Chapter 29: Innkeeper Angelica

As Zach reduced the DEHV’s speed—assuming this vehicle even was a DEHV—and began to cruise at a much safer, more leisurely pace, he took a moment to really inspect the world around him. A sense of wonder came over him, but it was a nervous, apprehensive sort of wonder. It genuinely looked as though he were staring out at the ruins of a once-great civilization. He wasn’t alone in his gawking, either; Lienne and Rian were also peering out of their respective windows on the left and right side of the hover-less DEHV.

Not long after escaping from the Eeps, Zach had needed to briefly stop the vehicle to help Rian clean the glass shards out of Lienne’s seat, as her constitution was too low to guarantee she wouldn’t accidentally cut herself. At first, they’d floated the idea of simply having Lienne sit up front in the passenger seat, but by that point, everyone had already lazily tossed their weapons—or shield, in Rian’s case—onto the top of it, and no one felt like having to move things around. Not to mention that they also didn’t know how to open the vehicle’s rear compartment storage.

Now, with everyone settled in comfortably, the three of them marveled at the gloomy-yet-fascinating sight of what was unmistakably a fallen civilization. For the past ten minutes, Zach had keenly observed the scenery to see if he could spot a single trace of non-plant life. There were broken buildings, some a few stories tall, others quite tiny, but there was nothing that suggested anyone lived in the burned-out husks of a single one of them. There were also no animals scurrying around or birds flying in the pure red sky. There was just…nothing.

“So, what are you guys thinking?” Zach asked them. “Cards on the table? I say we’re in South Bastia. No one really knows what’s between the Ashen Kings. That has to be where we are.”

He was referring, of course, to the two tremendous, impassible volcanoes in southwest South Bastia that supposedly either once had—or still had—a fertile valley running between them. Yet since no one was actually able to explore this area, at least based off what Zach knew, then it was the only place he could readily think of on Galterra that made any sense. It would also explain why the sky and all the clouds were blood red. He’d read once that the smoke from volcanic eruptions could do that.

In the rear-view mirror, Zach could see Rian tapping his chin as he looked out of the back-right window. “I don’t know, Zach,” he said. “None of our phones are working. Why aren’t we at least getting GPS?”

“Volcanic interference?” he guessed.

“Okay, but where are they, then?” Rian pressed his finger on the glass, which was not broken on his side of the DEHV. “Volcanoes of that size should be visible no matter where we are in the valley.”

Zach relaxed in his seat and slowed the vehicle even further. In truth after the heart-stopping last few hours they’d shared together, he imagined all of them were enjoying the nice, calm, and slow drive to wherever it was this dungeon was taking them next. There was also something inherently liberating about being outside again, even if it was under a bleeding sky. Lienne also seemed to appreciate not having the wind blasting her so heavily while she stuck her head out of the window; it was as though she were trying to burn every sight to her memory.

“Here’s what we know for sure,” she said, looking first behind and then ahead of them as she leaned even farther out of the window. She then returned to a normal sitting position so that they could better hear her speak. “So, we know we’re in a region called ‘New Jersey,’ we know that this road is called the ‘New Jersey Turnpike,’ and we know it was run by a guild called the uh…what was it again?”

Zach opened his mouth to reply, then closed it as he realized he himself could no longer recall. Rian made a small noise that sounded like the beginning of some word or another, but then he too trailed off as if unable to bring it to memory.

Earlier, when they’d stopped to clean the glass out of Lienne’s seat, they had stumbled across an old, barely legible pamphlet of some kind. Most of it was torn or faded, but there was something inside that sort of looked like a map, and at the top, plainly written in Human Tongue, were the words “New Jersey.” In hindsight, they should’ve kept it with them, but the thing was filthy and covered in dirt and foul-smelling tar.

“Oh, I remember,” Lienne announced with a giggle. “It was the United…it started with the word United, right?”

Zach took one hand off the steering wheel and snapped his fingers. “Right! United. I remember that. United…Stars? United Stars of Amecia? Was it something like that?”

“Yeah, that sounds right,” Rian said, nodding. “I think that was it.”

Lienne curled her lips uncertainly. “I dunno. I think…I mean, that might’ve been it. It sounds close. Maybe it’s right. I don’t know.”

“I think that’s what it was,” Zach said. “Rian nailed it. It was the United Stars of Amecia.”

“States?” Lienne suggested.

