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So things went off the trail a bit a few hours after midday as Molly pulled up on her motorcycle and was approached on the street by a nearly grown young man.

At first, the healer reacted with a welcoming look that quickly grew weary. Then I recognized the nervous man talking to her as Ernesto. One of the two young miners who had broken into Iris's home and had fled after the old woman tried to feed them to the squirrels.

Which since he is considered a child in this world until he is eighteen meant that by entering a dungeon he now has a class earlier than others his age and that he knew about me. Which means he can extort Iris and possibly reveal my existence to a world that is now very nervous about Dungeons.

Wonderful. At least if I can get him inside and get Iris and Molly to go for a little walk I can get rid of him, his corpse, and all of the blood pretty easily.

Molly finished talking to him and let herself in the unlocked front door. Her near daily visits had resulted in the old woman unlocking the door in the morning when she remembered and felt like doing so.

“Iris! We got a situation.”

The old woman wandered out and glanced out the window to see Ernesto standing out in the street, just off the edge of the cement embankment on the front of her property.

“Alright, what game is the little bastard playing at?”

Molly set her bag down and leaned against the front room's wall. "He said he knows about the dungeon and swears he won't tell anyone about it even if we turn him down, since screwing you over doesn't help him. But he is willing to go first and take all the hits, and give you first choice of anything he finds if you let him join our trips into the dungeon. Or give him access on his own.’

Iris held up one finger on her upraised fist toward the front window, then pulled on a string that let down a flimsy slatted barrier over the glass.

The healer tilted her head to one side. “I’ll take that as a no?”

Iris humphed. "Little brat broke into my house and laid hands on me. That's assault. And the courts let him out just because he's under eighteen, and his brain isn't fully formed or something. What a great idea. He commits a crime which shows his half grown brain makes him a proven danger, so let him loose to do it again instead of locking him up in a cage until he isn't a danger. Sure, that’ll work.”

Molly started to speak, then stopped herself while she thought over what she wanted to say. "I understand the reasons for what you are saying, and that a better solution isn't happening. But there should be a better way to handle kids making bad choices than throwing them into hell and having them come out as even worse adults.”

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The old woman stared at her with a look of doubt.

The healer continued. “It's my choice to bear the risk of a kid like him coming after me one day if it means he has a chance to grow up and become a better person. But I also respect that you would put your safety over that of someone who has proven that they can't be trusted with unsupervised access to other people.

She half held her hands up in front of her. "I also understand we are never going to agree on this, so arguing about it is only going to get us both upset. Your house, your dungeon, your rules. But please don’t vent your frustrations to me about something you know I don’t agree with you on.”

Iris let out a breath and forced herself to relax. “So… do you have an opinion about letting him join us as well?” She crossed her arms and gave Molly a suspicious look.

The healer quickly shook her head. “Oh hell, no! He broke into your house. You don’t owe him any forgiveness or any help. Not on a personal level. He’s society's and his family’s problem to fix, not someone he committed a crime against.”

She crossed her arms again. “Besides, I’m not splitting our expees four ways.”

Iris smiled a little. "Still disagree with the no jail part, but I can live with you having your own beliefs and agreeing to not talk about it. Let’s get to work.”

The two of them got dressed in their steel toed boots and furry hats with the bird shielding cloths. Then grabbed the bricks which they had broken in half since half of a brick was more than enough to stun or knock down a small furry animal. They were also easier to carry and throw.

Heading down the steps the three of them stopped on the landing to look for any surprises in the squirrel room and spotted the lettering carved into the wall of the top landing to the stairway on the opposite side.

"SECOND FLOOR" with "Now open." below it. I had even added a helpful little line below that curved down at the end with an arrow point on it pointing down the steps.

Both of the women stood there for a moment before Iris spook up. “Hey Molly. Do you think you can catch up with that young man that just needs a chance to do better?”

The healer turned her head to glare at the old woman, then paused. “That is so wrong, but he did volunteer." She bit her lip. "This is a whole new world. It doesn't really feel like child endangerment...”

Outside the young miner had been alternating between standing in one spot and glaring at the house with his fists clenched, and then pacing back and forth out in the street looking around nervously. As the two adventures below came to a decision, he finally turned to look down the street and began walking that way with his shoulders slumped and his head down.

The door to the house slowly opened.

Which he completely missed. Kelvin peeked around to the door and huffed as the young man continued down the street. So my champion ran around the door and kicked the metal bottom of the lighter flimsier door that the people here put in front of their real doors.

I had no clue why, it wasn't as if anyone would be delayed for more than a few seconds from breaking through them. That would be barely enough time to close and secure the real door. That seemed pretty chancy to me.

Ernesto turned at the sharp bang and saw the door standing open, he slowly walked back until he had moved over far enough in front of the house to look in through the outer door.

“You were brave to come back to this house boy. But are you determined?”

He jumped back with a yelp as Kelvin stood up on his toes to get most of his head above the metal bottom of the lesser door and up high enough to be seen through the glass part.

As the young man stood there, breathing heavily with wide eyes. Kelvin lifted one hand and beckoned him with a finger towards the house.

Ernesto took half a step back, then got a determined look on his face.

Which is when Kelvin ran off just before Molly finished her climb up three floors of steps and saw the open door. She walked over and look out at the young man.

Pushing the lesser door open, she called out. “Get in here. We’re going to have a talk.”