We were about seventy skill points from Dom’s next level, and while we had the professions that boosted his health and mana a lot, what we didn’t have were fighting skills. We got up and dressed, and then did most of Mabel’s chores. I wasn’t short of money, but the chores around the tavern and stable really helped to get our professions up even more. We couldn’t clean the guest rooms since several adventurers were still sleeping off their hangovers. Still, we got breakfast and dinner started at the tavern hearth, cleaned the stables, scraped our tanning pigskin, and chopped about a cord of wood.

Skill Learned: Milking

Cleanest +5

Repair +2

Cooking +3

Dodge +1

Flirting +3

Sneak +1

Tanning +1

Teaching +2

Woodworking +2

Exp +190 (16,774/30,755)

Intelligence +3

Will +2

Strength +6

Constitution +2

Charm +4

Perception +2

Dexterity +1

Luck +1

Not bad for a few hours of chores. A nice bonus was that chopping wood gave a meager amount of experience toward Woodworking as a skill and Carpenter as a profession. The carpentry came from splitting the wood and then casting Repair to make some short planks that were rougher than the tavern’s kitchen counters. It wasn’t a lot, but every bit helped. I was more impressed with the Strength boosts.

I think maybe I didn’t mind the chores because Dom made the time go so much faster. Working side by side doing simple chores actually helped us get in sync with the rhythm. Terra had a blast chasing mice. She said they didn’t have a lot of experience, but they were tasty. In my mind, at least for a few hours, I could imagine that we were living the simple life together.

Dom managed to help me cook up a small batch of poison at the cottage just for fun. I didn’t care about Fizzbarren’s new laws against the use of poison. It had very good training uses and I was going to use it. I couldn’t get Cure Poison and Poison Resistance up if I didn’t get poisoned. We were learning to catch the first signs of poison and neutralize it early so it did less damage. We only poisoned each other’s lunch, not the tavern’s meals.

Cure Poison +2

Poison Resistance +4

Exp +60 (16,834/30,755)

Constitution +3

“After lunch, let’s try some sparring,” I suggested as I let my health drop a bit more before curing it. Each bump I let my health go down was a possible point for Poison Resistance.

“That sounds fun." Dom was casting Clean on the counters to burn off some mana we’d built up while cooking. His tone wasn’t enthusiastic, but I knew better. He’d cured his poison before mine.

“Which of us is going to be the tank?” Dom asked.

“I will,” I answered easily, thinking that his build was more suited to the backstab.

“I’ve got to see this,” he challenged me, eyeing my daggers.

“Grab a sword and I’ll show you what I’ve been doing,” I told him. We had a pile of weapons that I had left over from the gnoblin dungeon. I had sold most of it to Chester, but I’d kept just enough for a personal arsenal.

Dom squared up against me, but I could tell he was dubious. That was okay. I could teach him to dance just like I’d done with the gnoblins. I watched him level the sword at me, keeping my eyes on his. I didn’t know how I knew what to do, but I did what felt right. I dropped my center of balance and let him come to me.

Dom took a first swing, halfheartedly. My peripheral vision showed his shoulder drop, and I batted his sword away with my left hand like it was a cat toy. I followed up with my right dagger slicing across his inner forearm.

Disarm +1

Exp +10 (16,844/30,755)

His sword clumped to the ground, and I grinned as his eyes widened a bit. I ducked under his guard and punched my fists into each of his armpits in a move so fast, he didn’t have time to realize I could have cut both of those underarm arteries.

I thought he’d be mad at first and I was ready to get mad right back at him for not taking me seriously, but instead a huge grin split his face. “That was awesome!”

I blinked, letting a slow smile answer him.

“That works in the dungeons?” he asked, casting a Heal at himself.

“Really well,” I admitted, casting my own heal.

I saw him mentally shrug off the sparring conventions of boffers and tournaments. It was like he’d been boxed up all his life and was finally stretching out of the civilized form he’d been forced into in our old world. I knew in that moment that he belonged here. Once we’d made it safer, we’d bring Kat and even my best friend over here, but as a family, this is where we would stay.

“Let’s try that again,” he took the sword back up. “This time don’t play nice. I have plenty of health.”

