Breakfast the next day was a bit quieter than usual as the group was still processing recent conversations. Between the offer to join Clan Livingstone last night and then not being able to reach Arden’s group, most didn’t sleep well. And then when they heard from Arden that morning and were told about the goblin’s invasion of Wildemill, that just added to their worries.

Gito sensed their moods and stayed quiet for a while, giving everyone time to eat. But before they could finish their food and leave the table he spoke up. “Seems ye lot are still tryin' to process things. Is there anythin' I can help with? Any questions I can answer for ye?” Gito inquired.

Miguel was the first to speak up asking, “What can you tell us about Clan Livingstone’s reputation?”

“That do be a good question. Most have a positive opinion o' tha clan. They are seen predominantly as a merchant clan and, like any merchants, they have their detractors. People who feel they were taken advantage of durin' a business deal. Perhaps it’s true and perhaps it isn’t. What I do know is, when a cave-in traps a mining crew, someone from Clan Livingstone will show up offerin' to help. When a monster swarm overwhelms a city, someone from Clan Livingstone will show up and offer any aid they can provide, whether it be fightin' off tha monsters, rebuildin' tha city, or healin' tha injured. Whatever they can do to help, they will. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Dwarven city or a Human one, Orcs or Elves. If they have a trade relationship with ye, and they’re nearby, they’re gonna try to help. And because of how so many of 'em travel about, there’s almost always someone from their clan nearby.”

“What’s the benefit to joining the Livingstone clan… or any clan for that matter? If we’re going to be traveling around anyway, do we really need to be in a clan?” asked Dakota asked.

“Short answer is aye, absolutely. Think about tha two clanless ye saw bein' assaulted in tha park by tha waterfall a while back.”

“You know about that?” asked Celeste in surprise.

“Aye. The lady that was fishin' nearby passed word to me. Said she gave ye some advice.”

“Yes sir, she told us to stay out of it or we’d make it worse.” Wendell answered.

“Yeah. Said the guards would beat them more if we called them out to help,” added Dakota.

“Aye, they likely would have. Now think about the guards treatin' ye like that in every dwarven hold ye visit. Think about gettin' robbed, and when ye report it to the guards, they beat ye for wastin' their time. Look, I’m not sayin' ye have to join Clan Livingstone. But it cannot be overstated how important it is that ye join a clan. Without it, ye have no rights. Now, is there a reason not to join Livingstone? Anythin' that makes ye reluctant to do it?”

“I think it’s just a difference in mindset. We’ve not been on Traum long,” answered Celeste. “In our old world, independence was the prized attribute. We were taught that everyone should pay their own way and kept what they earn. Now we’re being told that we have to work for clan and in return we have to give them part of our earnings. It’s like we’re being taxed.”

“And the money is going to a island three thousand miles away that we’ll likely never even see,” snapped Dakota.

“I see. I would imagine it would take some time to get used to a new value system. But let’s look at this a different way. How much are the followin' things worth to ye?

* Havin' a safe place to eat, sleep, and conduct business, for free, in every city where tha clan has a base of operations. At last check, that covers most dwarven cities as well as several human and elven cities. And they’re in negotiations with some orcs about buildin' a base in their only city.

* Gettin' discounts with hundreds o' shops and merchants without havin' to haggle because they already have an agreement to give tha clan a discount.

* Havin' a network to help ye find hard-to-get items or information.

* Havin' an entire clan of thousands that is willin' and able to back ye up in case of emergency.

Azna should have taught ye that most clans take all yer money and give ye a stipend in return. Livingstone lets ye keep tha bulk of yer funds and asks only for a portion to fund tha clan. That’s one of tha reasons why I felt Livingstone was tha better choice for ye all. To me, tha ‘tax,’ as ye called it, is money well spent, but it’s yer choice. Maybe ye shouldn’t think of a clan as a government but as an extended family. If ye and all yer friends and family moved in together, ye’d have to pool some money for upkeep and to take care of tha sick and elderly. And somethin' tells me ye wouldn’t have a problem with givin' money for such. Anyway, I need to be gettin' goin',” Gito said as he got up from the table. Right before walking away he turned back and looked at the party, “If you haven’t already, pray about it. You lot have literately met some of the gods. Ask them for their advice.”

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After he walked a little ways away Wendell spoke up, “Personally, I think we should join. The protection alone is worth it, in my opinion.”

“I understand not wanting to come to a fantasy world just to be bossed around and have to pay taxes, but I think this is the best deal we’re going to get. My daughter is not going to be grow up clanless,” Miguel added.

