze a night of fun or adventure out of him here and there. He still hasn’t told me why he’s so afraid to be tied down, but I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end.”

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Erin nodded thoughtfully. “I was thinking about soloing beginner dungeons from here on anyway.”

Mal seemed to mull that over in her head for a moment. “Don’t start out solo. Find a party to join who’s at a similar level to you. You don’t know what you don’t know, so you need people to support you. Even loners like this one didn’t start out that way. Not the ones that survived anyway.”

Erin sighed noncommittally. She wasn’t wrong, but he was split on the subject. On the one hand, it was clear that his divine powers, and water creation were things he needed to work on. He couldn’t afford to do that in a group though, or he would face too many questions. On the other hand, not dying was very attractive.

Mal laughed loudly, and unreservedly for several long seconds. “You two really are peas in a pod aren’t you? It must be destiny that brought you together.”

Erin smiled. “Maybe.”

Mal turned unexpectedly, and entered a building. Inside, sun-weathered men and women drank something that smelled suspiciously like fermented cactus on tables that were really just slabs of clay, with smaller slabs that acted as seats. Even the bar was a long counter made of clay. The mood was subdued; the exhaustion of those who worked too hard for too long while earning too little permeated the building that Erin recognized as a kind of low-class bar. Mal hailed a waitress, and talked to her too quietly for Erin to hear. After a moment, the waitress nodded; disappearing for a moment, before returning with a cube similar to the one the guard had used to summon the water mage when Erin had first entered the city.

Though he didn’t quite know what was going on, Erin followed Mal and the waitress up a flight of stairs to the second story, which consisted of a long hallway filled with doors. The waitress stopped at one of the doors, and inserted the cube into a square-shaped depression in the center of the door. It creaked open of its own volition, and Erin realized the cube was a magic key. He followed Mal into the small room, where she unceremoniously dropped Jode onto a sheet that covered a pile of dead grass. Erin surmised this was the bed. Feeling like it was the proper thing to do, Erin dropped the money he owed Jode on the clay block that seemed to serve as a poor man’s table.

Jode snorted in his sleep, but wasn’t awakened by the impact of his landing. Mal thanked the waitress, and passed her a copper coin, which promptly disappeared down the waitresses shirt. Erin idly wondered if there was some kind of net to catch it if it fell, but realized a moment later that he was still staring at the waitresses chest. Coughing, Erin looked away awkwardly. Mal and the waitress traded a bemused glance, but didn’t say anything as Erin was led back to the ground floor.

“This is where we part.” Mal told him, smiling warmly at him.

Erin smiled back. “Thank you for your help.”

Mal shrugged. “I was mostly helping Jode, but I will give you some advice. If you don’t have a place to sleep, this inn is cheap. I don’t recommend trying for that waitress though. I did once, and woke up without any coin to my name.”

Erin’s eyes widened. “She robbed you?”

Mal winked. “Yes, but she earned every Quinn so I decided to let it go. I didn’t exactly have a lot on me at the time.”

Erin sighed. “I’ll keep that in mind I guess.”

Mal laughed. “Be sure that you do.” She gave him a sarcastic salute, and disappeared into the night.

Erin shrugged, and turned around. Now that he was out of danger, and in a relatively warm, inviting location, exhaustion was beginning to set in. Suddenly he could barely put one foot in front of the other as he staggered toward the counter.

“Do you have any rooms available?” Erin asked the barkeep.

The barkeeper grunted. “A few. Two Quinn per night. Twelve if you pay in advance for a week, so you’d get two Quinn off. Food and drink aren’t included, you’ll have to buy those separately.”

Erin nodded, and pulled out two copper coins that he dropped on the counter. The barkeeper nodded, and hailed the waitress from earlier.

“Amelia, find him a room.” The barkeeper told her dismissively. Amelia nodded, and grabbed a cube from behind the bar. Cube in hand, she winked flirtatiously at Erin, and beckoned him to follow her. He did, and they quickly reached his new room. Opening the door, she showed him in.

“As you can see, it’s just a bed, and some red soil for a table and chair. You get what you pay for. If you need anything else, let us know.” Amelia winked at him. “And if you need anything from me, I’m available all night long.”

Erin smiled at her tiredly, and nodded, but he heeded Mal’s warning. “Maybe some other time. I’m too tired tonight.”

Amelia pouted in disappointment, but nodded. “Well, the offer stands if you decide to stick around.”

Erin nodded. “You’ll be the first person I think of if I change my mind.”

Amelia’s expression brightened. “Sleep well.”

Amelia left the room, and the door closed behind her. Erin did his best to put her out of his mind, which turned out to be relatively easy once he fell into the bed of grass. Within moments, the sweet smell of old grass had lured him to sleep.