Five days had passed since the sudden bandit attack on the merchant’s caravan. After Enya had taken out a bandit’s leg and killed another archer, and with Mr. Bones going head-to-head against their leader, they had successfully made their escape. Using the dungeon core’s built-in functions, they managed to pull Mr. Bones out safely before his utter demise. Enya compared it to a “cheat” skill, similar to the abilities described in Pell’s novels.
The first day was rough. They stayed parallel to the road, keeping a wide distance to avoid detection by anyone that could be around. This meant that when the moon rose, they couldn’t light a fire at night, as they would be risking their position to the bandits who could or could not be still be on their trail. Consequently, Enya had to endure a cold, chilly night while sleeping—while the two skeletons in the group rested perfectly well.
After the first night passed without interruption, they all concluded they were likely safe. If the bandits were going to chase them, they would have done so by now. Luckily, this meant warm nights by the fire for Enya.
The forest around them was vast and generally peaceful. Pell had traversed this area before, but only once—when he found the map that led to the dungeon. On that journey, he hadn’t encountered any monsters. The only hostile creatures he had noticed were boars and horned rabbits. Though, it was often said, even in the first layer, one should never underestimate a horned rabbit.
“Are we there yeeeeettt?” Enya groaned. Every single day was filled with walking and more walking. After all the running she had done in the dungeon, she now found herself covering essentially the same distance day after day. The trees began to blend together, and she feared she would soon have nightmares of tree monsters attacking her in her sleep. It didn’t help that Pell had told her that such monsters actually existed and were called ents.
“No, and will you shut up? It’s only been a single minute since you asked that,” Pell replied, exasperation clear in his voice. Sure, he had a technically immortal body and limitless stamina, but even he could be pushed to the brink of annoyance. Children had a way of getting under his bones. She had asked him that same question nearly twenty times in the past thirty minutes. They were in a damn forest; “Are we there yet?” would be answered if she could just look past the trees, especially with her sensory skill. There was no reason to keep bugging him about it.
“Buuuut Pellllll,” she droned. “My feeeeet hurrtttt…” she moped.
She was dramatically dragging her feet along the ground, scuffling up falling leaves and leaving a small dirt trail that led directly behind her. Luckily, Mr. Bones was following her, shuffling the dirt path aside in an attempt to cover up her tracks.
“Yeah, well my bones hurt. Deal with it,” Pell retorted.
Honestly, the three of them were exhausted. Enya was human—and still a child—so it was obvious she would feel fatigue. While Pell didn’t experience exhaustion, aside from when he hadn’t “slept” for a few days, he still felt mentally drained. He was caught up in his thoughts, including the peculiar relationship he had with the young girl. No matter how he examined it, it still felt odd.
Still dragging her legs, Enya let out an overly dramatic sigh. She tilted her head up, finally looking at the small path before her instead of staring down at her feet. A flicker of yellow sparked about her eyes, and her body tensed momentarily. The core of her sensory field detached from her body, zipping ahead and weaving through the trees. More and more of the same stupid trees—
“I SEE IT!” she screamed.
Pell, who was walking at a steady pace beside her, shattered into pieces, with every bone disintegrating into bone dust, and his soul being crushed, pulverized, and recycled all in the same instant.
Well—that’s what he felt, happened. Instead, in a bone-rattling fashion, his entire body trembled, letting out a yelp that echoed through the air, akin to a frightened cat.
In the next moment, Enya's senses slingshotted back into her body. She turned to Pell with a large, elated smile, ready to announce her discovery—until she caught sight of his purple eyes glaring at her from within his skull, sharp and menacing. His arms were crossed—actually, no. One of his arms was now laying on the ground.
“A-ah. Sorry,” she stammered, her cheeks flushing.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
“Pass. Here you go,” said a man with a calm, steady voice, laced with a hint of formality and discipline. His tone wasn’t overly refined, but it exuded respect and dignity, free from contempt or prejudice. That was part of his role as a city guard. One could never tell when a noble or city official might approach, perhaps disguised as a beggar to assess the city's security and condition.
“Pass. Here is your lock,” came another voice just a couple of meters away. This one was higher pitched but retained the same formality and reserve as the first guard.
After finishing the checks of the couple in front of him, the guard allowed them to pass through the large city gates. He turned his gaze to see that his partner had just completed her current guest’s inspection—a traveling tradesman who often conducted business at the nearby teashop.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“How’s the work so far, Laura?” he asked.
“Have a good day in Talo, Mr. Mintrel,” Laura said to the man in front of her, giving the slightest head-bow and gesturing for the tradesman to enter. The man nodded with a smile and stepped into the city.
She watched his back, adorned in a crisp black suit, and let out a sigh. Her gaze then shifted back to her friend that had called her.
“I don’t know. It’s… easy, I guess. But ugh, keeping this upright attitude all the time and being ‘professional’ really sucks. I don’t know how everyone can keep this up all day,” she complained.
A slight chuckle came from the guard standing opposite the barred entranceway. “Trust me. We all hate it. But the job is easy, as you said. There’s barely any other way to make decent money for such a simple task. Hell, even if someone gets rowdy, we just call up one of the War Paragons,” he said with a grateful, nonchalant attitude.
