Kaiden froze, his head snapping toward the source of the voice. It was unmistakably familiar, and his chest tightened as his eyes scanned the crowd. Then he found him—the owner of that voice.
“Davick!” Kaiden half-yelled, a wide grin spreading across his face. “You son of a bitch!”
Davick grinned back, stepping forward and extending his hand, which Kaiden shook fervently. “Where the hell’ve you been?” Davick asked, his tone laced with excitement.
Before Kaiden could respond, the corporal’s voice interrupted their reunion. “Your escorts are here. Now, if everyone wouldn’t mind following the Private here, he’ll take you to where you need to be.”
Davick turned back to Kaiden, a smirk on his face. “We’ll catch up in a sec,” he said. Then he raised his voice to address the group. “Name’s Private Davick Forgewell. We’re all headed to the same place, so if you follow me, we’ll get going.”
Before they could take a step, another voice chimed in, “I guess I’ll introduce myself. I’m Private First Class Malric Daen.”
Kaiden glanced over, just noticing the man standing slightly behind Davick. Malric’s posture was stiff, and his expression looked anything but enthusiastic, as though he’d rather be anywhere else. He mumbled something under his breath, barely audible, before crossing his arms.
Davick turned toward him, scratching the back of his head with an unapologetic grin. “Oops. Sorry about that.” He turned back to the group, his grin unfaltering. “Anyway, let’s get going.”
Davick and Malric led the way, weaving through the crowded corridors as Kaiden’s group followed. Soldiers bustled around them, carrying out their duties, while Rallen and Lyra fell in line next to Kaiden.
“Friend of yours?” Rallen asked, his curiosity evident.
“Yeah,” Kaiden said. “We went through basic and Dungeoneering training together.”
“So, then why didn’t you guys get here together?” Lyra asked, stepping closer to Kaiden as they walked.
“Special assignment,” Kaiden replied, doing his best to sound casual. He didn’t want to draw attention to what had really happened.
Fortunately, Lyra and Rallen didn’t seem overly interested and let the matter drop. Kaiden let out a quiet sigh of relief.
As soon as they exited the building and into the open air, Kaiden asked, “What do you mean we’re going to the same place? We’re in different units.”
Davick chuckled, glancing back at him. “Yeah, I know. You’ll see,” he said.
Tessa said, “I guess we’ll leave you two to catch up then.”
The others murmured their agreement, hanging back and striking up their own conversations as they followed behind, leaving Davick and Kaiden to talk freely.
“What unit are you in?” Kaiden asked.
“DCG 3-12,” Davick said with a wide grin.
Kaiden’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? I can’t believe we’re actually in the same unit. With all the talk about how big the capital is and all the different units, I figured we’d definitely be separated.”
Davick shrugged casually. “I think it makes sense. We were in the same training unit, after all. If a unit needs a Bracer and Defender, why not use the same two guys who already know each other?”
Kaiden nodded, conceding the point. “That’s another way of looking at it. And yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
“But enough of that,” Davick said, his grin fading. “Seriously, what the fuck happened? ‘Special assignment’? Give me a break.”
Kaiden chuckled, though it was more to buy time than out of genuine amusement. “Yeah, I was surprised myself.” He trailed off, not elaborating.
Davick paused, waiting for the explanation to continue. When it didn’t, his expression shifted to one of disbelief. “Really, man? You’re gonna hold out on me now? We were going crazy when we couldn’t find you the next day. Garin and Harlan were panicking too. We thought you got killed or snatched up by someone crazy.”
Kaiden gave a deprecating smile, thinking to himself just how accurate that was—snatched up by someone crazy, indeed. But now wasn’t the time or place to go into the details, not with so many ears around that might eavesdrop. He’d tell Davick everything later, once they had some privacy. For now, he needed to steer the conversation elsewhere.
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“It’s a long story, and I’ll fill you in,” Kaiden said. “But first, I want to hear about the new unit. My story can come later.”
Davick frowned, clearly wanting to press the issue. But his natural excitement to fill Kaiden in on what he’d missed—and his love of talking—won out. He shook his head with mock indignation. “Fine, but you better spare no details later.”
“Sure,” Kaiden replied. “So lay it on me—what’s the deal with DCG 3-12?”
Davick’s face lit up as he launched into his explanation, clearly thrilled to finally have his friend back.
Davick said, “The unit’s pretty great, and thankfully not full of assholes like…” He caught himself, glancing over at the PFC, then continued, “Uh, other units.”
Kaiden picked up on what Davick had accidentally spilled but didn’t press it. He let the man continue speaking, sensing the awkwardness.
“The dungeon—” Davick paused, as if searching for the right words. “—Daggerpoint is pretty tough, but after the first time, you get used to it. Well, not exactly used to it since it’s different every time, but y’know... the vibe’s the same. Or at least, it’s familiar enough that you don’t get nervous every time.”
