“Most dungeons are simple monster lairs, large caves that have become inhabited by the strongest being in the area. They provide their own ecological niche in that they keep all other monster populations in check.”— Dungeoneering: An Adventurer’s Guide

Firestone, the Territories of Rielle. Day 02.

Saiph had always been an early riser, even on very little sleep. The issue was, once awake, no force in the universe would let him fall back asleep no matter how tired he was upon waking. Though “awake” and “functioning” were two very different things. As he took a seat at the bar, he desperately wished for a flat white to appear in his hands.

As if reading his thoughts, Sylas set a steaming hot drink in front of Saiph. Though it shared its color with coffee, it certainly wasn’t it. The flavor was something of a mix between chocolate and hazelnut and it definitely did the job of knocking the grogginess away. Feeling more alert, Saiph took another, larger sip.

He set the cup down. “What is this and where can I get more?”

“That good, eh?” The old bartender gave a laugh. “It’s Maerie’s family recipe. Unfortunately I can’t share it, but you’re always welcome to more.”

“I think you may have just made a customer for life.” Saiph took another sip and remembered his conversation with Nix and Rose the previous night. “Is there a blacksmith in town willing to let us use their forge?”

“For your gear, I can’t recommend anyone else but Eric. He’s the best in all of Rielle’s territories. His forge is beyond the town’s walls to the southeast. Though I should warn you, he can be a bit… difficult… to work with.”

Sylas turned to assist another patron, leaving Saiph to sip on his drink and wonder about the implications of those ominous words.

Nix sat down beside Saiph a moment later. He gave a noncommittal grunt when Saiph told him of the forge.

“Try this, it’ll wake you up.” Saiph slid his drink in front of Nix.

Nix sniffed it, then took a sip, and his eyes brightened. “Whatever’s in that, it’s really good.”

Nix took another, longer drink, nearly draining the cup to Saiph’s dissatisfaction. Fortunately, Sylas brought over another.

Saiph stared at his cup in silence for a long moment. Finally, he turned to Nix. “About last night…”

“You don't even need to ask, I'm going with you to your old guild castle,” Nix cut Saiph off.

“No, not that. I mean, thank you, but I was talking about the two guards. I just wanted to make sure you were good.”

“No, I’m not good.” Nix said quietly. He glanced around the room, then looked back at Saiph and sighed. “I couldn't sleep, kept having nightmares. It just kept replaying over and over.”

“When Riley died in that car accident, thr accident was all I could think about. The sight of it. Of her… It was burned into my mind. I blamed myself. Told myself I should have paid more attention to the road, seen the drunk driver. But I’ve learned and accepted that it was the driver’s fault for deciding to drink. That didn’t help the pain go away, but it helped me to stop blaming myself. Time and surrounding myself with good friends has helped keep the pain and nightmares at bay. Mikel reminded me that last night. And I wanted to make sure you knew that what happened to them wasn’t your fault.”

“Thanks, Isaac. I needed that.” Nix dabbed at his eyes with his shirt. “I'll be fine. Don't worry about me.”

“Good. I can’t have my support freezing up like that in the future,” Saiph clapped Nix on the back.

“Oh, no! You’re my support. You meat shield for me!” Nix said with a laugh.

Saiph downed the last of his drink. “Why don’t we distract ourselves by getting rid of that huntsman’s nest?”

***

The lake appeared a lot more friendly during the day than it did at night, but the remains of the previous night’s carnage still showed in the tipped over carriage with its spilled contents. Saiph hopped down from the earth drake Nix had summoned for him and Nix hopped down from Ridley. They both had been unable to keep up with Rose and her wyvern, though Ridley had given a good chase.

“So what's the plan? We just start swimming around until we find something awful?” Nix asked.

“I was thinking you could magic up a solution with that fancy book of yours.” Saiph replied.

“This whole magic thing is going to take a lot of getting used to.” Nix made a show of opening his cloak and grabbing his grimoire from his belt.

He opened the grimoire to a random page near the beginning, flicked through a few more pages, and began casting.

A creature like a large, black lobster dropped into the water from a portal above. It came up on land, walking on six pairs of short legs. Its body was about ten feet long and was thick, yet flat with a scorpion-like tail that was another six feet long. The whole thing looked more like an ancient sea scorpion than a lobster, Saiph amended.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Nix looked at his summoned pet, nodded to the water, and said, “Good hunting.”

Accepting the command, the scorpion-lobster darted into the lake. It kicked up a storm of water and mud as it searched for the huntsman nest.

The splashing suddenly became more violent and Nix fell forward onto all fours, dry heaving.

“You alright?” Rose asked.

“Mad vertigo. Summoner vision doesn't stop that.” He spat on the ground.

Summoner vision was a spell that allowed Nix to see the world through his summoned creatures’ eyes. It was a unique experience Saiph wanted to try, save for the apparent disorientation it caused.

Saiph had an alternate account for each of the game’s classes. Sentinel had always been his favorite as he loved tanking. But between Nix’s summoning powers and Rose’s insane stealth abilities, Saiph found himself a little jealous.

“Is your guy winning?” Saiph asked, wondering if maybe they'd bumbled into a third huntsman.

“He found the nest. It's a lot of eggs. Oh, he's eating good!” Nix said with a laugh. “I'm gonna have to summon more.”