Sparring was more interesting than even I thought it would be. With all of Dom’s LARPing background, I’d expected him to scoff at my tactics which were all against boffering rules. Instead, he taught me moves that were also against tournament regulations. That’s not to say that we didn’t argue about tactics, but that was just foreplay.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The essence of it was that we learned that we both had enough health to use real daggers and not pull punches. We poisoned the daggers for an extra boost to Constitution, Poison Resistance, and Cure Poison. I knew that we were being far more lethal to each other than the gnoblins would be, so I was satisfied with the practice. Sparring against each other was primal and marvelous, but the game of hide, sneak, and assassinate that Dom came up with was how I knew we’d all survive in our new world.

Skill Learned: Backstab

Skill Learned: Bashing

Skill Learned: Hide

Cure Poison +1

Healer +6

Repair +4

Backstab +7

Barricade +1

Bashing +3

Comedy +1

Disarm +5

Dodge +6

Dual Wielding +4

Flirting +4

Grapple +4

Hide +3

Identify +4

Kick +2

Knife Fighting +8

Manic Charge +1

Meditation +1

Piercing +5

Poison Resistance +4

Slashing +4

Sneak +7

Swordplay +3

Teaching +4

Unarmed Combat +2

Exp +900 (17,744/30,755)

Intelligence +2

Will +5

Strength +1

Constitution +6

Charm +4

Perception +6

Dexterity +7

Luck +8

“Look out,” came Chester’s frantic warning as I was sneaking up on Dom for a backstab.

It startled me enough for Dom to kick back and sweep my feet out from under me. “Thanks, Chester,” Dom called back with a wink to me.

Dom reached out a hand to help me up off the dusty area we’d been sparring in. We’d been playing hide and seek in a way. One of us would sit doing either meditating, leatherworking, or sewing and the other would try to sneak up on them. I’d finally learned that Dom was using the Shhh spell to keep from making the scuffing sound of our boots in the dry dirt and I was going to get him when Chester had called out.

“Yeah,” I drawled sarcastically, “Thanks Chester. We were practicing.”

“Oh, sorry,” Chester asked more than stated.

“It’s okay Chester.” Dom gave a charming smile, more relaxed than I’d seen him in our old world. This world really suited Dom. He practically glowed from what he considered a lovely afternoon of play. I suppose it was, but I harbored a little guilt that I hadn’t done this well with Kat.

Dom gave my shoulder a squeeze and cast a Heal and Clean on himself. Taking the hint, I did the same. We’d also found that now that we had the Merchant profession, we could buy and sell our leatherworking and sewing stuff to each other, so Dom got the Seamstress profession, and we got some more boosts.

“Ding,” Dom whispered in my ear, letting me know that he’d leveled up to five.

“Really?” I was excited because it meant we could finally get out of town and into a real dungeon where I could not only replenish my gold supply, but also level much faster.

“You have a ding on your weapons you want worked out?” Chester misunderstood our shorthand conversation.

“He leveled,” I explained, bouncing on the balls of my feet. I looked up to the sky and sank back on my heels.

“Congratulations,” Chester nodded to Dom.

“It’s not that late,” Dom noticed my look at the sky.

“So, Chester,” I considered the time as I spoke of something that had been on my mind for Chester. “Are there professional mercenaries or adventurers?”

“Adventurers are registered with the Adventurer’s Guild,” Chester answered squinting at the sun to try to see what we were watching. “Mercenaries can be hired in larger cities, I suppose, but I don’t think they have a guild.”

“So maybe I could get the Mercenary profession if I offered to protect the coach on the way to Siff?” I asked, only slightly concerned that I wasn’t registered with the Adventurer’s Guild. I couldn’t do any of that stuff officially until I was in a real town anyway.

“What if I offered to pay you to escort me through the Gnoblin Dungeon?” Dom held up a copper to me.

“I would do that for you,” I nodded, and there it was. Too easy.

Profession Earned: Mercenary

“Would you escort me through the Gnoblin Dungeon for a silver?” I asked Dom.

“I would be honored, m’lady,” Dom replied. I gave a shake of my head at his theatrics.

