Chapter 8: Things to do in Yew

“You want another kid, don’t you?” I wondered what it would be like to have an army of dungeon children.

Aura chuckled. “Perhaps one day. Borealis is enough for now. And remember, I have your DNA. Dungeons don’t need fresh samples for every child. From our first time, I collected enough of your essence for all the offspring I’ll ever need. Any additional coupling was purely for your benefit, not that I dislike that look on your face when you climax.”

“TMI, Mom!” Bori groaned, making a gagging sound.

“I thought you knew all about that stuff,” I teased my daughter.

“I do!” she whined. “But that doesn’t mean I want to hear the two of you talking about it.”

“Very well, dear,” Aura sighed, letting me go and scooping Bori up in her arms. “I’ve missed you. Why don’t you tell me all about your adventures?”

Bori giggled and sat on her mother’s knee while she started telling her about Jasmine and The King’s Jester. After going on for a bit, she got an idea and looked up at me. “Uh, Daddy, can Miss Everthought come to Albion? She can make another puzzle shop there.”

“I don’t see why not,” I admitted, deciding a pitstop in Dabia might not be such a bad idea after all. I’d just have to steer clear of the king.

“I’ll be coming as well,” Aura announced. “To Albion.”

Bori whooped and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “Really? You’re coming with us?”

Aura nodded. “That’s right. I told your daddy when he gets enough people, I’d come to help train them.”

“Yay!” Bori squealed. “Now you get to meet Miss Everthought in person.”

I yawned, heading over to the couch to sit down.

“If you like, I can summon you a bed,” Aura offered. I noticed she wasn’t offering to join me.

“No,” I replied, stretching out. “This is fine. You two play. I’ll watch from over here.”

And play they did. Aura insisted on seeing every one of Bori’s puzzles. I fell asleep sometime in the middle of a gigantic clay wall filled with runes.

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“Alex, wake up,” Aura nudged me gently.

I yawned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “What is it? How long was I out?”

“It’s morning,” she greeted me with a smile. “You have a visitor outside. Borealis went to greet her.”

“Bori did?” I asked, feeling Cornerstone for her. Then I remembered she was in Iris’s shrine beside her mother’s core. “Is that safe?”

Aura rolled her eyes. “It’s one of your lady friends. She seems harmless enough.”

I looked through a window Aura opened to show who it was, expecting to see Isa or Pippa, but was instead surprised to find Cordelia in the small shed kneeling in front of Bori. I groaned and sat up.

“Thank you, Aura.”

“For what?” she asked, stepping aside as I stood.

“For letting me sleep,” I replied. “It’s been a while since I slept through the night.”

“I could tell,” Aura said with a chuckle. “You slept through quite a bit last night.”

“I did?” I asked.

“Your daughter is very enthusiastic about her creations,” she explained. “I had to warn her not to wake you several times.”

The exit portal opened when I stood. Aura’s construct stepped in front of me and kissed me softly. “Don’t forget to take my core with you when you leave town.”

“What will happen to your dungeon?” I asked.

Aura looked over her shoulder. “I’m not quite sure. I suppose it will collapse. It doesn’t matter though. I don’t know why I chose this place. It’s far too difficult for most adventurers to find.”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I like the fact that you were hidden. Because of that, I was the first to find you.”

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“You were my first,” she echoed dreamily. “For many things.”

“Isa and I…” she cut me off by pressing a finger to my lips.

“Don’t ruin it, lover,” she whispered.

I pushed her hand away. “I’m sorry about that.”

She smiled. “It’s alright.”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I needed to say next. “I’m glad to hear you say that because I have a big favor to ask.”

The construct’s eyes narrowed, and she spoke in a flat voice. “What is it?”

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Cordelia was waiting with Bori in Iris’s shrine when I stepped out. “Hey, Alex. I got your message and came as soon as I could.”

“Thanks,” I said, accepting a quickly offered hug. “I’d like to recruit some Dabians for my kingdom and was wondering if you have any suggestions.”

She took a moment to consider. “Well, you came to the right place first. Here or Exui. You’re still pretty popular over there, but Yew is bigger. I think you’ll have more luck with the unawakened until you get an Adventurer’s Guild in your new kingdom.”

“How do I do that?” I asked.

Cordelia shrugged. “I don’t know. Try asking them?”

It sounded simple enough. “I’ll do that. But first, there are some other things I need to do. Will you meet me at the guild for lunch? My treat.”

She smiled. “Sure. I’ll be there.”

Once Cordelia left, I kneeled before Bori. “Do you mind coming with me this afternoon? There’s something I might need you to do.”

She smiled. “Of course, I’ll come with you, Daddy. What do you need me to do?”

“Just return to your core for now,” I replied. “You’ll be my secret weapon later.”

“Okay,” she said, and her avatar vanished as I embedded her core in my stone arm once again.

