Peering out the carriage, I spotted Bayeux’s walls. Entering the city would be easy in this carriage, but since the guards wouldn’t there for me inside, vagabonds and thieves might follow and ambush me for money… which I indeed had for once.

Not wanting to create more problems for myself I dismissed the carriage, but they insisted I at least kept a few guards to confirm that I made it into Bayeux.

And so, I returned to the city two or so weeks after having left it. Approaching its walls, nothing in its décor had changed. However, its air wasn’t the same, somehow, it reminded me of a time I couldn’t remember. Crossing the city gates, I noticed kids going about buying snacks and treats from street vendors. The shops with open windows displaying fabrics, pendants, and cooking wear—

That’s when it dawned on me. The city hadn’t changed, it was I who was ignoring what I couldn’t touch, but now the gold weighing down my chest had dragged down the curtain which had blinded me for so long.

All I wanted to do now was splurge on a tavern meal and more, but I couldn’t go around using gold coins. Not to mention I had to check and see whether Richard and Isabelle had returned.

I ran off to the dead-ends. I’d come back to wander the shops later.

#

Richard lived on the second floor of an old tannery.

Its walls still stank of whatever products they used to treat leather. This no doubt didn’t help his sister’s condition even though Richard insisted they’d grown accustomed to it.

Knocking at the door, the house’s owner, an old woman and the widow of the tanner stepped out.

“You here for Richard?” She said curtly. She had long curly grey hair and dim black eyes which matched her old scrunched up night gown.

She wasn’t a pleasant person.

“Is he back from the dungeon?” I asked.

“Two days ago.” It was as if talking made her sick, “but he’s not here right now.”

“Like… he’s in town but stepped out?” I asked hoping for the best, but her tone indicated something else.

“No, he went back into the dungeons.”

“Why! And how’s Leia doing? Is Isabelle also with him?” So many questions raced through my mind. Why would he go back to the dungeon if his sister was fine? Did he take on debt to pay for her treatment?

That must be it, nothing else would make sense.

“Look,” said the owner groggily. “I don’t know what’s going on, I just know he went to the macabre dungeon. Go look for him yourself if you have any more questions.” She shut the door close, leaving me confused and shocked at the door.

A classless person couldn’t spend so much time in dungeons. Even if one took a month off, spending more than a week down there was asking for something to happen. Now, to keep going back without even a break… Something was bound to happen.

Running out of the dead-ends, I headed for the city gates.

Even if someone went to the best healer, you couldn’t go back to the dungeon right after returning, the mental fatigue couldn’t be cured without a good night’s sleep. So, if Richard returned two days ago, he must have left yesterday.

If I ran, I might make it in time. I should have put my stat points into endurance instead of mana. But couldn’t I run after the caravan and ask them to bring me there?

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Running out of Bayeux, I followed the path, we’d taken to get here, and soon caught up with the caravan. “Wait! Wait! It’s me, Gregoire from earlier!” I yelled.

The carriage came to a stop and the guards looked back.

“I…” I was already out of breath. “I need you guys to take me to the macabre dungeon.”

The driver and leader of the escort’s head popped out from the front of the carriage. His head was hidden by an extravagantly large black hat. “I’m sorry, but we’ve already completed our job, we are no longer at your disposal.” He was an old man, even though his hat covered all his body from the shade, his skin was wrinkled as one would expect from a driver.

“My friend is in danger; I just need this one favour.” I pleaded. The longer I thought about it, the more obvious the situation became. Richard must have loaned money from the Triste group to pay for the cathedral healer before it was too late. It was well known that only gamblers the dying were stupid enough to borrow from them. But no one else would borrow money to a dead-end adventurer. The only reason why they were left to stay was that they never committed any crimes big enough to justify the lord intervening.

“I would if I could, but—”

“Look!” A guard cut the driver off. Their attitude resembled mercenaries more than guards. “We don’t wanna spend all our time walking around or talking, especially for free. Give us ten golds and we’ll go.”

“What? Who has ten golds, and just to go to the macabre dungeon?” We’d get there tonight at the slowest.

“Fine! You ain’t got ten, but I saw you got five.”

“You know I can’t do that!”

“Then you aren’t getting to the macabre dungeon.” He shrugged.

I looked around for the driver, he seemed like a decent person, but was he was gone and the carriage started to move down the path to Rouen.

Why was everyone such assholes? “FUCK! I’ll get there myself!” I yelled at the now distant carriage. I wanted to throw everything to the ground and watch the world burn. Everything was fucked. The people, their lives, the everything, and I wondered if life was even worth living, but I had to. At least for Isabelle, Richard, and his sister, the people who helped me get to my feet. I’d do anything for them because they were the only ones who did anything for me.

And so, I ran to the macabre dungeon with all I had.

#

When the sun set, I collapsed to the ground, my knees plunging into a pile of mud, and I held back puke. I couldn’t believe I’d just run for half a day. My chest was on fire, and I didn’t want to think about the state of my feet. Falling over on a thick patch of grass, I closed my eyes, my hands on my face, trying to stop sweat from dripping into my eyes. It didn’t help, my eyes burned. And even though it is night, I couldn’t help burying myself into the tall grass to try and get more shade, more cold. Of course it didn’t help, only time and—sleep could help.

Thankfully, I eventually started to feel like myself again. Barely managing to sit up, I rummaged through my bag for a piece of dried jerky. Eating it like a famished dog, it didn’t take me long for it to disappear and me to take out another.

Drinking from my water skin, I wondered if maybe I’d arrived before Richard. If I intercepted at least we could head into the dungeon together, not to mention… It would let me take a nap, screw the wolves and any other beasts which might wander out of the dungeon. If they get me, they get me, for now…

I tried to keep my eyes open…but the mellow night’s breeze…killed my strength to stand up—

#

I woke up a quiet moon who stalked me through the treeline. Its brilliance was something else tonight, something ominous, yet calming. But before I could get lost in its silver lustre, the howl of wolves reverberated through the night. Getting up all cramped up, I checked my surroundings for beasts—wait, what was I doing in the forest?

Shit—

Richard. The macabre dungeon.

I couldn’t believe I fell asleep; at least it shouldn’t have been more than a few hours since I’d gotten here. Regardless, I needed to hurry.

Searching around the feet of the nearby trees, I soon found a hole barely big enough for me to fit in. But to make sure I wasn’t jumping in the wrong hole I pushed aside the dead leaves surrounding the entrance and peered inside. A small red light flickered in its depths; I’d found one. The macabre dungeon had multiple entrances which came together on the fifth floor, one of the two safe floors it had.

Never having entered a dungeon alone, my heart threatened to burst out of my chest. What was I doing? If I thought Richard and Isabelle wouldn’t be fine, what made me think I’d do any better alone. Still, I had to help them and hope they would be fine. It couldn’t have been more than a day since they’d been down there. We always took a day and a half off when we got to a safe zone so I should just get there when they’d be preparing to delve deeper. I just had to be quick. If I just ran through the floors, it should be fine.

Sitting at the edge of the hole, I crossed my arms over my chest, closed my eyes, let my ass slide over the edge, and fell.