Both he and Rian glanced at one another, then both shook their heads as Zach said, “No, I don’t think it said ‘states’. But…hey, who knows? Maybe. The map was so damn burned I could barely read it, so maybe it did say that. Point is, whatever guild controlled this region is probably long gone. Actually, now that I think about it, we might be in North Bastia after all. They say there are hidden lands deep behind Dragon Squire where long-forgotten guilds used to rule.”

“I…I don’t think we’re in either North or South Bastia,” Lienne said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Huh?”

“Just a sense I have.”

“Then where are we? Ilioth? Zatrakhar?”

She laughed. “You’re gonna think this is nuts, but I don’t think we’re on Galterra at all.”

At this, both he and Rian laughed. “Li, come on,” Rian said. “The dungeon took us somewhere far away. Farther than we realized we’d traveled. But we’re still on Galterra. What are you even trying to say, anyway? That we’re in another dimension or something?”

She glared at him, and his laughter cut off immediately. Zach also stopped laughing before he earned the same glare for himself. “I don’t think we’re in another dimension, dumbass,” she said to her brother. “I think we’re on a different planet.”

Rian’s cheeks puffed up, and then his hand raced to his mouth as though to try covering a chuckle, but he was too slow, as he burst out in a derisive, mocking bout of laughter. “Li, I’m sorry, but that’s insane.”

“Okay, and what do you think then? Since you’re such a genius.”

Rian wiped his mouth. “I think we’re still underneath the dungeon, and this is some weird underground region called ‘New Jersey’.”

Lienne pointed her index finger upwards. “Then why is there a sky?”

“It’s…”

“It’s what?” she demanded. When he said nothing, she asked him again. “It’s what? Go on. Say it.” When he still did not reply, she asked a third time, now even more forcefully. “Say the words you were about to say. Say it!”

Rian winced. “It’s…an underground sky?” Even as he spoke the words, Zach could tell that he knew how stupid they sounded, and so this time, it was Leanne who laughed at him.

“Really, Rian? An underground sky? So let me get this straight, okay? You’re saying if we had an airplane and flew straight up we’d go through the clouds and eventually hit…what, exactly? A rock ceiling?”

His smile fading into a frown, Rian shrugged. “I don’t know, Li, okay? It makes more sense than saying we flew to another planet. You agree with me, right, Zach?”

Zach sighed. “To be honest, guys, I’ve been wondering about something completely different.”

“Hm?”

Lifting his chin at the road of ahead of him, he pointed to another one of the green signs, this one indicating that an off ramp was approaching in five-hundred feet. “What would happen if we just turned this DEHV onto one of these exits and drove in the wrong direction?”

At this, Lienne shifted her eyes to her brother, and he shifted his to her, and they both wore a look of confusion before turning their gaze back on Zach. “Then…we’d go the wrong way?” Rian said.

“Yeah, that’s my point.”

“What is?”

“What’s physically stopping us from just…you know, riding off in a random direction?”

“Nothing is. Why do you even ask?”

“I don’t know. It’s just weird. I thought the dungeon would have some kind of barrier or something to keep us going the right way. Whether it’s taken us to another region, planet, underground sky, or dimension, it just feels strange that we could literally just turn off this road and potentially travel hundreds or maybe even thousands of miles in any direction we wanted and there’d be nothing stopping us.”

“That’s because you’re still thinking of a dungeon like a linear obstacle course,” Rian said. “I mean, I’m shocked too, but Zephyr was right: dungeons are weird.”

As if glad to find something that she and her brother could actually agree on, Zach saw Lienne nodding in the mirror. “There’s probably nothing that’s stopping us,” she said. “And if I’m right, and we really are on another world far away from our own, then we probably could just drive away and get lost here forever. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“I guess what I’m really trying to get at,” Zach said, attempting to clarify, “is I’m wondering what part of this place is the B2 floor of the dungeon—and what isn’t. If Lienne is right and this is an entire world, then is this whole world just part of a dungeon? Or was it a real world that for some reason the dungeon leads through?”

Lienne shifted in her seat, and Rian fell silent a moment. It was as though the two were finally understanding the uncomfortable, existential nature of the question that Zach had asked them. When neither of the two returned any kind of answer, he decided to let it drop. They’d already had to worry about so much; it was probably for the best that Zach didn’t pile even more on. Maybe it was better to just accept that whatever was, was. Especially since there were even stranger questions that needed answering, such as what that green sign earlier that’d had their names on it was all about. Zach contemplated these things as he continued onwards.

