Jake led them north at first, before slowly shifting their path to the west, doing his best to avoid any chance of them passing by the Fatesworne.
Thankfully, wherever their masked pursuers were, Jake had picked a road that they weren’t guarding, and they made good progress.
There was a moment of relief when they realised they’d got far enough that they were free and clear. For now, at least.
Despite that, the mood of the group was poor. A long march like this gave them all too much time to think about how bad losing Felix truly was, and Ari’s silence didn’t help.
The older man had said nothing since they left the safehouse, simply trudging along at the rear of the group with a distant look in his eyes.
Jake considered trying to talk with him, but he didn’t even know where to begin. He’d come to rely on Felix a lot since they’d met, but Ari’s relationship with the older man had been far beyond that.
Jake had never known his parents, and that had gnawed at him since the first time he was mocked for it, but that also meant he’d never experienced losing them. Felix wasn’t Ari’s actual father, but he’d clearly seen him as something similar.
Eventually, they stopped to camp for the evening, and Jake decided it was time to focus on the future. “So, Aspen, you said these places were horrid?”
“Oh yes, famously so,” Aspen said with an almost natural smile. “Each in their own way, of course.”
“But horrid how, what makes them so bad?” Alan asked with a curious expression.
“Well, my least favourite is the mud one,” Aspen said, shuddering a little. “The whole thing is filled with mud, Krok flies and Bilv. It’s a nasty experience, and the mud is a bad combination with acid spitting beetles and flying insects.”
“That sounds unpleasant,” Nepthys said with a grimace. “Just the thought of trying to manage that kind of fight while in mud is enough to make me want to avoid it.”
“Agreed,” Jake said, rolling out his bedroll and fishing out some rations. “What about the others?”
“Well, the other one I don’t like is set in a maze-like environment with an open sky. The annoying part is that the only monsters you find are flying. Flying serpents and those Jask hawks, if I remember right. Not really a problem place as such, but can be a bad match for groups without many ranged options.”
“We should be fine there,” Gargan said, tapping the wand at his hip. “We have more than enough firepower for a Dungeon like that.”
“And what about the last one?” Nepthys asked, cocking her head to one side curiously. “The one that you don’t mind?”
“Ah, that one is a real special case,” Aspen said with a more natural smile. “It’s an undead Dungeon, but only has zombies, and they’re all Beasts.”
“Wait, what?” Jake shared a confused look with Alan. “Is that even possible?”
Aspen shrugged with one shoulder as he pulled out a wrapped pack of jerky and began to tear pieces off. “I’m not exactly an expert on Dungeon theory. You tell me.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “Fair enough. What makes that Dungeon a pain, though? Only zombies sounds easy enough.”
“Yeah, that was what I thought as well. The problem is that the Dungeon floors are short, so everything is crammed in. For first tier classers, a swarm of zombies is tough.”
“Right, makes sense, I suppose,” Jake said, mentally noting that he really wanted to visit that Dungeon. It sounded interesting, if nothing else.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Discussing the Dungeons seemed to have at least broken everyone out of the silence that had been lingering over them all. By the time they set a watch and went to sleep, everyone but Ari was back to at least close to their normal selves.
-**-
The following morning, Jake took the time to plan out their journey, consulting with Aspen on what the terrain was like to actually travel.
A map was one thing, but actual experience of the area was vital.
They had at most a week of supplies with them, but comfortable travel would get them five days, so Jake stuck to that. They’d take a circuitous route, staying away from commonly travelled areas, before eventually arriving at the safehouse.
“Alright, what do you all think?” Jake asked, laying out the plan to the others.
“I’m not exactly excited to see these new Dungeons, but this route is reassuring,” Alan said, giving Jake a relieved look. “Hopefully, we can stay at this safehouse for as long as we need.”
