Chapter 09 of Wayward Ranger by J Scott Miles

“I found something,” Aidan said breathlessly as he ran back into the camp where Elease and Tarna still napped.

“What are you going on about?” Elease asked, opening one eye.

“I found a dungeon.”

“I doubt that.” Elease replied. “Go practice with your new spear some more. You need it. Or take a nap. I don’t really care, just whatever you do, do it quietly. My head is still aching from that damned wine, and if we’re taking a rest day, by the gods, I intend to spend it resting.”

“Damn it, Elease, I really found a dungeon!”

Elease glowered at him, and even Tarna opened her eyes and huffed.

“There are no charted dungeons anywhere near us.” Elease said. “Trust me, I paid a king’s ransom the last time we were near the guildhall to have my map updated.”

“Well, I don’t know whether or not it’s on your map, but I know I found one.”

“How do you know?” she asked, rising to a seated position and reaching for her pack.

“I found a door while I was out there picking greens. When I touched it, I got a notice that it was a dungeon entrance. A level twelve dungeon named the Green Hollow.”

Elease pulled a rolled length of leather from her pack as she looked over at Tarna, who had also gotten up into a seated position. The half-elf unrolled the leather, revealing the inner surface of her enchanted map. She touched the leather’s surface and with a few finger gestures, made the colorful ink image scrawled across it zoom in.

Wow, that map looks like a really nice, really expensive map. It’s way bigger than Ranger Dallen’s, and his was only enchanted with black ink, hers has at least a dozen colors of ink on it.

She shook her head, as if confirming to herself the dungeon did not exist on her map.

“It’s there.” Aidan said again.

Elease sighed. “Okay, show us. But if you take us to a god’s damned hermit’s hut, or some abandoned bog-man’s lair, so help me…”

Her skepticism didn’t exactly surprise him, and he knew she was sore, hungover, and irritable from the events of the night before, but her attitude still stung and made him angry.

“You know what?” he said in a huff. “Forget it. Maybe I’ll just wait until I have another party and then I’ll bring them back here to explore the dungeon that I found.”

Elease arched an eyebrow at him. “First, you don’t have a map.” She shook hers at him, then rolled it back up. “And your since of direction would have to be epic level for you to find your way back here without one. We’ve been following mostly game trails; not known paths or roads that you can just retrace. And second, if what you found really is a dungeon, that means it’s almost certainly of the transient variety. Which means it probably has a set limit of entrants it will allow before it disappears again or a set amount of time it’s enterable. Then it will close again for only the God’s know how long. So, even if by some miracle you made it back here without a map, there’s a good chance this dungeon of yours would be gone again.”

There were only a couple of strictly controlled dungeons left in the kingdoms and Aidan hadn’t been aware different types of dungeons existed. To most people back home, a dungeon was as big a bard’s tale as a kraken or a dragon.

“I think I’ll take that chance,” he replied. “I’ve got a pretty good memory. And at least if I wait, I can come back with a party. That way, I’ll know whoever I show the dungeon to can’t try to screw me out of my share of loot.”

Elease looked hurt. “No one screwed you out of anything. If anything, you got the dragon’s share of loot out of that green’s hoard when you found and bound that epic spear. A spear you are totally unqualified to wield, I might add. And the wrong class to ever make the most of.” She scoffed. “What kind of self-respecting ranger uses a spear?”

Tarna growled from behind Elease and the half-elf turned to glare back at her familiar.

“Oh, don’t you even start.” Elease said. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten it was you who found that spear for him. That could have been our prize, and it could have financed the rest of our quests all the way up to dragon slayer. But no, because you’ve taken a shine to him, like he’s some kind of wayward pup, you showed it to him instead of me.”

“Ah, ha.” Aidan broke in. “So, you admit it. If you’d have found the spear, you’d have kept it for yourself and then sold it when you could and cut me out of any profit from it completely.”

“No, not completely.” Elease replied with a smug smile. “I would have given you something commensurate with your contribution, which, in the context of the dragon fight, wouldn’t have been much.”

Tarna growled again, drawing Elease’s glare once more. The two stared at one another for several long moments before Elease relented.

“Fine,” she said, turning her scowl back on Aidan. “If you show us where this supposed dungeon is, and it’s one we can attempt to explore without getting our asses handed to us, I’ll guarantee you a fair share of any loot we find inside.”

“Fair determined by you?” Aidan sneered. “No thanks. If you want me to show you the dungeon I found, we go as a party. That way, I know you won’t screw me.”

Elease snorted. “You should be so lucky.”

The day before he might have blushed or reacted to her willful misinterpretation of his words, but he was too annoyed to right then. He knelt beside the small pile of coins he’d left beside the fire and began scooping up his loot. To make room in his pockets, he pulled out the purple orchid he’d picked beside the waterfall.

“Whoa,” Elease gasped. “Where’d you get that and why’d you pick it? Now I know you’re trying to get in my pants.”