I hope it was telling the truth, Zach thought. We’re all hungry and thirsty.

Although a “rest area” had been promised, Zach neither trusted nor was willing to put any faith in what the green sign had told them. It was part of the reason why he was driving so slowly at just about twenty miles per hour. At some point during the past fifteen minutes, Lienne had fallen asleep in the backseat, and Rian, too, looked to be dozing off. Without having any genuine idea of what horrors this dungeon would throw at them next, Zach thought it wise to allow them a bit of relaxation and comfort—especially Lienne, who’d gone into E-debt earlier. Also, Zach really enjoyed driving, as he now discovered. He kind of wanted to prolong this a bit.

The more he operated this vehicle, the more certain he became that it was not a DEHV. He wasn’t actually sure what the hell it was, really; but without any idea of what to call it, he continued to think of it as a hover-less DEHV, which yeah, was kind of an oxymoron, but who cared?

I really wish I had one of these.

Despite being a primitive machine that likely ran on freaking gasoline of all things, there was something charming about the fact that it gave its operator full control of its movement. Zach could turn the steering wheel in any direction, and the onboard-steering AI—if it even had one at all—would do nothing to stop him. Even if he was so reckless as to literally attempt to drive onto the brown, decaying grass off to the left side of the turnpike, he doubted the vehicle would stop or attempt to call the peacekeepers on him, as any DEHV would do.

They would never allow something like this in Whispery Woods.

Actually, other than maybe Giant’s Fall or the Spider’s Eye Oasis—both cities under the control of the Royal Roses—Zach couldn’t think of a single guild that would allow a vehicle like this to be owned by private citizens. Varsh aside, the Royal Roses were notoriously libertarian in their views. They probably wouldn’t care. But the rest of the guilds? No way.

For the next half hour, Zach remained quiet and drove extra slowly. In the comfort of this vehicle, what would have been a terrifying walk through a gloomy, decaying landscape became a nice, relaxing, and only moderately bumpy trek through a civilization that had met a seemingly apocalyptic end.

Eventually, however, he spotted another green sign that seemed addressed towards the three of them. It was at the end of a stretch of road that traveled beneath an underpass. “Guys, wake up,” Zach said. “Guys!”

Both Lienne and her brother moaned, rubbed their eyes, and then sat up straighter. “What is it?” Rian asked.

“Just look and see.”

At this point, Zach had brought the hover-less DEHV to a stop with his foot on the deceleration pedal. One thing he’d found odd about these vehicles was that they seemed to move slowly forward on their own unless you either put them in park or kept your foot planted. As he waited for the two siblings to shake away some of their grogginess, he noticed that Lienne was smiling lovingly at him even as she yawned and stretched her arms.

I could fall for her so easily if I’m not careful.

As the two of them finally seemed to take stock of their situation, Zach watched as they both immediately became more animated. It was something Zach could understand, because he felt the same nervous excitement that they were likely feeling.

“I’m guessing this is our stop,” Rian said.

Just up ahead, at the entrance to what was a small underpass that ran below a wider road above, there was another green sign with white lettering. It was similar to the one before, but only with less writing. This one stated simply:

B2->(Angelica)->B3

Zachys Calador: 480 points

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Lienne Astafort: 390 points

Rian Astafort: 450 points

“What or who is Angelica?” Lienne asked nervously.

Zach gulped. “I don’t know. But we should all grab our weapons and be ready for anything. Angelica, for all we know, could be the name of some kind of monster. We shouldn’t assume anything.”

“Agreed,” Rian said.

Zach put the DEHV in parking mode, opened his door, and then walked around to the opposite side of the vehicle, where he retrieved his sword and then handed Rian his axe and shield. Then he passed Lienne her staff. Finally, side by side, the three of them walked the last few feet towards the underpass.

It was dark inside. There was litter everywhere and graffiti on both sides. But there was something else, too: a mysterious, completely out of place metal push-bar door that, in a logical universe, would either not be there at all or would lead to the small patch of grass on the left side of the underpass. Somehow, Zach doubted that would be the case.

“Are you guys ready?” he asked, his body becoming tense, his heart beating faster.

“Yep,” Lienne said with a nod. Rian merely released a grunt in agreement.

