“Show me the logs,” Sara said, demanding Kaden sit at the table. “I want to see the description. Then we’ll test.”
Kaden shook his head. “Cloud is exhausted. I need to get him nested and warm. We can go over talents and quests tomorrow. I was almost killed and I really want to rest. We should all rest. Quietly.”
Trella disappeared, dropping into her shadow. Which probably meant she was right behind him. Her breath tickled his ear as she spoke. “Why don’t I take Cloud? I’ll keep him nice and warm while you and Sara go over this talent. And afterwards, she can watch Cloud while you and I talk.”
Kaden didn’t hold in the groan. He handed the sleeping hatchling over. “Watch out, she startles easily. Tear up—”
Trella shut the bedroom door.
Kaden turned to find Sara, hands on her hips, her pseudopods crossed in front of her. “Yes, Party Leader.”
“Logs first.”
He shared them and summoned Trinity to let her rest by the fire while Sara studied it. “Well?”
Sara paced back and forth, lost in thought. “We’ll need to test with something easy and common. Faction Quests are everywhere. I’ll find an fast one.”
Kaden stood and paced to the Message box. “Ignus ambushed me earlier today and said he’d assigned me a Quest. I told him where he could go and what to do when he got there, because we’ve been battering-rammed into so many terrible quests ‘no’ is my default.”
“You were Optioned!” Sara spoke it in awe. “And you didn’t think to tell the rest of us right off hand?”
“There was a favor to a Saint, and then there was a [Witch] and then there was a [Black Blood Assassin] and the egg, and you said you wanted a Quest.” Kaden pulled a wooden box from Inventory and opened it. Inside sat a scroll and a set of real, physical faction tokens. He read it, then passed it to Sara. “What do you think?”
“First off, it comes with payment just for considering. Second, this mission is made for us. So much so I’m suspicious. Being optioned is a Quest you’re assigned, not offered. The pay is supposed to be so good you’re excited to receive them.”
Kaden re-read it. “Guarding a group of level twenty mages while they go hunting in a trial is simple. Ensuring they get XP is less simple and might conflict with keeping them safe. I wonder if I can bring my Beacon of Veela and charge it. A faction token each for the party and favor that should have us completing Quests. I like it, except that I can’t drag Cloud with me everywhere. And Cloud needs to be cared for.”
“Practice your [Negotiation.] Explain the situation. And—this is key—ask if it’s repeatable. A hundred Faction Favor is not the limit. At higher levels we unlock Faction bonuses, and while every faction is secretive, I’m told they are well worth the work.” Sara waited while Kaden summoned the [Falcrow] and sent it off.
“That reminds me. Check out the coin the Falcrow stole.” Kaden handed her the [Rescue Reset].
“The first Shadow Blade who tried to take you had a similar skill. This, however, is absolutely Second Lifer gear. Moving you to another location, that’s normal. Reseting your health and mana? That’s wildly unbalanced once your mana reaches a thousand.” Sara turned it over and set it on the table.
“Does it have to be the user’s mana? Where does it say that?” Kaden took the coin and fed it mana, then handed it to Sara, who did the same.
She held it up. “I just got a notice, it’s ready to be bound to a return point. Trella?”
Trella emerged from the bedroom with Eclipse in her arms. “She’s jealous and doesn’t—where did you get that?”
Kaden explained. “It doesn’t say you need to announce the skill or throw it. I don’t know why he did.”
“Stay clear of that corner.” Trella took a kitchen knife and calmly cut the back of her arm. Then she walked back into the master bedroom. The air popped and she reappeared in the kitchen, clutching the coin. She wiped the smear of blood off her arm. “Cut’s gone, you definitely don’t have to say the skill and throwing this is just stupid. When they hit twenty five, some Shadow Blades choose a similar skill. Ours is better in that it’s automatic on a fatal hit. It’s nowhere near as good in that this puts me back in the fight immediately. I can’t power it alone, but you two did it for me.”
This made Kaden more confident about hunting. “Now we’ll get you to twenty five.”
Trella took it seriously. “My turn to talk. Bedroom. Now.”
The moment Kaden stepped in, she slammed the door. “Fighting Centurions? Was it bad enough you challenged a Demon Lord? Do you have any idea how much power a Centurion can unleash?”
“I was trying to help. And I gained another level.” The moment Kaden said it, he knew it was the wrong thing to say.
