Apart from some worrying rumbling coming from the door next to his, the night remained peaceful.

He made his way to the local bathhouses and washed away several days worth of travel stench, grateful for the warm waters. His home lacked this kind of amenity and it was quite the luxurious experience.

After that was breakfast, a hearty serving of rashers and eggs. Wash it all down with a crisply cold beer and he was satisfied and ready to take on the day.. Alyss joined him, the alchemist somewhat sleep deprived and sporting several new black smudges upon her coat.

“So,” Ulgrin mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled dinosaur. “I should inform you of the plan. Currently I’m looking for the adventurous sort willing to delve into the depths with me. Mercenaries, wayfarers, and their ilk.”

Alyss hummed sleepily, fork nudging a pile of pudding. “Adventurers, huh? Hmm…” She shrugged. “We could just travel from bar to bar. Maybe the fighting pits? There’d probably be some folk looking to be done with that kind of life but still want to do the whole ‘kick ass for money’ thing.”

“That’s an idea,” he replied. “I’d like someone with mining experience and another who knows their way in the wilds.”

“It’s not going to be hard to find that first type,” Alyss said. “You’re in the mining capital of the world. You can’t walk ten feet without tripping over a pickaxe!” Is she speaking from experience?

He chuckled and shook his head. “That may be true, but I’d prefer someone who has experience in both working and acting as a foreman. Excavations will likely be necessary for any ruins, and knowing the best way to go about that is key. As for a ranger, they’ll need a broad experience as well.”

She snapped a finger. “Maybe we can ask around the husbandry quarter? I know people who tame dinos have to head deep into the wild to get new stock.”

Definitely something to consider.

Picking up his plate, Ulgrin finished shoveling the remnants down his gullet and waited expectantly for Alyss. She blinked before hesitantly doing the same; poorly, almost choking in the process. Humans.

He popped one last citrine into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully before leaving to the bar and leaving their payment for the day.

Being originally a dwarven city, Vunverdern naturally had many bars, saloons, taverns, and pubs. You could hardly go a city block without finding one of some ill-repute. He decided to skip many of these and head directly towards the area around the Miner’s Guild. Despite being a depot hub for storage and smelting, it still had a few prodigious establishments to keep the workplace happy.

Trains shuttled ores from mines, the wheeled metal constructions rumbling by on tracks. Lignite and bituminous coal was demanded in great quantities to feed these massive behemoths and keep the lifeblood of the city flowing. Occasionally one could see more heavily armored variants swarming with guards. Mithral haulers, he surmised.

The network of tracks around the city was ripe for ambushing, and no small amount of vagabonds thought they could make it rich by assaulting one.

Ensuring the city had industrial quantities of mithral was a task well worth the expense of any amount of hired blades.

Eventually the two of them managed to find a sufficiently adequate bar. The Long Worm, a strange name. This early in the morning it was fairly empty considering its main patronage was out mining.

Peeking his head inside Ulgrin found it quiet and calm. Generally one wanted to stay away from the rowdiest bars as that was an invitation to be thrown into a bar brawl. As enjoyable as that might have been, they didn’t have time to waste. TIme was money, after all.

He and Alyss promptly ran into a brick wall of sorts. All of the miners weren’t here right now. Ulgrin bemoaned his lack of common sense and sighed.

“That wasn’t the smartest, huh?” Alyss said smugly. “Even I could have told you that! Aren’t dwarves supposed to know these sorts of things?”

“Quiet,” Ulgrin replied with only a bit of actual heat in his voice. “Some stereotypes just aren’t true. We’re not all born with a pickaxe in hand.” He nursed his pride with a small glass of ale, watching the empty bar. At least their walk hadn’t been pointless, this was good stuff. “I didn’t see you speaking up when we came here.”

“You’re the boss, boss. It wouldn’t be right for me to question your judgment.” She had chosen to drink fruit juice, not quite as much of an alcoholic to consider drinking before noon. Blistershrooms, he remembered. A fruiting species of mushroom that is quite sweet, despite the strange name.

Finishing their drinks, the two party members continued onwards.

The fighting pits of Vunverdern were situated in a poorer quarter.

Several arenas made up the grounds with most of them being sunken into the ground as the word ‘pits’ suggested. Most weren’t that large, only fifty feet at their widest. Meant for smaller battles.

The largest, however, was at least two hundred. It had plenty of seats for people to watch as madmen fought monsters. They would go out and actually capture multi-ton creatures and set them loose into the arena for their warriors to fight. Practically insane, but bloodsport made plenty of money to justify such measures.

