“Smiling while you’re pulling out bat intestines isn’t really a good look.” Henry commented, glancing at Karsten as they rumaged through the Boss’ corpse, trying to find a magica stone.
Karsten chuckled. “Sorry, it's just, my inner 15-year-old’s dreams have just come true. You know the feeling?” He hummed.
Henry looked at his ‘cousin’s’ bloody hands and sighed. “I guess. Did you get something good?”
“Better than good.” Karsten replied happily. “I’m a wizard, Henry,” He said, raising his arm to cast Spray of Cards to the side to demonstrate, only barely catching himself.
‘Oops. Got no magica.’
His arm deflated in disappointment, falling to his side. “Just pretend I just cast an awesome spell with Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Or Tarot cards. Honestly, I can’t choose.”
Henry frowned, “Sure… Good job?”
“Thanks. Oh, I have a new Skill, though. It’s called Song of Rest.”
“Okay. Is that a rejuvenation Skill?”
“Yeah. I can ‘rejuvenate my allies outside of combat’ by performing a song or, I don’t know, telling a story, or something.”
“Alright,” Henry said, sitting down and leaning back on his hands. “Let’s hear it. I’m spent.”
Karsten straightened his spine and cleared his throat.
Humming deep in his throat, he started singing, his voice deeper than normal. Henry sighed and closed his eyes, laying back on the sandy floor. As the song began, he felt his muscles relax, and mind still. It sounded surprisingly pleasant.
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold.
As the Bard finished the song, a feeling of equilibrium suffused itself in the surroundings, giving a final boost to the revitalisation.
The two men felt peace wash over them, filling them with much of the Stamina, Health and Magica they had lost.
Henry looked over his hand, whethe he blisters he had gotten from wielding his spear had disappeared.
“This is gonna save us so much money on potions,” He mused.
Karsten chuckled. “Yeah, it really will.”
Henry sat up and tilted his head back, looking around the cavern, having given up on the Boss monster.
“I think we’ll need more people to clear the next dungeon. This was far to close. I didn’t lose much Health, but you’re battered. I’m guessing you also almost ran out of Magica too with all the spells you flung out.”
Karsten nodded slowly, agreeing wholeheartedly. “Yeah. I had 3 Magica points left.”
Henry whisted, then turned contemplative.
“I think I remember there was a dungeon pretty near here, actually. It’s half a day’s walk east, I think, by Kellas. My idea is we go there before we go back to the city, then go to the C2 dungeon outside the wall there.”
“Impatient much?”
“I like leveling up.”
Karsten chuckled. “Me too, cousin, me too.”
Ignoring Karsten’s response, Henry got up from the ground and dried the blood on his hands on his clothes, handing his spear to Karsten for him to put in the bag.
“Typically, those who are looking for new members, temporary members, or those who want to join a party will advertise themselves in the Adventurer’s Guild, so we can ask the Official in Kellas for a list or something, then go from there.”
“Alright,” Karsten replied as he dropped the spear, as well as his shortsword, into his bag of holding. Getting up, he dried his hands on his blue coat, simultaneously saying a silent prayer.
‘I will fix you, fantasy world jacket, I swear it.’
They both started strolling back towards the entrance of the dungeon.
“Do you think we should ask for the list of people at the Office here or in… What was it?”
“Kellas.”
“Yeah, or in Kellas?”
“I think checking in Kellas would be better,” Henry replied. “The temporary member wouldn’t have to walk with you all the way from here to there. I wouldn’t wish that on them.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, starchild."
“Starchild? Seriously? That’s a genuine offence. I’m legally crippled, if you remember. If I told a Guild Official about your attitude, you’d be put under criminal investigation, you know.”
“Please do. Maybe they would revoke my Guardian license at the same time.”
“Will do, then. I’ll tell my best friend, Banie.”
“...” Henry shuddered.
“What?” Karsten asked enthusiastically. “You’re scared of Franbanie, the sweetheart? You have nothing to be worried about, she’ll maybe even leave your head on!”
“...I apologise.” Henry said, his voice dripping with reluctance.
Karsten smiled innocently. “Thank you!”
~~~
The track back out the dungeon was uneventful, having already killed all the monsters. The two left the dungeon at a casual pace and registered their successful raid at the Guild Office.
After the registration was complete, they ate and slept at a nearby Inn. They put all their clothes in a pile, Karsten cleaning them instantaneously with Prestidigitation.
Henry had wanted to go to a Tavern by himself, but Karsten had reminded him that that might not be the brightest idea, given his history.
Henry reluctantly agreed, drinking only water at dinner.