The next step was to see if everybody in the house was awake. I walked in the back door to discover Zelle preparing breakfast with Pippa. Isa’s snores drifted loudly in from the bedroom while Nax sat on the couch reading what I could only describe as a Gaian newspaper.

“Good morning,” Zelle greeted me in a sing-song voice. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“You are so the opposite of Zelle,” I chuckled.

“Isabelle says the same thing,” she replied. “For one thing, Zelle and my daughter aren’t morning people.”

“I also don’t think any of them cook,” I added, taking the aroma of breakfast meats Zelle had frying in the pan.

“One point for me!” Pippa chirped, flexing in an apron with hearts on it.”

“So, we have a lot to get done today,” I said as I sat at the kitchen table.

“Oh?” Zelle raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were just along to keep an eye on Isabelle while you try to cheer her up.”

“That too,” I admitted. “I have a feeling she’s going to want to come with me when I leave to get her friends back, so I need the two of you to help her level up while we’re in town. There’s this dungeon under the lake, and…”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Nax asked, lowering his newspaper. “Our family has a rather bitter relationship with dungeons.”

“I know,” I replied. “This is different, though. I know this dungeon. Aura won’t let anything bad happen to Isa, or any of you for that matter.”

“Okay,” Zelle said, steeling herself. “We’ll keep her safe down there.”

“Don’t forget to keep those bodies safe, too,” I reminded them. “Zelle and Nax are going to want them back.”

“What about me?” Pippa asked. “I’m not a fighter.”

“We have a date with your dad,” I said with a chuckle.

“Is it too late to sign up for the dungeon?” she asked, hiding behind Zelle.

We were laughing as Isa emerged from the bedroom, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “You guys are way too energetic this early in the morning.”

“Good morning, dear,” Zelle said, making a plate of food and walking right by me with it. “Are you hungry, sweetie?”

“Thanks,” Isa grunted, picking up a sausage and ignoring the rest of the plate. “I didn’t hear you come home last night, Alex.”

“I didn’t,” I replied before quickly adding. “It’s not like that. I just fell asleep on the couch. Bori was there. They were catching up.”

Isa didn’t reply. She just chewed the sausage slowly while staring at me.

“I’m serious,” I continued. “Nothing happened.”

“Why would I care?” she snickered. “It’s none of my business, right?”

“Isa…” I sighed.

Isa finally accepted the plate walked to the living room to sit next to her father. “Would you like some breakfast, Daddy?”

Nax looked over her plate and grabbed a slice of toast and some meat, making himself a sandwich. “Thank you, honey.”

Pippa brought two more plates and sat beside me at the table. We ate in awkward silence while Zelle went into the living room and sat across from Isa. “Honey, Alex thinks we should visit the dungeon today and level you up.”

Isa glanced over at me, not bothering to swallow her food. “Shounsh like a ghood idea.”

“Really?” Zelle asked.

“You heard her,” Nax silenced his wife. “She wants to go. Alex says it’s safe, and I’m inclined to believe him. Our baby girl can use a few levels. Besides, I always wanted to go on an adventure with my daughter.”

Isa stopped eating and looked at Nax with tears in her eyes. “It will be an adventure, won’t it?”

“The best adventure,” Nax replied. “Just the three of us.”

Isa hugged him. “Then I can’t wait. Let me get ready.”

“Aura’s expecting you,” I called after her. If Isa heard me, she didn’t reply.

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“We have to make a couple of stops before we see your father,” I explained to Pippa as we strolled through town.

“That’s okay,” she replied in a quiet voice. “I don’t want to see him anyway.”

“Why not?” I asked.

She sighed. “It’s been too long. And you know what happened to me. I’m dirty now. Especially after that dungeon…”

I took her hand and squeezed it for reassurance. “You aren’t dirty. I’ll bet you anything he’ll be excited to meet his grandchildren. Rox, too.”

“I don’t know,” Pippa hesitated. “He’s not human.”

I tapped the glowing pink gemstone embedded in Cornerstone. “Don’t worry about that. Bori will convince him. And if he isn’t okay with it, he won’t be welcome in Albion.”

“Okay,” she sighed, though she didn’t look convinced.

My first stop took a while to find. I knew where the unawakened part of town was but not where Nax’s wife lived.

“Excuse me,” I stopped the first person I saw on the street. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Maxine lives, would you?”

The man stopped and pointed at me. “It’s you! You’re the one that painted the town black and made my table. Of course, I know where Maxine lives. What do you want with her?”

“I need to talk to her,” I explained.

“I see,” he replied. “She lives just down the street on the left, the second house from the end.”

He pointed it out, and we bid him farewell. It took Maxine a few minutes to come to the door when I knocked. She was heavily pregnant. Her eyes lit up when she saw me before widening in shock. “He isn’t dead, is he?” her voice quivered.

“No!” I said, trying to be as soothing as possible. “Something did happen, though. Do you have a moment for us to come inside and explain?”