Voren cocked his head to the side as he caught the sound of voices coming up the stairs.

"Your loved ones sleep safely in bed because rough Adventurers stand strong on the wall, ready to do violence on their behalf!"

"If you learn nothing else, learn this; being an Adventurer isn't glamorous, and if you're a good one, the only excitement you'll experience is the terror of a wave or a tide," Voren heard Bob bellow.

"Now get up those steps and loosen those pouches, the King and Church we pay out of duty, our friend Voren we pay out of respect!" Voren allowed a brief smile to flash across his face.

Four armor-clad teenagers stumbled up the steps and came to a halt in front of him, with Bob striding confidently, if tiredly, behind.

Hands fumbled in pouches before producing mana crystals as each duly recited their total accumulation and then handed him the King's tax, a five percent tithe to the Church, and then four crystals each to him, before they turned and each handed five more to Bob.

They shuffled out of the room, leaving Bob with a handful of crystals from which he took half and handed them over.

"Four for the king, two for the Church, and four for you," Bob said as he succumbed to a massive yawn.

"As much as it is appreciated," Voren stated, "you are aware that there is no official tithe to the Church?"

Bob shrugged and managed to fight back another yawn successfully.

"Personal policy of mine," he replied, "I made sure the kids knew it was my rule, not an actual law, but while they delve under my protection, they'll do their part to keep the Chruch ready for when the clergy needs to step forward and heal any unlucky or foolish Adventurers who are injured in wave or tide."

"Thank you for watching over the Dungeon," Bob said, giving Voren a deep nod of his head, "never doubt that it is noticed and appreciated."

Bob started to yawn again, and his cat reached over and tapped his nose with one massive paw.

Voren restrained a snort of amusement.

"I suggest you grab a few hours of sleep," he said, "as you're due back to delve again in eight hours."

Bob nodded and gave him a half-wave before settling his hand on his cat and rubbing its ears as he started talking to it.

"Yes, yes, we'll get lunch first, buddy," Bob said to his familiar, followed by, "yes, fresh fish for the most handsome kitty in the world."

The man's voice trailed off, indistinct as he walked down the hallway, and Voren didn't restrain his smile.

Despite what many thought, he wasn't a zealot, and while he was certain of Vi'Radia's primacy amongst the Gods, it was clear from his interactions with his cat that Bob was a follower of one of the nature deities, possibly Oren, the God of the hunt.

He wasn't deeply familiar with Oren's tenents, but the reverence of predators was one of the well-known ones and the way Bob treated his familiar certainly fell in line with that practice.

He'd share that insight with Annisa this evening.

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Bob grimaced and took a step back into the Church's doorway as he tightened his cloak.

The wind rushing up the street from the Harbor was bitterly cold and held the promise of rain.

Or, he mused, given the temperature, snow.

Bob stepped back out, secure against the wind, and took a few steps towards the Adventurers Guild before he was waylaid by Nora.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about my path?" Nora asked both quickly and hopefully.

Bob sighed and motioned her towards the Adventurers Guild.

The kids had asked him if they could use some of the crystals to buy the weapons they'd need for the paths, in accordance with rule five, before taking their first level.

He'd agreed to it, and the kids had promised they'd take their first levels before tomorrow morning.

He ought to have figured that Nora would need a little guidance.

He entered the Guild with Nora by his side and approached Jakob, who was just sitting down behind his desk, looking like a man who had just enjoyed his lunch and found it satisfying.

"Bob," Jakob greeted him with a smile, "lunch then bed, right?" he asked with a smile.

"Absolutely," Bob agreed, "but this one," he jerked a thumb at Nora, "needs some advice, and I figure dispensing it over lunch is likely the quickest method."

Jakob nodded and pulled out a ledger, making a mark in it before gesturing towards the servant's door.

"Aside from your Shepherding, I don't have anything for you tonight, so I'll see you tomorrow morning," Jakob said.

Bob smiled wearily and nodded as he turned and headed into the tavern.

Nora followed, and together they took a seat at a table where Bob slid Monroe off his shoulders and into a chair next to him.

Sally bounced up to the table with a smile and reached down to scratch Monroe's ruff.