“I’ll go first this time,” Zach said. “Rian had to do it last time.”

“Yeah, but I’m the tank.”

Zach switched his weapon to a one-handed grip then shrugged. “If I die, then, it’s my own fault.” With that, he placed his left palm on the push bar as a nervous energy shot through him. There really was no telling what was going to happen when they opened this door. They could end up literally anywhere. For all he knew, he could walk out into the sky and fall to his death.

This is way more terrifying than I thought it’d be.

“You sure you want to go first?” Rian asked with a chuckle.

“I do,” Zach insisted. Now that he’d been laughed at, it basically guaranteed he’d have be the first one in. “I’m going now. For real.” He took a deep breath. “Here I go.”

Gathering his courage, he pushed in the bar, opened the metal door, took a quick, brave step inside—and then was immediately assaulted by the sounds of loud, energetic music, a multitude of cheering voices, and a golden, warm light, as dozens of sets of eyes turned his way, some with mugs of beer in their hands, others with chicken drumsticks or pork skewers. Upon seeing the three of them, all began to roar in celebration.

“Three newbies have found their way!” a male voice cheered, his voice filled with genuine happiness.

“Come on in, then!” a woman added. “Everyone raise your mug. Three new adventurers made it to Angelica’s!”

Zach, struck with awe and confusion, tried to make sense of what his eyes were seeing. He appeared to be in some kind of cozy, lively, and very friendly tavern, with rows of tables and benches, on top of which were plates filled with food and mugs filled with various alcoholic and also non-alcoholic beverages. There were a set of stairs to his left that led up to what looked like a second floor, and off to his right, there were several people playing musical instruments. Straight ahead of him was a bar counter.

The smell of the place was beyond wonderful, especially in contrast to the hell he’d just come from. The air, though warm and inviting, carried with it the scent of barbequed meats but with a hint of something sweet. It was invigorating and made Zach want to enter farther inside.

Everywhere he looked, there were people, both men and women of all different ages, fully dressed in equipment; much of it was fancy, glamorous, and seemingly high-level. There were swords that glowed brightly, chest pieces that shined, necklaces that glimmered, and rings that seemed to emit smoke if not fire or sparks. Zach even spotted a bracelet that released a constant flashing orange light.

“What the hell is this?” Rian asked. It had been the question that Zach was just about to voice.

“No idea,” Lienne said. “Why are they all looking at us?”

Still standing in the doorway, Zach struggled to try to piece together what he was seeing, as for all he knew, this could be some kind of trap that would require him to fight his way out. That was, of course, until four people stood up from a round wooden table dead center in the tavern, on top of which a black-and-white cat was eating from a bowl; the cat paused, and it, as well as all four of them, turned to face him.

There’s no way, Zach thought, suddenly feeling dizzy.

One of the four was a spiky-haired man wearing cat-eye glasses, a lab coat, and sheathed in a scabbard at his side was a black and red blade that let off a constant purple smoke, which turned gradually more golden as it drifted higher into the air.

It couldn’t be. It’s impossible. There’s no way that’s—

“Zach!” Mr. Oren said, clapping. “My man, you made it to Angelica’s already! Wow, look at you go. I knew you’d do it. And look, you made friends!”

“What the fuck is going on here?” he shouted back, causing Mr. Oren to frown as dozens of people roared in laughter. Along with Mr. Oren, Zach made out the forms of Kesten, Maric, Alixa, and for some reason Fluffles, who leapt off the table, rushed over, and brushed against his legs.

He meowed. “Fluffles get bored and come to get chicken. I want chin scratches from Lienne.”

“Is that really you, Fluffles?”

He again meowed. “Fluffles confirm identity only if given chin scratches from Lienne.”

It’s definitely him.

“I’m so, so confused,” Zach said. Out of pure reflex, he began to close the metal door behind him—but he was stopped as a man came running over to him with his hand extended.

“Wait, wait, wait!” the man cried. “Stop!”

Zach reached out and grabbed the door a moment before it had fully closed, to which the man sighed and bowed his head gratefully. He was wearing a black, hooded trench coat with a brightly growing purple crest on the center of his chest. He also had on a pair of equally black boots with spikes on the sides. On his back was a monumentally gigantic sword that looked like it must’ve weighed over a hundred pounds. It also seemed to be charged with electricity, as blue sparks consistently danced off the edge of the blade.