“Didn’t we talk about this earlier? You have decades. Years.” She [Shadow Stepped] away as Kaden tried to hug her.
“That is the best thing about this night. Two hundred years, maybe more.” He couldn’t help smiling.
“Two hundred years to gain levels,” Trella said.
“Two hundred years with the woman I love. Whether I gain another level or not, that’s the prize.” He reached for her, carefully. “That’s the only prize that matters.”
Trella didn’t disappear this time. “Admit it. You’re so excited about the Griffin you can’t see straight. And he’s so cute. Don’t touch the feathers on his legs near the claws, or if you do, keep a healing potion close. Also, we need to replace the healing potion in the nightstand.”
Kaden looked at the shredded blanket Trella had arranged into a nest. Cloud’s head was tucked under a wing, and his tail wrapped around his body. “He’s comfortable. You did good work.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Of course I did.” She slipped up next to him. “I want to go hunt FangWood tomorrow. I know you have to take care of Cloud, but Fangwood is a great level match for me. Ashi, Eve and I should go. It’s still decent XP for Eve and Ashi will back us up.”
Kaden bit back the reflexive response. “The Fell Woodsman is vulnerable to fire and bleed. You’ll use both. And these.” He went to the bed and opened a drawer, searching through Inventory cubes to take out the daggers he’d been saving, foot-long daggers, with shiny black blades and glistening gems in the pommel.
[Inkblades]
The Inkblades are inextricably linked to each other. If one is lost, it will return to its twin. Damage from an Inkblade leaves [Huntress’s Mark] on the target and inflicts [Ink]. Ink slows mana regen, using it instead to grow [Ink]. Ink inflicts continuous minor damage. Do not cut yourself with the [Inkblades]. They are not loyal. Your blood as as good as any other.
Trella gasped. “Where did you—when—these are treasures. These are heirlooms. Your mom’s.”
“Yours, now. She outgrew them. I want you to outgrow them.”
“Senior Sister is going to freak. Equipment is one of the ways they keep Sisters obedient and now, I don’t need the daggers they offered. The Darkling’s Fangs are better, but I’m not a centurion.” Trella attached the [Inkblades] to her belt and hung it up.
“You’re never using the Darkling’s Fangs. Ever. I was given three options. Destroy them, sell them, or trade them but their original owner didn’t want anyone I loved using them.” He couldn’t tell her exact words, but the System didn’t balk at paraphrasing.
Trella looked like she’d argue. “We’re not done talking about you charging into a Centurion fight, but I’m too tired to argue right now, and I have a feeling your baby is going to wake up screaming for fish.”
When it was just Kaden and Trella, they often turned off the heatstone and let the winter’s chill leave frost inside, but with the hatchling there, Kaden kept the heatstone turned up so the room was warm. The silvers it cost were nothing.
He ran his hand over the griffin, proving it really was real. “We’ll find you a colony.”
Another task on the pile.
One Kaden was happy to do.
###
When Kaden woke, a Messenger Bird had arrived. The Escort Quest was a one-time special, and while it wasn’t repeatable, keeping the mages alive would give a healthy bonus that made it worthwhile. Watching Trella head off to Fangwood was like nailing his hand to the door. Trinity volunteered to go with them, less by asking and more by attempting to escape the griffin who seemed hell bent on biting Trinity’s tail.
Vip didn’t mind, using her speed to dodge Cloud’s attacks, all the while barking constantly until Cloud shrieked with rage, pounced into a tree, and then sprinted to hide behind Kaden, shrieking and growling and purring all at the same time.
Over and over, the griffin stretched its wings, flapping furiously in an attempt to strengthen its wings. Flight was about as far off for Cloud as it was for Kaden.
“You make a decent mother bird after all.” Sara had forgone armor for a simple green tunic, and carried a cup of tea she alternated sipping and grimacing at. “Trella will be fine. How often was Cloud up?”
“Once. He shredded a bass and then tried to climb into bed with us. Trella doesn’t mind toys but wet fishbones are a hard no. Now what—oh.” Kaden watched as Cloud kicked dirt over a pile so rank the smell made him ill.
Sara, on the other hand, was delighted to be in deep shit. “This isn’t for [Gardening], there are sixteen quests at the Guild for [Alchemists] to brew attribute enhancements.”
“Trella gets first shit at this. Shot at this. First choice.” He had rules.
Sara gathered it up. “It’s going to snow again soon.”