“What are you talking about?” Aidan asked. “This is a MAidan’s Mist orchid.”

“Yeah, I know what it is.” Elease chuckled and even Tarna laughed.

“It’s used to make a tea that enhances stamina,” he said.

“Yeah, stamina for fucking,” Elease barked. “And it’ll give you a cock as stiff as your spear shaft for hours.”

He’d avoided blushing before, but a wave of embarrassment crashed over him. She could have been making the whole thing about the orchids up, purely to get a rise out of him, but he didn’t think so. Other pieces from his past slipped into place then. That’s why we always seemed to find our way to a town or an inn right after Ranger Dallen found one of these orchids. And that’s why he never let me have any of the tea he made.

The thought of his old mentor having sex made Aidan cringe. But if he was being honest with himself, he’d realized what Ranger Dallen was doing when he stole away for a few hours whenever they found themselves in a suitably hospitable town. I found my own willing partners on occasion as well. I just can’t believe I had no idea that’s what he was using the orchids for.

“You should see your face right now.” Elease chortled. “Who told you it was used just for stamina? Your old mentor?”

When Aidan didn’t respond, her laughter reached another level, and she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes.

Feeling his embarrassment turn back to anger, Aidan stood and stomped off toward the creek.

“Wait, come back.” Elease called, her voice still tinged with laughter.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Before he made it all the way to the water, he heard Tarna growl, then bark. At first, he thought the wolf and Elease were arguing, but Tarna sounded truly angry. Then he heard Elease’s bow twang, and he skidded to a stop.

Sprinting back to their campsite, he saw Elease off in the trees, some twenty or twenty-five-yards away. She crouched, looking at something on the ground. When Aidan reached her, he saw a dead kobold with one of the ranger’s arrows imbedded in its throat at her feet.

“Fucking kobolds,” she spat, her earlier humor completely gone. “And this wasn’t the only one. You can see right there where there were two of them. The little shits were just laying here downwind watching us.”

Aidan was about to ask if she’d gotten the other one too, when Tarna came traipsing back through the trees with a dead kobold dangling from her jaws. Well, I guess that answers my question about whether the other one got away. It also answers whether Tarna is feeling better. She’s obviously feeling good enough to chase down and kill a kobold. Elease’s healing potion must have worked as well on her overnight as it did on me.

“Do you think there are more of them?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I only saw these two,” Elease said. “I never expected them to follow us this far from their nest in the first place. Their nest has to be back near where the green dragon’s cave was. And then after the ass-kicking we gave them last night, I thought we’d either killed their entire raiding party, or if there were any left, that they’d be sprinting back home as fast as their stunted little lizard legs could carry them.”

Tarna dropped the kobold, then growled.

“You could be right.” Elease said to her familiar.

“What’d she say?” Aidan asked.

“She thinks these two might have been left here to keep an eye on us while others ran back to get reinforcements. It just doesn’t make sense, though. I’ve never known kobolds to be this tenacious. They usually flee at the first opportunity, and I’ve never known them to stray this far from their nest.”

“So, if you think others went to go get reinforcements, that means they could already be on their way back here and we need to clear out of the area.”

“No, we can’t stay here any longer.” Elease replied, but she chewed her lip as if she was unsure of her answer. “But if you really found a transient dungeon, it would be a rare find. Even if it is just a level twelve dungeon. We shouldn’t just leave it unexplored. It might hold some really valuable loot. And at the very least, accessing our upgrade-markets from near it, or better yet inside it might bring up some rare upgrade choices.”

Their dispute about loot from earlier hadn’t been resolved, but Aidan was glad to hear Elease was taking his claim more seriously, at least. He was still unwilling to show her his find without assurances she’d share whatever they found inside equally, although her point about the upgrade-market was one he hadn’t even considered.

When he said as much, he could tell she was still annoyed, but she reluctantly agreed that if what he’d found was truly a dungeon, she’d form a party with him before they went in.

“You understand the downsides of a party, though, don’t you?” Elease asked as they walked back to their small campsite. “The death penalty for losing party members is no joke. I’m sure you realized that when your other party members died on that ship. Was that your first time losing a party member?”

It had indeed been the first time Aidan had ever lost a party member, and the death penalty had been more costly than he’d expected.

“I’m aware of the death penalty.” He replied. “I just got back to where I was in terms of my accumulated experience before the kraken attack, after killing those kobolds last night. And I lost pretty much all of mu upgrade-points.”

“Then hopefully you can understand my reticence. Death penalties only get worse as you gain levels, and I’m not eager to get saddled with your debt or anyone else’s.” She chewed her lip again as she eyed him. “Level with me. If we party up, I’ll find out, anyway. So tell me, how young are you really, and what’s your level?”

Aidan sighed and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I’m nineteen and level ten.”

Elease’s eyes widened, and even Tarna turned her head toward him.