The man pointed at Zach—no, not at Zach, but the door behind him. “What planet are you guys coming from?” he asked. “Are you coming from Earth? I have a quest there I need to finish. I’m way down in South Bastia, so I’m a few-hundred miles from the nearest Earth-gate.”

Zach stared at him blankly. Then he looked to his left to see Lienne with the same expression on her own face, as well as Rian, who matched it as well. Scratching the top of his head, Zach asked, “What’s Earth?”

The man narrowed his eyes skeptically, but only for a moment. Then he smiled and laughed. “Oh, right, you three are new. Earth is the homeland of…well, of us. You know, humans?”

“Homeland?” Zach asked, utterly confounded. “What in the name of the Gods are you talking about?”

The man let out another rough, powerful, but brief laugh. “It’s a really long story. You’ll learn eventually. Just…just tell me this. Do you happen to know the name of the place you just came from?”

“We do, sir,” Lienne said to him, her voice sounding somewhat but not entirely nervous. “It’s called New Jersey, sir.”

At this, the man pumped his fist in the air and shouted, “Yes! That’s so close, too. I’m meeting my guild in Washington DC in one week after my quest for a rare spawn in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I just need to find a car.”

“A car?”

“They’re like DEHV’s but they don’t hover. They’re basically—”

“So that’s what they’re called!” Zach blurted out. “I knew they weren’t the same as DEHVs.”

At this, the man’s eyes widened in delight. “You guys already found one? Say…I don’t suppose you could help out a fellow adventurer in need.”

Before Zach even had the chance to reply, Rian bowed his head and said, “Of course. Need before greed, always. It’s right through there.” He pointed. “Zach has the activator.”

“We just call them car keys. And thanks!”

Idiot, Zach thought, though he kept his mouth shut. We could’ve made him pay for it. This guy is clearly high level and probably has tons of gold.

Now that Rian had basically offered it to the man for free, Zach meekly removed it from the pocket of his pants and handed it to him.

“You guys are awesome. Welcome to Angelica’s, by the way. You’re gonna love it here. Oh, and my name’s Reni Sarwin. I’m a member of Boss Rush.” He reached into his trench coat and handed Zach a small piece of cardboard, which appeared to contain nothing more than his name and number. “If you ever need help, or if you’re ever in trouble, just give me a call. I always return favors to those who’ve done one for me. Take care, kids.” With that, he saluted, ran through the door, and then shut it behind him.

Out of curiosity, Zach pushed open the door after it’d been closed, and to his surprise, he now saw nothing more than a flight of stairs leading downward with the label B3 written onto the side of the wall in black marker to his right. Not even remotely ready to continue onwards, he let the door close a second time. Then he returned his attention to the last four people on the planet he expected to see here. As it were, they addressed him first.

“Come in,” Mr. Oren said, having already pulled up three empty chairs to their table. “I’ve actually been looking all over for you. I was scared out of my mind.”

“Scared?” Zach asked. Though he repeated the word, it barely registered in his head, as he was too busy glancing at everything around him in total shock to know what in the name of the Gods Mr. Oren was talking about. How was he here with them? How was Fluffles here with them? The cat was once again walking by his side. It wasn’t even until this moment that Zach realized Fluffles had been speaking to him this whole time, yammering away about some nonsense or another.

“Then Fluffles get two birds. I am a good cat, so I only kill two.” He meowed angrily. “Zach not listening to Fluffles’ story!”

“I’m sorry, little buddy,” Zach said to him. “I’m just in complete shock. I don’t know how this is possible.”

Fluffles jumped back up onto the round wooden table as Zach and his two friends slowly made their way there. It took longer than it should have, because they couldn’t take a single step forward without some impressively equipped adventurer congratulating them on “making it to Angelica’s,” and giving each of them a pat on the back.

These people—these “adventurers”—were, without question, the rowdiest bunch of individuals Zach had ever seen. They drank, laughed loudly, toasted, a few even fought, and all while several of them played instruments, dancing and singing to lively music. Zach felt like he’d stepped into some kind of pirate ship.

“Why Zach act so weird. It only Angelica’s,” Fluffles said as he munched on whatever was in his bowl. Lifting his head, he called, “Angelica! Fluffles want buy more—”

“No, no, you can’t,” Maric said to him, his voice just as booming and deep as Zach recalled. “You had too much.”