“Yeah, yeah. But it’s not like I’ve actually seen anything interesting happen. The best thing was that thief who pickpocketed someone and tried to escape out of the city using his invisibility skill. That wasn’t even directly related to our job at all,” Laura said, leaning her back against the outer stone pillar that adorned the side of the gate.
The city was large, teeming with people and alive with commotion. Almost everything was a brilliant white, from the walls and streets to the buildings. Scattered around the city were tall, open-gated entrances with arcing tops, made from crystallized magic stone crushed and forged together with regular stone. At each entrance stood guards facilitating the entry of all visitors—peasants, nobles, officials alike—all paid members of the city government, there to prevent illegal or dangerous individuals from entering.
“True. But if you wanted action, why not join the adventurer’s guild or become a merc?” he asked, also leaning against the outer gate.
“I didn’t say I wanted to be part of all the action. I’m just saying that this job is just boooooring. It’s just us standing here all day and letting everybody through. There’s not a single suspicious idiot going to enter through the front gate,” Laura stated, leaning her head back and resting it against the stone gate.
“Well, if you’d rather take up a job at the mines or become a farmer, then go ahead if you’d like. Though, if you do, you owe me for putting in a good word for you for this job,” the man said, lifting his leg and placing the sole of his shoe against the wall behind him. “’Sides, you’re trying to tell me you want to be in danger?”
Laura rolled her eyes. “No, you bumbling idiot. I just want something exciting to happen. I want to meet something interesting that isn’t just some busy noble or a traveling supply trader.”
“Like a creepy little girl with blood on her head carrying a skeleton skull?” the man asked.
Both ears on Laura’s head twitched at the question. She tilted her head and side-eyed him. “That’s oddly specific. You got a story or something?”
“No… but I think we’re about to have one together,” he said.
Another eye-roll passed across her face, and she let out a wry, defeated chuckle. “Oh jeez, Thomas, that’s such a corny line,” she replied, a small blush and smile creeping onto her face.
“N-no. I mean, yeah, that’s a great line, but no, that’s not what I meant,” he stammered, unsure of his words. “Look to your left.”
Laura raised an eyebrow and pushed herself off from her leaning stance against the gate. She stood straight and snuck a peek to the left until the sight she saw made her entire body rotate subconsciously. “What… the hell?”
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
“Just don’t do or say anything stupid,” Pell said.
“I won’t!” Enya replied, her enthusiasm bubbling over.
Her little footsteps marched forward along the path, the sound of crunching dirt beneath her. They had finally reached the end of the forest, and the path had transformed. Leaves had been raked away, and the ground shifted from weathered dirt to sturdy stone. The trio had been walking along this stone path for a day already, their first large sign that they were heading in the right direction.
Enya walked out of the forest, eyes bright as she followed the well-kept stone path toward the city gates. Outside stood two figures Pell had referred to as city guards. They would be the ones to grant them entry—or not.
Mr. Bones, a colossal skeleton monster under her control, was a bit too… big and menacing, according to Pell. They needed permission to enter, and if anything went wrong, explaining the aftermath might not be possible, especially if they were killed before they could even speak. So, Pell and Enya had agreed to let Mr. Bones stay deeper in the forest by a tree. They even decided to let him hold onto the dungeon core—for now. If either of them strolled into the city with it, they might get mugged before anything could happen.
But what about Pell? He was a skeleton too. While he wasn’t as intimidating as Mr. Bones, he was still a skeleton, nonetheless. That was where Enya’s brilliant idea came into play.
“Uh, halt!” shouted a man just as Enya was about to reach the gate. She looked at him, taking in the dark, well-fitted leather-like tunic he wore, polished to a sheen. It seemed sturdy, reinforced with light padding and flexibility, but it lacked any combat-focused protection. No hard plates of metal, no protective chainmail—nothing.
Over one shoulder, the guard sported a neatly draped sash adorned with insignias that likely represented some rank or authority. He wore metal bracers on both arms—intricately designed and thin—and a wide belt with a buckle with the image of a typical pointed shield forged onto it's surface. His simple black trousers and boots were also practical for standing long hours at the gate. But most notably, he carried no weapon. A quick glance at the other guard, who had long hair, confirmed much of the same.
Both guards approached with a slight reluctance in their steps. The man who had shouted earlier was the first to speak.
“Uh… who are you?” he asked slowly.
“I’m Enya! Enya Emp—” Before she could finish, Pell shook violently within her palms. She froze mid-declaration, her mouth still agape. Both guards stared at her, confused by her sudden silence.
“I’m Enya… N-not Em…pyria,” she stammered, the nerves tightening in her stomach.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, brat,” said the skull in her arms, his voice dripping with exasperation. Both guards’ eyes went wide upon hearing the disembodied voice.
“Did… that skull just speak?” asked the man, incredulous.
“Yep!” answered Enya, puffing out her chest with pride.
“No,” Pell interjected at the exact same moment.
Meanwhile, far away in the forest, Mr. Bones sat with his back against a tree, where Pell’s body was currently bashing his spinal cord against the bark, mainly because his skull wasn’t there to be used instead.