"A nice big bowl of fresh cod for you, handsome," she cooed at the big cat, who responded by starting to purr and catching her hand with his paw as she went to remove it, pulling it back down for a nuzzle.

"Oh, he's just too much," Sally sighed as she rubbed the top of Monroe's head.

"Whatever's hot," Bob said wearily, "and something for the kid," he slid three mana crystals over to Sally.

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"I'll have the same," Nora said quietly.

Sally nodded, deftly freed her hand from Monroe, and headed towards the kitchen.

"So," Bob turned his head to look at Nora, "you wanted to talk about your path?"

"I'd like to be an arcane spellcaster," Nora said, "specializing in dealing damage."

She rushed ahead, "The others have asked me to join them as an Adventuring group once we become real Adventurers, and that fits really well with both what I think I'd like to do and what the group needs as well," she finished.

"Choose an element," Bob said quietly, "take Conjuration, Blast, Aura, Enhancement, and Backlash, all of them using the same element, and you can choose to be a Lightning, Acid, Fire, Ice, or Eldritch Savant, which is a pretty potent path, although it restricts you from using any other elemental Conjuration spells."

"And remember," Bob continued, "if you ever decide you want or need a change, it's only a couple hundred crystals to reincarnate."

"Reincarnate?" Nora asked.

Bob sighed and was about to respond when their food arrived, borne by an exuberant Sally, who took the opportunity to give Monroe a quick pet.

After a few bites, he replied, "Reincarnation is a ritual that drops you back to level zero, clearing your path and skills, as well as resetting your age to eighteen or so," Bob said, "for two hundred mana crystals, at least where I'm from, you can start fresh."

"So if I don't like my path, I can change it," Nora said softly.

Bob nodded before adding, "Just keep in mind that you'll need a sizeable number of mana crystals on hand to level back up and pay for your living expenses in the meantime."

"Is it nice, the place your from?" Nora asked hesitantly.

"It is," Bob allowed with a slight smile, "and at some point, I'll tell the lot of you about it, but at the moment, I've been on my feet for nearly eighteen hours, and I really need some sleep."

"Of course," Nora said, "I'll see you tomorrow morning, and... thanks," she finished as she stood up and hurried out of the tavern.

Bob finished eating methodically, his mind intent on his bed.

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Bob woke up at seven pm; his System generated alarm bringing him smoothly to consciousness.

He rolled his neck carefully and shrugged his shoulders a few times before slowly removing his legs from underneath Monroe as smoothly as possible so as to not disturb his imperial majesty.

Bob slipped into the shower and quickly scrubbed himself clean, focusing on the task at hand rather than allowing his thoughts to drift.

As he emerged, he found Monroe sitting in the sink. The big cat let out a plaintive mereow as his human emerged, letting Bob know that Monroe was hungry and that this situation was entirely unsatisfactory.

Bob equipped his armor with a thought and picked up the big Maine-coon, sliding him into place on the Makres with a series of familiar clicks.

"Time for dinner, buddy," he commiserated as he scratched the feline of mass consumption under the chin, firing up Monroe's purr motor.

Bob headed out of his room and down to the tavern, catching Shelly's eye and giving her a wave as he took a seat at a vacant table.

It was another glaring difference between Harbordeep and Holmstead. The tavern in the Guild at Holmstead was rarely overflowing but often crowded.

Harbordeep's tavern was rarely half full, or at least the servant's tavern wasn't.

Bob slid Monroe onto the table, where he sat primly, eyes focused on the kitchen doors, tail swishing slightly.

Shelly emerged with a pair of bowls on her tray, and Bob grinned as Monroe tracked her with his eyes, licking his chops.

"I have a lovely roast and vegetables for you, Bob," Shelly said as she sat his bowl in front of him before depositing a small plate of sliced bread next to it.

"And for our mighty hunter," she said as she placed a serving bowl in front of Monroe, "we managed to find some fresh cod for you."

She reached down and rubbed Monroe's ruff as the economy-sized cat started to dig into his bowl.

"Thank you," Bob said to Shelly, "he absolutely loves fresh fish."

"And he deserves it," Shelly cooed as she rubbed Monroe's neck before standing and shooting him a smile before bouncing back into the kitchen.