Kaiden nodded, processing the information. “How much harder is it than Camp Thorne?”
“Oh, quite a bit harder,” Davick replied. “But our parties are stronger too. They most likely won’t put you with super newbies, so that eases the difficulty a lot.”
Kaiden thought for a moment. “I see. Then that means I’ll be in a different party.”
“Yeah,” Davick said, his tone light. “But we’re in the same unit, so it’s possible we could eventually party up together.”
“What do you mean?” Kaiden asked.
Davick scratched his head, looking thoughtful. “Parties can sometimes change depending on the unit’s needs.” His eyes shifted to the floor, and his voice lowered slightly. “Sometimes people die, and we need to shift parties around.”
Kaiden’s eyes widened. “You mean we only change parties when someone dies?”
Davick shook his head. “No. As people continue to grow their abilities and get classes and stuff, command realizes that other party makeups synergize better, and then there’d be changes. Sometimes there’s a D-O-D that needs exploring with a certain makeup, and parties can be changed and sent out to tackle those. There’s a lot of things, actually,” Davick finished with a sigh.
Kaiden absorbed the information, nodding slowly. “I see. It really does sound like we’ll have plenty of chances to somehow end up in the same party again.”
“Of course,” Davick grinned. “But before then, we’ll still see each other all the time in the barracks, in between dungeon dives, and all that. You’ll see.”
“Great,” Kaiden said, a sense of relief washing over him.
Archehaven was a coastal city, and as the group moved east and slightly uphill, Kaiden took note of the terrain. The port lay in the southeast of the city, which he hadn’t seen yet, while they were heading roughly northeast toward an area with a noticeable increase in elevation. The view of the city spread out behind them, a mixture of stone buildings, rising towers, and winding streets, but their destination seemed to lie further up the slope. They still had a fair bit of walking to do from the garrison headquarters, and Davick kept up his chatter, filling the time with an endless stream of commentary about their new unit.
“There are also tons of civilian divers you’ll meet and see,” Davick said, his tone almost as excited as when they’d first reunited.
Kaiden nodded, his thoughts drifting momentarily to Zinnia and Ashkar. He knew firsthand how seriously civilian divers could take dungeon diving, sometimes even more so than Dungeoneers. It made sense that there were lower-level civilian divers here too, those who were just starting out or sticking to smaller-scale operations.
“You chat with any of them?” Kaiden asked.
“Of course,” Davick replied with a laugh. “Especially at the bars. It’s the best place to hear all their wild stories—and figure out which ones are full of shit.”
Kaiden smiled, taking it all in.
“Hopefully we at least get matching schedules,” Davick said after a moment.
“You mean, so we’ll be dungeon diving on the same days?” Kaiden clarified.
“Exactly,” Davick said, nodding. “We won’t be dungeon diving every day. Some weeks will be training—Monday through Friday—and some weeks will just be straight dungeon diving. But your diving schedule might include weekend days, depending on what they need. Not like I’ve had much training yet; I’ve mostly been in the dungeons. For the most part though, you’ll usually have two days off every week to do whatever you want.”
“Oh,” Kaiden said thoughtfully. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Yup,” Davick said, his grin widening. “But speaking of seeing, I can’t wait to show you the best part—and it’s not the bars or bordellos.”
Kaiden raised an eyebrow, curious now. “What exactly are you talking about?” he asked.
Davick grinned and gestured ahead. “Just a little further. We just need to pass these last few buildings here, and then you’ll see it.”
The group followed, weaving through the final stretch of tall stone structures that lined the streets. As they passed the last building, the space beyond opened up into a wide, open stretch of road with no structures in sight, leading toward a cluster of army buildings in the distance. But no one was looking at the road. All eyes were drawn elsewhere.
Gasp after gasp escaped from the group as they took in the unmistakable landmass of an island. But the island was in the sky, hovering like a cloud in the distance. It was enormous, its jagged edges giving it the appearance of having been ripped straight from the ground. Dense greenery covered the surface, and faint outlines of what looked like ancient structures could be seen dotting the terrain. For a moment, it seemed like a perfectly normal, if massive, island—until the reality set in.
The island was floating.
It hovered impossibly in the sky, far to the east and high above the horizon, held aloft by an invisible force.
Davick chuckled, breaking the stunned silence. “I had the exact same expression when I first saw it. Guess it’s everyone’s first time in the capital.”
“Is that...?” Rallen’s voice came from behind Kaiden, filled with disbelief.
Davick turned back to the group with a wide grin, clearly savoring their reactions. “Yup,” he said, his voice brimming with excitement. “Drakkenholt—Dragon Island!”