Exill woke first to find the lamp had extinguished itself and Luna resting her head again his arms. Her blonde hair was splayed out against the worn floorboards, and her soft lips were parted in gentle slumber. His heart trembled at the sight and threatened to overwhelm him.
He closed the tome they had studied from, and as much as he wanted to let her sleep, gently shook her awake, “Luna, it’s morning and you need to return to your room.”
“Haah!?” she exclaimed, surprised to find Exill in her bed.
“Shh… you need to return to your room before Savta wakes up!” he whispered urgently.
Luna looked around in confusion then stumbled up, panicking at the sight of dawning sunlight through the rafters. She grabbed the tome and was climbing down the ladder when at that opportune moment, Nana stepped out of her room.
Their gazes locked in disbelief, and no one said a word. A small malicious smile crept up Savta’s lips as she absorbed her granddaughters dishevelled look and the tome in her hands. She opened her mouth to make a snide comment when Luna broke the silence first:
“Nana, No! Don’t you dare say it! It is not what you think! I was teaching him herbal recipes when I fell asleep. If you bring this up ever again I swear! I…” Unable to make a credible threat, Luna stormed off into her room and slammed the door shut.
Savta went about her normal morning routine, cackling as she thought up more inventive ways to torment them. Meanwhile, Exill tiptoed back to bed, wondering how he could leave the clinic without getting caught.
***
Breakfast was quiet and subdued.
No one wanted to talk, and Nana enjoyed the tense and worried glances the two younglings threw at each other. She was a master of the human psyche and knew that saying nothing, was sometimes scarier than saying anything at all. As they finished their meal and were about to get up, Savta finally struck.
“I forbid you from seeing Exill late at night.” Savta said sternly, a carefully crafted disappointed look on her face. Inwardly, she was overjoyed to see the shock on Luna’s face. ‘Oh, my poor granddaughter hadn’t expected this at all!’
“We were just studying, there’s no need to forbid anything.” Luna was obviously trying to contain her affront at being treated like a child.
The old healer was a master of the human condition, and she knew how enticing the forbidden fruit was. She herself had married her elf husband despite her parents opposing it. Luna just needed a little push into leashing Exill before he did anything stupid with a patient.
“Hmph, it is not up for discussion, anyway Exill, you said you would be visiting the Guild and the Labyrinth? Take good care of yourself and come back safe.” Savta cleared her throat and made her way downstairs. The final bomb had been dropped and she didn’t want to be near the fallout.
“You’re going to the Labyrinth? Why are you putting yourself in harm’s way, aren’t you earning enough already?” Luna accosted him, her face twisted in worry.
“This… is not about money. I need something from the Labyrinth and I’m afraid I’m falling out of practice.” Exill picked up the armour bundle and spear that had been hidden around a corner. This had all been prepared the night before after informing Savta of his intentions… because he wanted to avoid this exact confrontation that had occurred many times before.
Luna’s lips parted in silent surprise as she saw Exill retrieve the stashed equipment, and there was a moments pause as she took control of her emotions.
“Then come back safe…” Luna bade him farewell. It was possible she had realized that sending him off knowingly was preferable to finding out he had left without a word.
Exill’s eyes briefly widened as he was thrown off by her unexpected acceptance but nodded in response. He wasn’t sure what had brought about her change of heart but was glad she wasn’t holding him back. Feeling guilt prick at his heart, he turned back once to catch a glimpse of his worried friend, clutching at her heart.
Setting out into the morning sunlight, his first destination was the Guild. There was a bounty to place on information leading to Verill. It had been nearly three months since the end of the war and most veterans had returned from the front. He had braced himself for the worst but needed closure, and that is how he found himself In the Guild, standing in line for the bounties and missions.
“Ah, Witchdoctor Exill, it is good to see you. Iris had been asking for you, but she is due in the afternoon.” Marco, the male guild clerk greeted him with a friendly smile.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Thanks Marco, but I’m not here for guild business, I’m here to place a bounty. I need information on a Verill of Draughton, male, age 24, a ranger in the second battalion last heard on the Seaford front.”