A quick round of head nods and murmurs of agreement later, the party had decided to talk with Brilwynn that evening and were now heading off to resume their normal training schedule.

⚴

The meeting with Brilwynn went well and she even agreed, after some haggling, to add the other two parties as clan members, sight unseen. The only surprise was how happy Eric was about it. He said he hated not having a last name and felt Eric Livingstone had a nice ring to it.

The party then resumed their regularly scheduled training thinking that would be their lives for the foreseeable future but were once again reminded that the only constant in life is change. Three days after Verdance Day they were introduced to a human ranger named Terra. She took over training them in the mornings, teaching them the basics of archery and stealth for a couple weeks.

Once Terra said they were passable, she started to focus more on training Dakota. Terra took Dakota out of the city and taught him about the various beasts and monsters that lived this far below ground. Dakota learned to tell the differences between the scuffs on the tunnel floor left by the tentacles of a grottent verses unlend worms. How to recognize the smell of a cavernclaw or the droppings of fangflits. Terra also took Dakota to the surface of the mountain to show him how to survive in the frozen peaks and taught him the dangers there.

During this time, Mardora started taking the group out with the dwarven patrols, deeper into the caves surround Kan Ladur. Initially when their patrols came across monsters, the party was rather ineffectual. The knowledge and training was there but it hadn’t been forged into instinct, yet. But repeatedly being stabbed, bitten, and dissolved by the various monsters served as a great incentive to learn. After only a month of going on patrols, they were all amazed by how capable they had become, and the skill growth wasn’t bad either.

By the end of the month of Tramon, Terra had brought Dakota back and the group was being taught how to function as a true war party. They had all gained a number of levels in their classes which unlocked new abilities. Their group was being sent on patrol by themselves and were becoming more sure of themselves. Other than Dakota and Wendell, they were starting to fit in more with the dwarves around them.

⚴

One morning the party had received a summons at breakfast for all of them to meet in the training yard Mardora used. They were taking turns performing each of the sword and ax forms they were taught when Mardora walked up with a dwarf they had yet to meet. Knowing something must be up, everyone lined up as they had been taught.

Looking over the group Mardora took a lecturing tone, "This is Sid. He's a crew manager for tha Silver Pick clan. He has what he thinks is a problem. I think it's an opportunity for ye lot.." Looking to the dwarf she adds, "Give ‘em tha rundown."

Sid nodded before stepping forward, "My name is Obsidian Silver Pick. My clan has a crew minin' in an area quite a ways from tha city, and they've requested some guards be dispatched to 'em. Unfortunately, tha reason they've given was insufficient to warrant sendin' folks all that way. So, I can't officially send someone, hence why I don't have a group of my clan goin'. But… I trust tha foreman of that crew. They'd not request help for no reason, even if tha reason sounds strange..

"If ye agree to go, it'll take ye a couple days to get there. While there, ye'll be survivin' as the miners do. No beds. No runnin' water. No fancy meals. Yer job will be to protect my crew and bring 'em back when they say it's time to return, which will likely be in a couple o' weeks. I'll provide gear for campin' in the tunnels, and ye'll be paid upon the safe return o' my crew. Questions?"

"What reason did they give for needing help?" Celeste asked.

Sid looked down as if embarrassed, "They've claimed items have been goin' missin', and they've heard yellin' and singin' seemingly comin' from tha stone. They thought someone in tha group was playin' jokes, initially. Then they woke this mornin' hearin' yellin' again. When they started searchin', someone found blood leadin' into a rock wall." Sid took a deep breath before continuing in a rush, "Aye, it sounds strange, but I want an explanation and to know my crew is safe. Will ye take the job?"

As the party looked at one another and Miguel started talking to his wife, with Dakota and Wendell joining in. Liam, however, stepped over to Mardora. "Why do you think this is a good idea?"

"For tha bulk of yer time here, ye all have been quite sheltered. Recently, we’ve begun sendin' ye out on patrols and such, but ye've not seen any real hardship since comin' to Kan Ladur. And it’s my understandin' that ye don't have long before ye'll need to leave. I’d like ye to get some real-world experience to help sharpen ye."

"So you do think something is down there?"

Mardora just shrugged before adding, "Even if it's nothin', it will be good experience for ye all. But I feel like it is somethin'."

Returning to his friends, Liam found them gathered in a circle, talking low. "I think we should go," he told them.

"Yeah, yeah," Miguel flippantly responded. "We decided the same thing while you were talking to Madora. We're just trying to decide on what we should do with Deandra."