“Agreed, though I’d like to suggest some alterations,” Gargan said, leaning forward to tap a Dungeon that Jake was having them skirt around. “This is a little used Dungeon, if we camp nearby we could slip in at night and delve it. Alan and I could scout it first, to be safe, but it could be a good way to get you another Dungeon.”
Jake nodded slowly, surprised that Gargan was putting so much thought into what he needed. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, thanks.”
“Inevitably, we will cross the Fatesworne again,” Gargan said, meeting Jake’s eyes with a serious expression. “We all need to be ready for that, and more Dungeons is an easy way to help strengthen you.”
Gargan’s words turned the mood tense, but Jake took it for the vote of confidence in them that the caster had meant.
“Come on, let’s get moving. We’ve got a lot of distance to cover.”
-**-
Five days of tense travel later, they finally found their way to the safehouse. As Gargan had suggested, they’d stopped to delve the Dungeon they’d passed, sneaking in during the dead of night to do so.
The Dungeon had been in its first tier, with a woods-like environment that was populated by the Blomgurn flowers that Jake had met in the past. It had also been home a Lineage of small humanoid constructs made of earth and mud.
The constructs had been irritating as their nature had required that they be almost completely destroyed before they truly died.
The Boons Jake had been offered had been far from what he was looking for as well, so he’d taken the increase to his Manifestation.
Calling it up with his System, Jake ran his eyes over the names of each Dungeon, recalling each one. They really had been through a lot of Dungeons by this point.
Plexus Development - (IV) - This Boon may only be increased in rank by choosing it at additional Dungeons, but it has no cap on its rank level. Increases Manifestations available by one per rank. Granted by the Firva Veranis, Haugask Deja, Wilfek Murk and Ormel Infernis Dungeons.
Dismissing the information, Jake turned back to their new home for the near future. The safehouse was built in a thick section of woodland, its walls designed to blend in with its surroundings.
“Alright, let’s get settled in and then head to the first of the Dungeons,” Jake said, trying to sound optimistic as he led the way inside.
They’d discussed their plan on the way here and had decided that they’d only be delving at night for the time being. That way, they wouldn’t risk someone arriving while they were inside the Dungeon.
It also meant some long nights for them, but with their higher tier and ranks, that was manageable. Secrecy was paramount right now.
“Yeah, I’m actually interested in just how bad these Dungeons are going to be,” Alan said, patting his bow fondly. “We won’t have an issue with that flying one, so we could start there?”
Jake shrugged slightly. “Whichever we want, really, they’re all about the same distance from the safehouse so we’ll be able to reach them by nightfall.”
“The flying one, then?” Nepthys asked, waiting a moment for any objections before nodding. “Alright then, which way, Jake?”
“Feel free to unpack here, I’ll keep an eye on your thing,” Ari said hoarsely, not meeting Jake’s eyes as he dropped his own bag off to one side with a clinking sound.
Ari’s pack had been noticeably heavier after they’d come out of their delve, and since then, Ari had been drinking from a flask each evening.
Jake wasn’t a fool, he knew what was happening, but considering the circumstances, he couldn’t blame Ari.
Sharing a worried look with the others, Jake forced a smile and nodded as he opened his pack and took out everything but the essentials. “Sure thing. We’ll be back before you know it.”
Leaving behind their camping gear would lighten their load, and they could cut back on rations as well. They could get more from Ivaldi if needed, after all. Stocking up on potions would probably be a good idea as well.
When they were finally ready, Jake led the way as they set off to the first Dungeon, already wondering what they’d do once they finished all three Dungeons. Would they stay here? Move on?
Jake needed Wyrdgeld and lots of it if he was going to reach the end of this tier, but he also needed a fifth second-tier Dungeon. That meant that he’d eventually have to venture beyond this little pocket of unpleasantness.
He supposed he could save that until he was at the end of the tier and linger here until then, but that just felt like he was avoiding the issue.
Grimacing, Jake put the thought out of his mind and focused on getting them to the next Dungeon in one piece.