While the fights were generally scheduled for the evening, Ulgrin saw most fighters lived in the area and generally just sat around. Several training grounds had been set up for them to hone their skills and he could see them sparring with one another.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Any ideas on how to entice folk?” Ulgrin asked, taking a seat on a bench to watch them train.

“Promises of gold? Riches? That’s what most are here for. Money.” Alyss replied, shrugging. “It’s an easy way to make coins, this lifestyle. That is if you don’t die. Low-level fights aren’t usually deadly, but the big ones? Lotsa blood on the sands.” She furrowed her brow. “Not my cup of tea.” She gave a sheepish smile. “Not that I can come watch. Too expensive, too little time.”

Ulgrin grumbled before embracing his own dwarven pride. “Then I’ll see first hand if any meet my standards.”

“Huh?” The human said, blinking as he waltzed right into the middle of the field. Stares of a dozen figures watched him enter. Some of them were ambiguous, others angered at his arrival. A few? Downright predatory.

Raising his hammer, he called out. “I seek a worthy fighter to join me! Only those who have labored away in the mines should consider. If you’ve worked with a pick and know the trade well then face me. We’ll fight.” He took in a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t about to have his arse kicked. “You can decide then if you want to accompany me to distant lands to search long forgotten ruins. That is my goal.”

Silence met him before a low murmur rang through the crowd. Behind him, Alyss had wisely taken cover to avoid any fallout from such an action. “Good luck, you boneheaded Dunvi!”

Eventually someone stepped forwards. A tall someone. Towering over his dwarven stature, the lizardfolk evoked an image of the great thunderers long since driven away from civilized lands. A crest of long spines emerged from his hunched back. Green scales covered the man’s form, turning to white for his bare chest and belly.

He wore a pale golden scarf and a well-sewn loincloth of many colors. A belt hung from his waist from which a massive dagger; practically a shortsword in Ulgrin’s hands.

Inquisitive yellow reptilian eyes stared at him. “Vaess wonderss who approachesss and requestss a name.” He spoke, accent thick.

“Ulgrin Hoofhome,” he replied far more confidently than he felt. The bastard was at least seven feet tall! Incredibly muscled, too.

“Then… Vaess findss you a worthy opponent.” The lizardfolk nodded before walking over to a dusty circle and beckoning the dwarf to follow. “Rules?”

“No lethal blows. Try not to grievously wound me, though.” He paused to unhook the helmet from his belt and put it on, more certain now that he had metal around his head. “Apart from that? Fairly open. First one to yield is the loser.”

Vaess nodded, retrieving a pair of gloves from a nearby weapon rack. Clawed hands were covered in thick leather to prevent any potential disembowelment. He also replaced his sharp blade with a more blunted one.

Ulgrin did the same, selecting a nice training warhammer and giving it a test swing. Well balanced. A nearby dwarf called out. “Duel is beginning! Clear the field. Fighters ready?” Both of them nodded. “Begin!”

Almost immediately, Ulgrin’s hairs on the back of his neck shot up as he witnessed the lizardfolk charge him. Long, loping steps ate up the distance in mere moments and the reptilian man was upon him.

“Force, Shield!” Ulgrin called, barely managing to evoke a flat plane of force from his hand. A fist met his barrier and he was pushed back several feet. Backlash from the spell triggered no small amount of pain in his head and his supply of mana fell rapidly. Ouch. No more head-on blows if he could help it.

Vaess paused, cursing. “Magesss. Still a worthy fight,” he said, eyeing him. “Good reflexesss.”

“Right,” Ulgrin said with a swallow.

Once again the lizardfolk darted towards him. Two slashes in quick succession were barely deflected. Ulgrin managed to notice as the clawed hand came in that Vaess’ hand reached back while he was distracted and drew the blade with a lightning-fast cut towards his shoulder.

Ulgrin grit his teeth and pulled away, wincing as the dull iron scraped down his pauldron. He was acting too defensively. The lizard had seized the initiative and it was costing him.

Stepping in, he lashed out with his own warhammer and watched as it was backhanded away. This fighter was good.

“Force, Blast!” He called, raising his other hand to prevent a stab. Saezz was pushed back and grunted as the wave washed over him. Not giving up, Ulgrin continued. “Force. Gather. Shapen. Launch!” He only had time for a few darts of magical energy, both because his opponent was already moving back in and also because had to alter the spell to change it to be less lethal.