“No!” Fluffles said, unsheathing his claws and taking a swipe. “Daddy doesn’t get to say how Fluffles use his own points.”

The gigantic, broad-shouldered man waved his finger at Fluffles, even as the cat took another swipe at him. “Fluffles!”

Lowering his head, the cat said, “I get to have…one more bowl?”

“No, Fluffles. That was your last one.”

“Zach say I get to have more.”

“No he didn’t.”

“Yes he did! Right, Zach?”

Why does everyone put me on the spot like this?

Even with all the burning questions eating away at him, Zach sighed and resigned himself to having to first deal with the “Fluffles situation.” He opened his mouth and prepared to tell Fluffles that he needed to listen to his dad, but then he stopped, as he recalled the fact that Fluffles had once been on his side when no one else had, and so, even as irresponsible and stupid as it might have been, Zach decided to be defiant out of a sense of loyalty. This might have been the absolute dumbest thing in the entire world, but he did owe the cat this much at least.

“I think Fluffles should get to eat whatever he wants,” Zach said. “He is the best cat in the world, after all.”

Maric’s mouth fell open in incredulity as Fluffles hopped excitedly on the table. “See, daddy? Zach say Fluffles get more.”

Shaking his head, the behemoth-sized man grabbed the bowl away. “I don’t care. You’ve had enough. Zach, you shouldn’t enable him.”

Breathing out a sigh, Zach pulled out the wooden chair and took a seat, with Lienne to his left and Rian to his right. Mr. Oren smiled at the three of them. “It’s great to meet you two. You must be Zach’s friends. I’m Mr. Oren, and I’m actually—”

“A fucking scumbag,” Lienne said with a scowl, causing Kesten to grin, Maric to drop his mouth even further, Alixa to flinch, and Mr. Oren to frown. Fluffles meowed with apparent agreement.

“Excuse me?”

“Maybe this isn’t the time for this,” Rian whispered to her nervously.

Zach himself was too shocked to speak. He couldn’t fathom speaking to Mr. Oren that way. Sure, he was still a bit ruffled from the way he’d been left on his own with nothing but a god-like cat—who actually turned out to be more than enough in the end—but even still, he’d seen what the man had done to Seraphina. The last thing he wanted to do was get on his bad side.

“Lienne, it’s okay,” he whispered to her. “Just forget what I told you about—”

“No, it’s not okay,” she said, slamming her fist down on the wooden table. “He abandoned you. He abdicated his responsibility. You didn’t even know what a tank was. He sent you out blind. You could’ve died, Zach.”

Of all possible reactions, Mr. Oren actually smiled as the outrage fell off his face. “It’s good to have friends who care,” he said. “I understand why you’re angry at me. But there are reasons for why I do what I do. Look, we can talk about that if you want. But first, don’t you want to know where you are? Or why I’ve been looking for Zach?”

Zach nodded. He had to admit that, right now, he had questions he was far more interested in hearing answered than he was in re-litigating the sudden and abrupt way in which Kalana and Mr. Oren had abandoned him to his fate.

“Can you tell us why you’re here? Is it for us? And can you tell us where here is? I also want to know how Kalana is doing.”

Mr. Oren nodded. Before speaking, he raised his finger and then pointed it at a large mug on the table before him. “Coming right up, Alex,” a woman said to him. She appeared a moment later and filled his mug up with a frothy beverage that was likely beer. Zach craned his head to look at the woman serving him—and then with a gasp, he thought his eyes would pop out of his head. To his left, he could hear Lienne’s chair shift as though she’d been jolted in surprise. He could also hear Rian exhale loudly. They were all likely shocked for the same reason.

The woman who had poured Mr. Oren his drink was dressed in a large, white, and fluffy dress. She wore clip-on cat ears, and she had a beautiful pair of blue eyes that complimented her short, curly green hair. But none of these things were what had rattled Zach; no, what took him so aback was that there were words above her head in bold, green lettering above more words in black lettering.

Innkeeper Angelica

Level 1027

“She’s…” Rian shook his head as if unable to believe his eyes. “She’s an NPC.”

“A what?” Zach asked.

“Non-person character,” Alixa said, answering for him as she adjusted her glasses over her pure green eyes. Her red hair was a bit of a mess. She looked like she’d just been in a rough fight, as there appeared to be a trickle of dried blood on the right side of her face not far from one of her sword-shaped earrings.