Two more of Nix’s scorpion-lobsters dropped into the water, joining the ravenous splashing.

“Good thing we came back then,” Rose said. “Have your scorpion thing bring a few eggs up, I wanna see if I can use them for alchemy.”

“These are too far gone for alchemy. I figure they'd have hatched in a couple days or so,” Nix replied. “It’s really good we were here.”

They watched the show for several more minutes. When they were finished, the trio of scorpion-lobsters returned to Nix’s side.

“Who’s a good boy?” Nix cooed, patting the closest of the summons on its head. It made a chittering sound from a mouth lined with feeler-like projections that Saiph wished he could unsee.

“They aren’t dogs, you know. Way too ugly,” Rose said, backing away in disgust.

Nix looked up at Rose. “Don't bully my summons, I think they’re kind of cute.”

“If you two are done, we should probably get going to that blacksmith. Sooner we can get on the road, the better. We might be able to make Orleana by nightfall,” Saiph said.

Nix dismissed his summons, summoned a new mount for Saiph, and off they went.

Just outside the town’s walls had been an understatement. Eric’s forge was over an hour away even by mount.

The building appeared tired; there were gaps in the walls where planks had either fallen or rotted away without replacement. What still stood had a thick layer of mosses and vines clinging to it. Grasses and weeds grew unchecked around the property, forming walls of green on either side of what might have once been a stone pathway, now reduced to a mix of dirt and gravel. Above the door, an extremely weathered sign read “Foreman’s”.

Nix gave Saiph a look and Saiph returned it. They were thinking the same thing. Sylas must have been mistaken. No one could still live in this ruin. It must have been abandoned for decades.

Saiph sighed and opened the door. A bell chimed overhead and inside, cobwebs clung to every corner of the ceiling and a thick layer of dust coated every surface.

Nix walked to the counter, the only spot not covered in dust, and rang the bell. A man’s startled yell, followed by the sound of breaking glass and things dropping made them all jump.

“For the last time, I am not interested in whatever you are selling!” A man’s voice shouted from the room behind the counter.

A tall man with weathered skin, much darker than Saiph’s own, came through the door. He wore a pair of worn denim overalls with a tan shirt with faded stains on it. He had the physique of a man with decades of manual labor behind him that time was only just beginning to erode.

Saiph cleared his throat. “We aren’t here to sell you anything. Sylas told us you ran the best forge in all of Rielle. We came to see if we could use it.”

“Best on the whole continent, actually,” The older man’s cold expression warmed a little as a reminiscent smile formed. But it instantly darkened a moment later. “But I can’t help you.”

Nix stepped up. “If you need a second hand, I can help. I’m a master blacksmith.”

“No, that’s not the issue. Do you know why this place is named Firestone?” Eric let the question hang in the air a moment. When he received no answer, he said, “Didn’t think so.”

Eric reached under the counter and hefted up a metal box about the size of a microwave that he placed on the counter. He opened the lid and inside the box were a handful of small, orange-red stones the size of baseballs that gave off the faintest glow.

“This here’s firestone. The last few pieces pulled up from the mine before it was closed. This village used to supply every forge along Navorinelle’s coast. Now it’s just another tired village waiting for the goblins to get it.”

“Really? A firestone mine here?” Saiph asked.

Firestone was a violently reactive mineral. The only place he knew where it could be found was in the region surrounding his guild’s headquarters. But that place was a lava-filled hellscape prone to earthquakes. How had such a mine been able to exist here?

“Yes, really. The entrance isn’t too far from here. And that mine’s still got plenty of stone left to give,” Eric answered as if offended by Saiph’s question.

“Then why close it?” Rose asked.

“A monster took over it fifty years ago. We tried over that time to reclaim the mine, but no group who's ever gone in has come out.”

“We could clear the mine. We could even bring some firestone with us,” Saiph offered.

Eric narrowed his eyes. “I’m guessing you’d like for me to use the last of my firestone here to fix your gear before you attempt that, huh?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“You’ll have to try harder than that to try and rob me.” Eric spat. He raised a dark grey, nearly black sword. “I’m not some withering old fool for you to take advantage of. Begone with ye!”

“No, we’re not… We’re Guardians!” Saiph said. He reached into his bag and pulled out the chest piece of his armor which held the logo of his guild, North Remembers, a golden snowflake with a silver compass laid on top of it, the only letter on the compass being a white “N” and the word “Remembers” written along the bottom in a bold, gold font.

“I don’t believe it. That would make you…” Eric’s eyes went wide in realization. “Yes, how did I miss it? If you promise to clear the mine and bring me back as much firestone as you can, I’ll help you repair your gear right now!”

Saiph turned to Nix and Rose. “We need our gear fixed. It’ll slow us a bit, but are you for a little dungeon diving?”

Rose answered first. “Yeah, I’m up for it!”

“Any idea what kind of monster we’re dealing with?” Nix asked.

“No one knows for sure. Like I said, none who went in have never come back,” Eric shook his head.

Nix sighed. “I don’t like going in blind, but I guess we are likely stronger than anything in there as long as it’s not another night spawn. I’m in. We’ll leave this place a lot safer than we found it.”

Saiph turned back to Eric. “Guess you have a deal.”

“Yes we do.” Eric gave a nod, then turned to Nix. “I could use your help with the forge.”