Bob was digging into his meal when a shadow stretched over his table.

Looking up, he saw Zoey standing there with a smile on her face and a slip of paper in her hand.

"I have a message from Jakob," She said as she gestured towards the chair across from Bob, "mind if I sit down and give Monroe a pet?"

"Be my guest," Bob said as he took the paper she was offering.

Open slot tonight, midnight through three am on the twenty-sixth floor.

- Jakob.

Bob smiled as he slid the message into this satchel.

"Good news?" Zoey asked as she slowly stroked Monroe from ears to tail.

"Open slot to delve alone," Bob said, "it's important that I log in some solo delves as part of my curator training," he finished.

Which wasn't entirely untrue.

"How is the Shepherding going?" Zoey asked.

"They showed up without weapons," Bob replied with a shake of his head.

Zoey snickered.

"It's like they didn't think that they'd need something to kill the monsters with other than their bare hands," Bob grumbled.

"If their parents aren't Adventurers," Zoey said, "it's unlikely that they know anyone who has ever been in the Dungeon."

Bob sighed and mopped up the rest of his stew with his bread.

"Things are different in Holmstead," Bob said quietly.

"I hear that a lot," Zoey said sympathetically.

"Could you ask Jakob to meet me for lunch around noon?" Bob asked as he stacked his plate and bowl inside of Monroe's.

"Sure thing," Zoey said agreeably, "I'm guessing you're off to shepherd the other batch?"

"I am," he said, "which means I'll need to steal my cat back," he motioned towards Monroe, who was sprawled out on the table enjoying the long slow pets Zoey had been delivering.

Zoey nodded and gave Monroe a final ruff rub before standing up and smiling at Bob as she said, "I have to make room in my path for a familiar."

Bob slid Monroe onto the Makres and responded, "I wouldn't give him up for the world," before smiling and heading out of the servant's tavern.

----------------------------------------

Stepping into the Under Cathedral, Bob was pleased to see that his freshers had obtained armor and clubs of their own.

His morning group had asked to be allowed to put off taking their first level in order to purchase the equipment they'd be using once they had skills in order to get used to it.

Bob had agreed for two reasons.

First, he was happy to see that they were taking his rules to heart.

Second, he was considering that as quickly as he'd managed to gather the first Elemental Affinity Crystal, he might just offer to take the freshers to Holmstead to finish their training. They could take better paths there, and Holmstead was just a better environment for young Adventurers, at least in his mind.

"Good evening Annisa, Voren," he said brightly as he approached.

"And good evening to you," Annisa replied, "you look much more awake than you did this morning."

"Benefits of a solid six hours of sleep," Bob said wryly before addressing Voren.

"I should be down for taking them down to the first floor of the Dungeon from eight until midnight, then from midnight until three am on my own on the twenty-sixth floor?" Bob asked.

"You are," Voren said with a nod, flipping open his ledger and marking Bob's delves down before handing it over to Annisa, who accepted it with a nod.

"Well then, we should get started," Bob said with a smile, gesturing to the freshers to precede him down the stairs, "I'll see you in a few hours, Annisa, Voren, have a good night," he called as headed down himself.

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Bob woke up the following morning feeling much better than he had the previous. He attributed that fact to the four hours of sleep he'd managed between finishing his solo delve on the twenty-sixth floor and his scheduled shepherding duties.

He swung his legs off the edge of the bed and sat up, noting that Monroe was curled up alongside his pillow on the far side of the bed.

Standing up, he stretched, then headed for the shower smiling as he went.

He'd found another Elemental Fire Affinity Crystal last night, and as far as he was concerned, he was done with the twenty-sixth floor of the Dungeon in Harbordeep.

Bob was planning to ask Jakob to find him a slot on the twenty-seventh floor for a solo run.

Given that the twenty-sixth was so busy because people came here to tier up, he hoped the next three floors would have more open schedules.

Bob finished his morning ablutions and scooped up his kitty before heading out the door.

It was a brand new day, full of the promise of a hearty breakfast, freshers to shepherd, and hopefully a delve on the twenty-seventh floor for an Elemental Earth Affinity Crystal to schedule.