Blunt-shaped darts were surprisingly hard to make. His mind’s eyes inherently wanted to make the spell as efficient as possible.

Saezz responded in kind by evoking his own magic. He dug his clawed feet into the ground and took up a defensive stance. The lizardfolk’s claws practically glowed to his senses.

One slash. A missile winked out, its containment failing as it had been sheared into pieces.

Two slashes. His second detonated into a blue mist.

Three slashes. Ulgrin blinked as he watched the lizardfolk grab the missile of magic. Then his eyes widened even further as it was thrown back at him! He grit his teeth as the missile punched into his chest, knocking him back. That smarts. Played by my own fiddle. At least his pride hurt more than the bruise upon his flesh.

Right, time to try out some new tricks.

“Water!” He called, experimenting with a new element. Conjuring flame was easy. One merely had to heat up the air until it ignited. Gathering the moisture in the air? Much harder. “Coalesce.” The ball of rapidly flowing liquid formed in his hand as he watched Saezz run at him.

Waiting until the last moment, he raised the orb, “Spray!” It shot droplets everywhere. The lizardfolk winced as the stuff got in his eyes, ruining his charge.

Pressing the advantage, Ulgrin moved in and spun his hammer in a horizontal swing. For a moment he felt an impact and grinned, but then saw that a hand had grabbed his weapon, half-blind as the lizard was. Shaking water like a dog, Saezz looked at the weapon in his hands.

“Do you need thisss?” He asked.

Ulgrin sighed. Then the weapon was torn from his hands and thrown at him. Only a frantic barrier of force managed to deflect it, sending his weapon flying up and over the circle’s edge.

Bereft of his weapon, Ulgirn proved that you couldn’t disarm a mage. “Force, Gather!” He called and magic responded, forming crude implements in his hands. Practically sticks, but stick good. Sometimes you didn’t need much more than a thing to bonk other things with.

Saezz’ eyes widened as he brought up his arms to block, wincing as the two rods smashed into scales.

For a moment Ulgrin thought he had gained the initiative, but that changed when Saezz’ stance switched again. The moment his smacking stick connected with an arm the lizard’s stance changed to that akin of a boxer. His blow was countered, and a solid jab flew past the dwarf’s defenses. Stars flashed in his vision as his head rang, walloped by the fist and rang like a bell. Thank the ancestors for this helmet.

Stumbling back, Ulgrin barely managed to present his rod in front of him and call out. “Extend!” Copying a trick from his main weapon, the weapon of force lengthened instantly. Saezz grunted as the blunt edge hit him in the gut. Then he grabbed the weapon and pulled.

This time, Ulgrin had managed to keep his grip. For all the good that it did him.

A clawed fist grasped onto his head as he lurched forwards. Then he promptly blacked out as he was smashed into the ground. After a moment of confusion he came to.

A blade was pointed at his throat. “Yield?” Saezz asked.

“I yield.” Ulgrin replied, vision swimming.

The lizardfolk smiled happily, sheathing his weapon. “Good, good! You fight well!” He pulled the dwarf to his feet in an instant. “Saezz thinks you are worthy of following. How much do you pay?”

Ulgrin barely managed to keep his stomach from voiding itself, Dunvi constitution coming in strong. “A good amount. Alyss?” He asked, looking for the young human. “Got anything for, hrk, nausea?”

She sighed, approaching and already pulling free a small vial. “At least this proves picking me was the right call. A boneheaded dwarf wouldn't get anywhere without my skills.” Ulgrin graciously accepted and swallowed the foul contents, his head clearing up slowly. Much better.

“Saezz can tell we will all get along jusst fine!” Saezz took that moment to laugh, powerful hand clapping him on the back. Ulgrin choked, spraying the vial all over his poor companion. She yelled in righteous anger. The smell of blasting powder filled the air as her fury was enacted upon.

The battle that followed was not one to be proud of. His ancestors watched in shame.

The second party member has joined! A monk- of sorts.

Lexicon of Words and Terms Used:

Trains - A relatively recent invention, these smog-producing machines run off of coal and help transport goods around the tunnels of Vunverdern. There have been considerations for them to be adopted elsewhere, but the infrastructure just isn't there to support it.

Lizardfolk - Not to be confused with kobolds or dragonborn. They tend to get upset when you do. A race of reptilian people most at home in jungle environments, swamps, and arid zones. Cold blooded unlike their draconic counterparts.