Karsten rewarded him by buying him a pink, bat-shaped pastry for dessert. It was a local specialty.
Henry didn’t eat it.
In the morning, they two set off again, this time with a map provided by a local Guild Official in hand. This was good, because as it turned out Henry had been way, way off in his approximation of where the village of Kellas was.
Karsten internally noted to never let Henry be in charge of navigation.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
‘All he’s missing is three swords and some moss, and he’s a certain crowd-favorite.'
After half a day’s walk, they reached the small village of Kellas.
“I have to say, I love long, boring walks over flat, neverending grasslands with nothing in them.”
“You’re not being sarcastic.”
“Of course I’m not. After getting deeply familiar with your dear backyard forest, I am never stepping anywhere near a tree taller than a house again.”
They quickly found the Guild Office, as it was the biggest building in the city, and stepped up to the Official on duty.
An energetic older received them. He was wearing a monocle on his left eye, adding soul to his Officer uniform.
“Good afternoon, lads! How can I be of help to you today?”
“Good afternoon, sir.”
Creating the illusion of a top hat on his head, Karsten bowed slightly, tipping the hat at the man. When his back straightened, the hat dissipated into a swarm of translucent ladybugs. The ladybugs spread out through the reception area, flying over the heads of the few people in the room before they too disappeared.
The Officials and few Adventurers saw the flying insects and were mesmerized. They had never seen such creatures before. Karsten didn’t know this, but ladybugs did not exist in this world.
Karsten looked at the man and spoke with an amiable smile, “I was wanting to sign me and my cousin here up for the C2 dungeon. Karsten and Henry Kerdan.”
The old man adjusted his monocle, then answered politely, “I see. Sadly, there are no C2 dungeons here in the village; The only one in the region would be the one outside Cerdansk. The only dungeon close by is an A2 dungeon to the south of here, called Ant Hill. As you can probably tell from the name, it is chock-full of ant monsters. Would you like to sign up for that?”
Karsten turned his head to Henry.
For Karsten, raiding a more difficult dungeon was acceptable - there would be more people going at it, after all.
Still, he was not the only person in their small party, so he had to check with his co-member.
Henry simply shrugged, and Karsten could tell the other man was thinking the same thing.
He turned back to the old Official and nodded once, “Yes, that would be great.”
“Wonderful!” The Official gestured to Karsten’s gold star brooch and explained, “Before we can proceed with the application, I will need to affirm your level, as well as that of your Guardian. Your cousin here is the Guardian, is he not?”
Henry didn’t answer, so Karsten spoke for him. “Yes, he is.”
“Alright, then. Let me just…” The old man opened a drawer behind the counter, bringing out a spherical blue crystal with a shiny finish. He also brought out a small, round wooden stand for it which he placed the orb on.
“Here you go. If you would place your hand on here and say, ‘I now display my authentic class and level, showcasing it to Official Herminger Bland of the Adventurer’s Guild Kellas branch. This action is devoid of any kind of deception, then I will be able to see your class and level. No one else will be able to, so don’t worry.”
Karsten nodded again and placed his right hand on the crystal. It was surprisingly cold to the touch, almost enough for goosebumps to form on his arm. Immediately, he felt a strange connection to the crystal, as if a small amount of his magica was infusing itself into the sphere in response to the orbs' own electrical current.
“I now display my authentic class and level, showcasing it to Official Herminger Bland of the Adventurer’s Guild Kellas branch. This action is devoid of deception.”
The Official’s eyes went the area above the orb and Karsten’s hand, quickly reading the information that stood there.
“Great, thank you,” He said as he jotted something down in the application form he had prepared.
“Next, Mr. Henry, if you would.”
Karsten moved a step back from the counter, giving Henry room to place his hand on the crystal ball and repeat the same words. After he was done, he removed his hand and stepped slightly to the side again, leaning on the countertop.
“Good, good,” He said as he scribbled Henry’s class and level in two separate boxes in the document.
The old man then proceeded to ask them questions varying from ‘So how did you two young chaps end up becoming Adventurers? Was it the thrill of the dungeons, or are you perhaps planning on working for the Guild when you’re higher leveled?’ to ‘You know, my granddaughter is at you two’s age now. She's single, would you believe that? She’s the most charming, polite little lady in the village, I’ll have you know. If you want, I can set up a little something between you two...’
The last question had been posed to Henry, to both their surprise, but Henry curtly rejected the offer.
After the application form had been filled out and stamped, they asked to see the list of Adventurers wanting to join up.
Unsurprisingly, given the small size of the village, there were only two entries.