They stayed out until the snow began to fall, and Cloud, after learning he could neither eat, kill, or scare the snow, gave up and skulked back to the Farmhouse, where he cleaned his fur, then passed out in his blanket nest.
While Sara spent time in constant bird communication arranging a voyage for their cargo ship, Kaden waited until Cloud was fast asleep and snuck downstairs. There in basement, rune locks on the wall responded, opening a stone door.
Warm air gushed in, and Kaden headed down the hall, noting the exact step where the air became salty and hot. The tunnel opened behind a large rock Kaden was certain hadn’t been there before. The sea breeze was gentle and the sand undisturbed. Oceanus, the mythic dragon, hadn’t been there today. Kaden had heard of locators which could be found on a map. He’d pick one up the next time he went through the Guild, but for now, he rushed back down the tunnel and locked the rune door.
A sleeping griffin was like an enemy assassin. If you didn’t have eyes on them, they were probably causing trouble. Kaden sprinted up the stairs and burst into the living room beside the stairwell that led up to the second floor.
“Problems?” Sara asked.
“Dragon hunting, and I realized Cloud was alone.”
Sara stood and headed to the bedroom ahead of Kaden. “He’s asleep—oh, gods. Listen. I’ve been thinking, it’s unpleasant, you sleeping on a mattress your parents had sex on. I mean, don’t you worry that Trella is screaming in exactly the same place your mother did when she conceived you?”
Kaden’s breakfast was about to make a reappearance. “I wasn’t before. Now I worry about it.”
“I’m heading to the city to do some shopping. I’ll be fast.” Sara headed out to the FarPortal.
Cloud had abandoned his blanket nest and shredded the mattress Kaden and Trella slept on, and snuggled down in the shredded remains.
“I was gone five minutes. Five minutes!” He didn’t have the heart to move Cloud.
Vip sniffed the edge of the bed before turning away. *Slow.*
Kaden was already aware of what Trella would say. Vip did not need to repeat it. Instead, he focused on what he could do, replaying runs through his dungeon. Trust Adventurers to always find the loopholes. They’d discovered that luring the bearzerker out while a thief snuck in and stole the loot would work, as long as the timing was exact.
The thing was, the window was so tight, Kaden approved. If a party could time it just right, they almost deserved the loot. After lunch, when Cloud woke, Kaden put him on his shoulders. “Spread your wings, boy.”
Kaden hadn’t forgotten the joy a winged scorpion felt when it was blasted into the air. Every winged creature dreamed of the sky. Cloud’s front claws sank into his skin, drawing some blood and costing a hundred health, but worth it. “Vip, think you can keep up?”
*Slow*, Vip said. *So slow.*
Those were fighting words. Kaden backed away to the front of the gate and then sprinted across the farm. Cloud’s wings caught the air and the griffin shrieked with pleasure flappping stubby wings and straining his head forward. At the end of the farm Kaden hurdled the fence and as Echo Lake approached, he activated [Moment of Speed] and poured mana into it, leaping.
Halfway thorugh the leap it became clear that he did not have [Flight]. Cloud’s joyous shrieks turned to fear and he folded his wings up and tucked his head under Kaden’s chin. At least Kaden didn’t need to be able to see to crash through the ice, then fight his way to the island shore.
Vip slid across on solid ice, her weight barely a factor. When Kaden opened the dungeon door, the warm sun was welcome. Vip dashed in and began to roll in the grass, while Kaden despawned monsters and let Cloud explore.
He’d come here for a reason. While Skully was on loan to Sevin to create more Plague Crow colonies, there was a minor tweak Kaden felt right. He still carried a skeleton seed from the dungeon core, and coaxed it to accept the entity seed. “We’re not going to become an undead themed dungeon.”
There.
Deep in the Bearserker’s burrow, a single undead skeleton now wore the loot. One skeleton alone wasn’t a challenge, but it would require absolute planning, skill, and stealth to have a team lure out the Bearserker, then dispatch the skeleton and escape with the loot.
What Kaden found curious was that the vipers at the vinyard had already changed positions. And even more curious, the decorative well was no longer decorative. Kaden looked down into the well. Then dropped a silver coin. It didn’t splash in the water, but clinked.
Without waiting, Kaden leaped over the edge of the well and dropped to the bottom. It wasn’t so much a room as a swelling. A bulging of the well shaft. “You’re trying to create a bonus room, aren’t you?”
The Dungeon Core was awake.