I was in the middle of scanning myself when I heard a gentle cough next to me. Startled, I let out a yelp and jumped a bit. I quickly realized that Thorn was standing next to me with a look of surprise on his face. One that quickly morphed into one of laughter. He doubled over, laughing at my sudden yelp of fear. My cheeks redlining for some reason I put my hand behind my head and let out a forced chuckle.
“Morning Thorn, I didn’t see you there. How was the trip over?”, I managed to say.
Once he’d managed to settle down with a few deep, rattling breaths, and tears in his eyes.
He said, “Good morning Savas. I’ve been standing here for nearly 20 minutes. You were so absorbed in whatever it was you were doing that you didn’t answer me when I first greeted you. So, I waved in front of you. I even called your name out. But you didn’t respond. Figuring you were deep in thought, I wanted for you to show signs of coming out of it. Once your spell was nearly complete. I figured it was as good a chance as any. Then I gently coughed into my hand and the next thing I knew. You jumped out of your skin like a startled cat.”
Slapping his knee, he tried to stop himself from getting worked up again. Though I couldn’t blame him for it. I probably would have laughed just too if I’d seen someone, I was standing next to get so startled at my presence after spending nearly half an hour with them.
Holding up a basket he said, “Here. I brought you a housewarming gift. I know you said that you live in a cave, but I figured a home is a home. It's my people's custom to bring a gift when you’re invited to someone's home for the first time. I hope you like it.”
Accepting the basket, I looked inside to find 2 clay cups and a bottle of what looked to be wine. I excitedly thanked him for the gift and invited him inside.
He froze the moment we were inside my realm. Looking around like a deer that had just seen a bright flash of light. Something caught his attention and his gaze faded for just a moment. Once he regained his composure, he looked at me with concern.
Then he said, “You’re a dungeon boss? I thought dungeon bosses couldn’t leave their dungeon. No. This doesn't make any sense. This is clearly a dungeon, and you are clearly the dungeon master. But something isn’t right. Dungeon creatures are always extremely violent and mostly unable to communicate with other species. I think I need a drink.”
I spent a fair amount of time getting him to calm down. Once he wasn’t babbling to himself anymore, I invited him to my house on the other island. He casually accepted and watched everything with a careful eye. Once we were inside my house, we sat at a small table I’d made, complete with a set of chairs. I pulled out the two cups and bottle of wine he’d brought and poured us each a glass. It was delicious. Like drinking sunshine out of a glass. With a hint of alcohol mixed in. I pulled away from the glass giving it an appreciative look mixed with one of bewilderment.
This seemed to draw Thorn back to his senses and he chuckled again.
“It’s made from fire lilies and is one of my favorites. Though it’s a bit expensive. 3 silvers per bottle.”, he said to me, finally calming down after finishing his own glass.
He asked, “Now I get you’re not some crazy monster after looking at all of this, but could you explain so I can understand what's going on?”
So, I told him that I was murdered by my colleagues a while ago and when I woke up, I was in a new body in this forest. Deciding I was going to get revenge I first needed to establish a base of operations and grow my strength. Then we went into the goblin dungeon and the skill I received was one that allowed me to create a dungeon. It wasn’t all a lie and the parts that were extremely close to the truth so I figured that would do.
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He had a look of sorrow on his face for a moment then turned to me and bowed his head giving me an apology.
“Savas”, he said, “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
I gave a warm smile and said, “How could you know? You’re the first person I’ve told. Now let's move on to happier topics. I made something for you. I hope you like it.”
I pulled out the bow and arrows I’d spent the last few days working on. The bow was a recurve bow made from Yew and oak; it was also a bit larger than his last bow. I also inscribed the Plant Growth spell into the bow to keep it supple and to help it repair any damage the bow may sustain. Next were several quivers of arrows. The first quiver was a hardened stone tip arrow each inscribed with Wind Blade. When fired the edge of the broadhead would extend with a blade of wind empowering its damage and cutting power. The next few quivers were filled with hardened stone tip arrows inscribed with Entangle, Death Bloom, Control Winds, and Fire Bolt. Then there were the emerald daggers. Like my scythe I made him daggers of wood and emerald inscribed with Wind Blade and Poison Wind. Each made nearly a short sword in length but not quite as long.
Looking at the equipment I handed him he had stars in his eyes.
He said drooling over the weapons, “I… I can’t accept this. I can't pay you for it. Nor did I do anything to deserve it.”
Prepare for this I replied, “Think of it as a thank you and a bribe. Thanks for helping me out in finding the dungeon and for leading me to your village where I’m now able to trade for supplies. And a bribe to keep my story to yourself. I don’t care if you tell people I’m a dungeon boss or master or whatever. I don’t want people knowing my story, however. Do we have a deal?”
He just shook his head then shook my hand.
“I don’t understand but you have my word. And now that I know how about I help you find dungeons in the future? As long as you bring me along for the ride.”, he said smiling.
I laughed and we spent most of our time drinking the wine he brought. After a while I introduced him to my dungeon defenders. He was surprised how well spoken and polite the goblins were. He even went so far as to say that my dungeon was a nicer place than his village. I thanked him for his kind words, and we ended up heading out of my realm to hunt so he could test his new bow and arrows.
Sobered-up we spent a few hours tracking and hunting deer and horned rabbits. He seemed to like the wind blade arrow and death bloom arrows the best. The flowers that bloomed from the death bloom spell could be used as potions or ingredients to more powerful potions. What's better, as long as he didn’t break the arrow they could be reused. His range more than tripled and I scanned each of the creatures we encountered.
We made our way back to the village and traded in the meat we hunted for, and he split the earnings with me. Which prompted him to remember to pay me for aid in the dungeon. He handed me a small sack of coins thanking me before he headed home to rest. He had hunting duties in the morning. I had some experimenting to do back in my realm remembering one of the prompts I got from a scan.
Walking back, I decided to count the coins he gave me and paused for a moment. He’d given me 30 silver coins. Isn’t that the value of the entire hunt? That sneaky bastard gave me all the money for the hunt. I decided now was a good time to get some more cookware and got some plates, cups, and other utensils as well as a few bottles of that wine Thorn showed me. That stuff was really good, and I didn’t want to miss out on having that around to celebrate on occasion. Then I went to the alchemist shop and asked about buying some seeds for the more common plants used in potion and oil creation. He’d told me that he never kept the seeds and just commissioned the hunters to collect the herbs he needs as most of the plants are common and abundant in the area. I thanked the man for his time and bought a mana potion then headed home. Counting what I had left after splurging I had 17 silver and 45 copper coins left. Not bad. I’m starting to see the value of money. I could pay hunters and gatherers to collect the materials I need simply by paying them to do it for me. I’ll have to ask Thorn about it later on.