One was a human woman named Teresa Whistleton. She was thirty four years old, and was a level 2 Cleric.
Both Karsten and Henry agreed that having a Cleric on the team would bolster them both greatly.
“Only being level 2 at age thirty four is a bit of a red flag, though,” Karsten commented.
“Red flag?”
“It means a ‘bad sign’. If we successfully finish the upcoming raid, we’ll have gotten to level 2 in two days. Imagine taking, what, ten years just to get to level 2? I know I shouldn’t judge, but that’s kinda…”
“Yeah, I get what you mean. What about the other ones, though”
Karsten looked down at the pair's description, reading it out loud.
“Haressi Kalamane, 23, Goliath, level two Druid. Malek Kalamane, 25, Goliath, level 1 Monk. Pretty sure their siblings. ‘Looking for someone to enter the Ant hill with. We’ll be staying at the Kellas Inn right by the Guild Office, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to join.’ I think they seem pretty alright. Also, Goliaths? We’re going to talk to them whether we end up partying up or not, I’m not passing up on this opportunity.”
Henry nodded, “I think raiding with a couple Goliaths would make us a lot more likely to come back alive. They’re big targets too, so maybe they’ll draw fire, or something.”
Karstens mouth quirked. “You’re diabolical.”
Henry frowned, “No, I’m realistic. Being in a party means drawing on everyone’s strengths and minimizing our weaknesses. Goliaths have strong skin, so they’ll be fine. They draw the fire, then you use your ‘awesome’ new spell and hit as many ants as possible with it. After that, I’ll swoop in with Haressy’s magic as backup and clean up the rest.”
Karstens eyebrows rose, and he put a hand on Henry’s shoulder.
“I think I might have underestimated you, cousin. You might be smart.”
Henry snorted and shoved Karstens hand off. “Smarter than you, that’s for sure.”
He grabbed the parchment and brought it back to the Guild Official, then turned and walked out of the reception building and left for the Inn, Karsten coming into step beside him.
As they exited the building, the old Official spoke from behind them.
“May Sellena bless you!”
“Thanks…” Henry responded flatly over his shoulder.
Out on the dirt road, Karsten asked, “Is Sellena one of your gods?”
“Yeah. She’s the Goddess of Marriage and Bonds. She’s also technically the Goddess of family matters in general, as well as a type of white spider, but most people don’t really remember that. It’s only because of my dad’s ‘loving’ schooling that I even know. Anyway, it’s basically used as a polite way for old people to tell young single people to ‘just hurry up and get married already’.”
“So…”
“Yeah. He really wants me to marry his granddaughter.”
Karsten laughed, slapping his travelling companion on the back. “You should go back there! See what she’s about.”
“Fuck off, Karsten.”
~~~
They quickly found the Kellas Inn, located just down the road heading south from the Guild Office. After talking with the receptionist, they got the room number and walked up the stairs to the second floor.
As they approached room 26 that was located at the end of the hall, they started hearing a muffled conversation emanating from the room.
As a medieval world, Inns and Taverns had nothing like sound insulation, so the conversation could be heard quite clearly from outside the door.
Karsten and Henry stopped, glanced at each other, then leaned closer to the door to eavesdrop.
First, they heard a deep woman’s voice. Though she sounded young, her voice was smooth.
“-but I don’t think going back would be good for either of us. He said so himself.”
The voice that answered was deep, much deeper than the woman’s, and had a rumble that Karsten thought only Goliaths could have.
“I think you are right. Knowing him, he would have banished us to the Astral realm as soon as we touched upon a blade of grass on the property. If he were still alive, that is.”
The woman sighed.
“That’s what I’m saying. So we can’t. Adventuring isn’t a bad activity to fill out time, though. And brother, imagine how strong we could become! Wouldn’t it be so exiting if I could shoot roots out my eyes, or you could destroy a mountain with a single blow?”
The man laughed heartily at his sisters enthusiasm.
“Knowing you, I think even the Man Above couldn’t stop you. I’m sure you’ll get such a spell at some point. As for me-”
Abruptly, all noise from the room ceased.
Henry and Karsten glanced at each other, about to lean closer when the door abruptly opened before them.
The person that had opened the door was a blue-gray giant made of muscle and stone. The man - the Goliath, was taller than any human being Karsten had ever seen. Craning their necks and subconsciously taking steps back, Karsten and Henry looked up at the fearsome man’s face.
The man, Malek, looked down at the two humans with an even expression, not betraying any emotions or suspicion. When he spoke, his voice was calm, yet noticeably a few octaves lower than when he had spoken with his sister.
His voice filled the hallway.
“Can I help you?”