“What are you doing?” Chester looked between the two of us as if we were quite mad.

“What is your class, Chester?” I asked first, stooping to pick up the awful sewing project Dom had been working on when I’d sneaked up on him.

“I don’t have an adventurer’s class,” Chester admitted, looking down at his feet. “I’m a level four Merchant.”

“So, your profession is Merchant,” I explained, waving the sewing with my hands. “But aren’t you a blacksmith too?”

“True,” he nodded his head. “I’m a level three Blacksmith.”

“And that gives your health a boost to be both, right?” I asked him, then held out the two pieces of fabric that Dom had barely managed to get to hang together. “But take this and do a stitch or two of it.”

“I don’t sew,” Chester pushed the fabric back at me with a frown.

“Just try it,” I pushed it back into his thick-fingered hands.

Chester took the fabric and stabbed the needle through the fabric even worse than Dom had. I corrected only slightly, showing him how the fabric could be folded to let the needle slide through several layers at a time.

Teaching +1

Exp +10 (17,754/30,755)

That’s why.

“Now I will buy that little project from you,” I told Chester, holding out a copper, “for the bargain price of one copper.”

Bartering +1

Exp +10 (17,764/30,755)

“It’s hardly worth that,” Chester shook his head, ready to argue with me.

“Just sell it to her,” Dom smiled at Chester’s odd look.

“Paladins,” I muttered to Dom, who gave a single huff of a chuckle.

“Okay,” Chester handed me the sewing and took my copper.

My Merchant profession leveled, which was why I’d done it. I’d been very close to leveling that one and I’d only needed a little sale to make it happen.

“Hey,” Chester exclaimed. “I have a new profession and it’s increased my health a bit.”

Teaching +1

Exp +10 (17,774/30,755)

My teaching was up at level five. Every level in these professions helped a lot. Now that Dom and I had the Merchant profession, we could buy and sell stuff to each other but it seemed to lessen in efficiency the more we did it with each other. I handed the sewing back to Dom.

“If you’re worried about having sold us something substandard, you could buy it back from me for that same copper,” Dom oozed a charm that baffled me because he hadn’t had it at home. I hadn’t noticed the stats really changing me personally, but it made sense if I could let go of my old perceptions. I was stronger and could do more because of it. Dom was more charming than he’d ever been so it was only natural that he would use it.

“That would only be fair,” Chester handed the copper back to Dom, but didn’t take the sewing stuff. “And it was yours, so you keep it.”

“If you insist,” Dom tucked away the copper and sewing back into his inventory with a smile. I knew that he was happily looking at profession experience.

“Is there enough time to make it through the dungeon tonight?” Dom asked me as Chester headed over to his forge, shaking his head.

“Maybe,” I answered, trying to judge the time of day. “It wasn’t much earlier last time.”

“But we’d have to sleep in the dog bed,” Terra groused, rubbing up against first Dom and then me.

We opted to give ourselves a night of rest before we headed off to the dungeons. I got Dom his singing, dancing, and other entertainment skills and professions that night in the tavern and we were both satisfied that we were as prepped as we could be. Dom and I cooked up a few batches of food for Mabel to serve at the tavern while we were gone, but it was more that Dom was close to leveling his Cook profession.

I finally made a cake, complete with a lovely buttercream frosting that was both almondy and chocolate enough to satisfy even Dom’s sweet tooth. The butter had been made by Lily from the milk we’d gotten from the goats. The chocolate covered any odd goaty flavor.

“I have a gift for you Beryle,” I laid a single piece of decadent cake next to his nightly meal.

“I haven’t got coin for dessert, girl,” he argued at me gruffly.

“Then it’s a good thing it’s already paid for,” I gave him a thump on his slumped shoulder.

Beryle sent me a narrowed look like I was trying to trick him. I couldn’t blame him. I’d practically ignored him this loop. He snatched up his fork and whipped a bite of the cake into his mouth. I held my breath as he chewed slowly and let it out as he closed his eyes in bliss. That was worth it all. I couldn’t explain what I liked about the grumpy old coot, but I knew that bringing him a bit of pleasure once in a while was always worth it.