Chapter Three

A Night Time Visitor

"Twice the shize of your fat head, Mick!" Dale threw back his cup and downed a frothy pint of ale. "Sho brilliant it damn near blinded ush! Another pint, Marge!"

The Diver's Den was abuzz with happy conversations and slurring drunks. In one corner of the massive cafeteria, a group of Divers were dancing merrily to a fiddler's tune. In another corner, Divers shuffled cards and rolled dice. Arryn was not sure he had ever seen the place so busy. Be it men or women, veterans or newbies, half a hundred souls shared smiles and tired frowns.

"I tried to pry open The Elevator, I did!" Dale continued, which earned several winces and hoots. "Larger than... larger even than Marge'sh breastsh! Never sheen a core like it!"

"You two was fools," Mick said. The shaggy Diver was only half awake and was very drunk. "Seventeenth floor! Hah! I done bought two caskets for you'z."

Arryn sipped on his own drink slowly. The horrors of the day had disappeared when The Elevator had opened on [Floor 7]. It was one of only three [Safe Floors] in the Beldew Dungeon. The Elevator always appeared in the same place on [Floor 7], and there were no monsters. There were no [Mana Cores] either, but that had not stopped a veritable city from forming around The Elevator.

"Take more than..." Dale held up a hand as he chugged a little bit more ale. "Wash nothing! Not a shingle monshter! Coulda shlept on the Floor! Shoulda never left! But thish little weashel!"

Arryn ducked Dale's drunken grab. A smile was hidden behind the man's bushy red beard, but Arryn suspected that drunken resentment was not far off. Even Arryn was horrified at how many [Mana Cores] their team had left behind.

"Because of that... girl, eh?" a friendly Diver asked. His teeth were crooked, and he refused to look at Arryn. The grizzled man kept a hand over his drink as if Arryn was a [Poisoner]. "Must've been a mimic, eh?"

Arryn shivered at the mention of the young woman. He could still remember her standing in front of The Elevator. She had been so thin and haggard. And the... the [Mana Core] that had glowed behind her. At the time, Arryn had been more than a little delirious. At the time, it had looked so much like... like a massive eye.

"I coulda bashed her head in with my hatchet!" Dale shouted in a drunken roar. "Woulda been a rich man! Wouldn't be in thish dump!"

Several Divers splashed Dale with ale in good humor as he continued his drunken roar. Arryn could not help but smile. While it was always fun to watch Dale make a fool of himself, just being here filled him with delight. They had survived a horror story. They were safe.

Arryn had not told the others about the strangeness with The Elevator. He was not even sure if it had really asked for 99,999 [Blue Cores]. That was impossible, after all.

"Hmm?" Arryn's brow furrowed as he felt someone tug on his shirt. He turned around slowly, expecting a drunken curse, but instead found Alice.

"How drunk are you?" Alice asked with a frown. She did not share in her brother's drunken revelry.

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"About this much," Arryn said, and he breathed heavily on Alice's face. He smiled at the silliness but realized his mistake a moment later.

The closest Divers immediately bolted from their seats. They threw their hands over their mouths as if of one mind. Their eyes bulged half with fear and half with hate.

"Smells like you've had enough," Alice said. She shot an annoyed look at the Divers as they slowly returned to their seats. "I want to sleep."

Arryn glanced over at Dale. The [Miner] was deep in his cup and full of drunken cheer.

"I was getting a little tired, too," Arryn said with a smile.

Alice pulled him from his stool, and the two of them weaved through the many bodies that danced and argued in the busy Diver's Den.

"Awfully noisy today," Alice said, and she yanked her hand away from Arryn's.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Arryn asked with a grin. He reached back out for Alice's hand, but she pulled hers away. "That's the sound of safety."

Alice snorted and cast him a bemused look. The harsh lines of her face seemed to relax, and he wondered if she would let him stay with her tonight. The two of them had an... unusual relationship. Half the time she was ice. Far more than half the time she was ice. But there were moments...

The two of them ascended a makeshift staircase, and some of the noise from the cafeteria deadened. The Diver's Den was the kind of place that was never entirely quiet. Too many Divers were coming in and heading out at every hour of the day for that kind of peace.

"Not tonight," Alice said abruptly as they started down a long hallway. The way was lit with multiple [Lesser Glowglobes]. The floor creaked with every step, and Arryn could hear Divers in the many rooms that flanked the way.

"Might be nice to have someone close," Arryn began. He drew up beside her and remembered the feel of her willowy chest against his back. "After all we went through today, it might be nice."

Arryn's shoulders slumped at the look she offered him.

"I just want to sleep," Alice said, and she came to a stop outside her room. "Tomorrow."

Arryn's chest warmed at the prospect. With luck, her brother would be just as drunk.

"Good night," Arryn said. He leaned forward for a kiss, but she pulled away. He smiled wryly.

Alice waited outside her room expectantly, so Arryn started to rub his thumb and forefinger together. He imagined Alice asleep. He imagined a terrible clangor of noise outside her window, but she was so deeply asleep she did not notice.

"Good night," Alice said, and she breathed in [Sleep Powder]. The purplish-blue powder danced across her tongue and tickled her nostrils.

Arryn was envious of the redhead as she stumbled into her room like a drunk. He wished he could fall asleep as easily as that. He could certainly use the help with just how noisy it was downstairs.

Dale and Arryn's room was right next to Alice's. He clambered in, and the day's exhaustion slapped him across the face. He needed to sleep.

"Tomorrow, huh?" Arryn muttered to himself. He shooed the smile away from his face. Dale had to know. The man joked about holding hands and other nonsense, but he had to know.

Arryn did not expect to see the brother soon, however. He stripped off his sweat-stained layers one by one and basked in the airy comfort of nudity. He plopped down onto the closest bed and sank into its feathers.

"Yeees," Arryn cooed. It was too hot for a blanket. He simply rolled up into a pleasant ball and closed his eyes.

They would be topside tomorrow. They would have a small break from diving. Maybe he would finally talk to Dale about Alice. The conversation was long overdue.

Sleep slowly fell over him...

...and then a drunken riot woke him.

"Damn it..." Arryn muttered. He could not even be sure how long he had been asleep. The noise downstairs was just as loud as before.

He rolled over and found another comfortable spot on the bed. The room was blessedly dark, and the bed was wonderfully soft. He tried to offer himself over to sleep...

...but a loud crash in the bar downstairs was followed by a drunken shout. Which itself was followed by still more bellicose noise.

"I'm never gonna fall asleep..." Arryn muttered as he pushed his face into the bed. "Quiet... I want quiet..."

He rolled over once more and found another comfortable spot. He tried to offer himself over to sleep... and an odd thing happened.

The room around him grew... soft. The noise from downstairs seemed to dissolve like a clump of sugar in hot mead.

All was quiet.

"Finally..." Arryn muttered groggily, and sleep swallowed him whole.