“My condolences. We have many such requests these days and have a robust channel in the military. I can process it for you for 500 Denars.”
Exill inwardly grimaced but handed the clerk five silver coins.
“Would that be all? Would you like to leave a message for Iris?”
“No, I will see her in the afternoon, but have you seen Grundle around by any chance?”
“Your former partner? I’ve seen him around with a rookie beastkin, but they’re usually active in the afternoon.” Marco smiled apologetically at the hidden implications of this statement.
‘Ah, I guess he’s been assigned to someone else.’ Exill thought after thanking Marco and leaving the Guild. This was to be expected as he had a full time job now. It wasn’t as if the gruff mercenary could sit around, just waiting for him to return. The bad news was that he would be alone in future delves, and it would be that much riskier.
Standing in line for the Labyrinth, he nodded to several familiar stall owners and was quickly waved through by the guards. He was surprised they were still not charging for entry, but apparently something had concerned the Oracle about the state of the Labyrinth, and the Military was keen to incentivize its suppression.
This had led to an interesting behavioural change for most delvers. Before the war, when it cost five Denars for entry, mercenaries would delve harder and deeper to recoup some of these costs. Now, they were free to take shorter, more frequent delves that were less risky overall.
He stood in the cool shade of the inner tower, the sound of quiet conversations echoing within. The scrap leather armour had seen better days at this point, and he needed to double check the straps. The outfit was completed with his trademark gloves and apron cape for a massive x64 bonus EXP.
Doing the math, he discovered that twenty years’ worth of experience could be condensed in under four months of training with this loadout. The plan was to level up the following jobs:
Profession Level Warrior 23 Hunter 22 Spearman 5 Ranger 5 Planeswalker 8 Witchdoctor 8 Mathematician 12
Exill had run out of new equations to easily raise [Mathematician] and the others were self-explanatory. Happy with the preparations, he stepped into the inky black portal. He travelled through the first cavern and through a long passageway, finally peeking around the corner to spot a couple Bone Vultures pecking at the ground.
‘There are only two of them.’ He mentally made a note of their number, realising that although it was seemingly random at times, it trended slightly upwards depending on the number of people in your party and how deep you delved. It warranted further study, but supported the conclusion that it was unsafe to delve alone.
These skeletal birds were difficult to take down and their bony talons could easily carve into unprotected flesh. Their bones contained dense undead energy and could be sold as is, or processed into bonemeal and sold for more.
Exill licked his lips in anticipation. ‘I can do this. Just like riding a bicycle.’ He lowered his spear and unslung the bow, drawing it tight. The arrow was aimed at the head of the furthest bone vulture and let loose.
Before the arrow even struck, he had switched to his spear and charged at the nearest bone vulture, impaling, and running it into the ground. Next, he withdrew his spear and the vulture’s skull was crushed under a heavy stomp. Exhilarated, he turned to face the last remaining monster. Its skull was cracked from the arrow, and a malevolent red glow emanated from the eye sockets.
The vulture flew at him, wings outstretched, and talons curved forward. Exill tried to dodge but stumbled as his foot caught on the ribs of first vulture. In an attempt to fend the monster off, he stretched out his arms, but it gripped hard, piercing through the armguards and drawing blood. He began to panic as he struggled to shake the bird off and it dug deeper into his arm. The spear was useless at this range and in a last desperate bid, he dropped the weapon and started punching the vulture, pummelling it into the ground until the red glow in its eyes subsided.
[Ping!]
Job Monk Level 1 Description Melee Combat - Tier II Passive Buff Increased Damage Resist (scales with level).
‘Damnit, maybe I am out of practice… how am I going to explain these wounds to Luna?’ Exill staunched the bleeding in his forearm and looked down at what was left of his gloves. They had finally given up the ghost, lowering his potential experience gain from 64x to 32x. He collected the shattered bone fragments from the vultures and stumbled out of the Labyrinth.
‘Damn! This is what I get for delving alone… how am I going to conceal this from Luna?’ he thought apprehensively.