“What’s that?” Zach asked.

“It’s me!” Angelica said. “I’m an NPC. I’m here to serve the customers of my inn. Nice to meet you, Zachys. Or do you like to be called Zach?”

“Z-Zach is fine,” he replied.

“Nice to meet you, Zach. You must be so hungry and thirsty. You have 480 points. It’s 300 points per night if you’d like a bed. Our prices for food and drink are—”

“Get them a round of house specials and a big, big mug of cherry cola,” Kesten said, interrupting her. He wore his leather jacket as he always did, but it appeared ruffled, as though he too had just gotten out of a big fight. “It’s on me. Use my points.”

“Wow, how nice of you,” Angelica said. “I’ll go whip it up for you kids now!”

Once she’d left, Zach returned his attention to Mr. Oren, as did Rian and Lienne, though Lienne alternated her attention between staring daggers at Mr. Oren and petting Fluffles who, at some point, had already settled into her lap for a nap.

“So,” he began, adjusting his cat-eye glasses. “I didn’t originally come here looking for you, but I sure am glad I found you here. It’s a fortunate coincidence, but probably not as big a coincidence as it seems. If you’re looking for someone, this place is usually where you’ll find them if you hang around long enough.”

“Why’s that?” Zach asked.

“It’s one of the three central hubs—or at least that’s what we call them—in the world of adventuring. There are quite a few ways of coming here. I’m guessing you took the dungeon route. You’ll be here many, many more times. Trust me on that one, my man.”

Zach struggled to make sense of what he was hearing. He was also surprised when it was Rian who asked the next question; it reminded him once again that, despite having much more knowledge on how things worked than Zach did, his friend was still pretty new to everything as well.

“So you’re saying that the place we just came from isn’t the only way here?”

Mr. Oren gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s right. There are more pathways to Angelica’s than I could ever possibly list, and probably thousands more beyond those that no one even knows. There’s never a dull moment here. You’ll make tons of friends, and maybe a few enemies now and again, but this is one of the most important places in the world. It’s considered a pretty big milestone the first time an adventurer steps in here. You three kids should be proud of yourselves.”

Rian nodded his head enthusiastically, as did Zach. Lienne merely narrowed her eyes and glared at Mr. Oren. Zach couldn’t help but feel somewhat touched that her hate was directed solely at the way he’d been treated. But truthfully, though, he didn’t hold a grudge. What happened, happened.

“So, you didn’t come here looking specifically for me,” Zach said. “But you were looking for me in general?”

“That’s right, Zach. We were actually relaxing here after clearing a few floors on a high-level dungeon when Fluffles showed up and filled us in on everything you two have been up to together. So we decided to wait here, knowing it was only a matter of hours or days before you showed up. In this case, we got here only a few hours before you did.”

Zach repeated the words in his head a moment before responding. “How did Fluffles get here?”

“Fluffles use secret door,” the cat answered, speaking for himself. “I not tell Zach because Fluffles get in trouble. Daddy punish Fluffles if he help Zach cheat.”

Angelica returned to the table and set down plates filled with an entire plump chicken and the most inviting tomato soup that Zach had ever laid eyes on; he had to struggle not to drool. She also placed down what she claimed was a “custom made” cherry soda. Zach downed the entire mug before she had even walked away.

I should really be drinking water, he thought. But Gods be damned, this is so good.

The chicken was phenomenal. Zach wasn’t sure if the seasoning was made of magic or if he was just so hungry that everything tasted perfect; either way, he greedily devoured it. Even Lienne, as thin as she was, seemed to be stricken by a sudden sense of gluttony as she tore into her plate. Wiping his mouth, Zach asked, “So, why were you looking for me?”

Mr. Oren’s face tightened, and a sour expression entered his lips. “I screwed up. Badly.”

“How so?” Zach gobbled down his food like a pig. He even licked his fingers, which was something he never normally did. But you know what? Who gave a shit? He was starving!

“I didn’t think you were in any danger,” he said. “Knowing how the guilds operate, I didn’t…I thought they would perceive you as insignificant, especially since Varsh would not want to suffer the humiliation of actually telling anyone what you did to him. But it seems there was a witness, and word spread about the level-3 boy who humiliated a lieutenant of the Royal Roses.” He sighed. “So now they want you dead. And they’re coming for you.”

Zach stopped eating at once, and he croaked. “W-what?”