“By the gods, you’re even younger than I thought,” she said. “And shit, now I feel like a dirty old woman for making all those jokes about you and your junk. And I can’t believe I even let myself fant—” Her words cut off abruptly, then she started again. “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. This changes things.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Aidan protested. “What’s the difference? Yesterday, you already said you thought I was young. So, when you thought I was, what, twenty or twenty-one, that was so much better?”

“Yes.” Elease replied. “And I definitely thought you were a few levels higher. You being only a level ten makes even a level twelve dungeon way more hazardous for you.”

“I don’t need your permission or approval to do anything.” Aidan spat back with possibly a little too much vitriol, but her treating him like some stupid, wet-behind-the-ears kid was grating. “If I’m willing to take the risk of exploring a level twelve dungeon, that’s my business.”

His words were far more confident and cavalier than he felt. In truth, he was worried about what kind of dangers they might find inside the dungeon as well, but he still wanted to explore his find, and he really didn’t want to show an ounce of fear or hesitation in front of Elease and Tarna. Especially not now that they’re both looking at me like a puppy they need to protect.

“Listen, you said it yourself. We can’t stay here any longer. Which means we’ve either got to get back on that game trail we were following before and put some distance between us and these kobolds. Or we go check out the dungeon I found and see what options that opens up. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Kobolds wouldn’t be able to follow us into a dungeon, even if they tracked us all the way to the entrance.”

“That’s generally true. Usually only the advanced races can enter dungeons. But they could always just wait for us outside the entrance. We’ll have to exit eventually. This dungeon may have a different exit point, but it also may not. And it doesn’t change your level. At level twelve, the dungeon shouldn’t be too difficult, with monsters of plus or minus three or four levels at the most. But that’s not always the case.”

“You’ve seen me fight already. I’m not helpless, and with this epic spear and the Lynx movement enhancements it grants me, I’m delivering damage well above what my level would normally be able to. And I’m due for a level-up soon.” Aidan could see his argument was doing little to convince Elease, so he changed tactics and addressed her other concern. “And you’re right, the kobolds could wait for us outside the dungeon entrance, but depending on how big the dungeon is, we could be inside for days. And if we put even a little effort into concealing our tracks, which we didn’t before, who’s to say they’ll find where we went at all? In fact, we can follow the creek all the way to the dungeon. The rocks and the water should make tracking us very difficult, especially if we’re trying to conceal where we went and if they don’t start looking for us soon.”

Elease chewed her lower lip again as she and Tarna conferred in low whispers and growls.

“Alright,” she said after they’d come to some agreement. “We’ll get our stuff together and head to this dungeon of yours, but if I don’t like what we find, we’re looking for a new trail out of this area and heading toward Barlow’s Ferry.”

“And we’re forming a party?” Aidan pressed.

Elease threw up her hands in exasperation. “For the love of the gods, yes. If once we get there, we decide to go inside, I’ll form a party.”

It didn’t take them long to get their little camp packed up. Aidan even let Elease hold his coins in her magical bag for him so he could travel lighter. He also asked her to put the bow she’d given him back in storage until he needed it. Which is hopefully never. That damn thing is literally a pain to shoot. My bruises from it didn’t fully clear up until after I drank that healing potion she gave me.

They waded downstream through the creek, and when they reached the cliff, they took the same route down as he had earlier, doing their best to cover any tracks he might have left before, as well as covering their own.

Aidan had worried Tarna might have trouble negotiating the crumbling narrow ledge that led from the pond’s edge to the cavity behind the waterfall, but the wolf managed it easily. The part that gave them difficulty was squeezing all three of them into the small space between the waterfall and the dungeon door.

“You were right.” Elease said, her eyes bright behind strands of dripping hair. “I can’t hardly believe it, but you were right. It’s an uncharted dungeon.”

Aidan couldn’t help smiling at her acknowledgement. “So, are we doing this, then?”

Elease nodded slowly, then Aidan received a party invitation notification. He’d gone through the process before, but he still took a moment to go over the information before mentally accepting.

Eleaslane Emerldbow Roundtree has extended a party invitation for the Elease’s Wayward Rangers party.

Current party members—Eleaslane Emerldbow Roundtree and familiar.

Party terms:

Party leader—Eleaslane Emerldbow Roundtree.

Party hierarchy—undefined.

Experience gained—shared equally.

Death penalty—shared equally.

Loot collected—shared equally—distributed by Eleaslane Emerldbow Roundtree.

Dissolution—at will outside of combat.

He wasn’t surprised Elease had made herself the party leader or that she’d named the party after herself. I certainly didn’t expect her to make me the leader. No one else is likely to ever see the party name but us, so she can call it whatever she wants, and everything else looks good. I’m a little wary about her allocating our shares of loot, but I guess that’s to be expected. I’m pretty sure that’s usually part of the party leader’s job.

Without further hesitation, he accepted the invitation, and that was that.

It was really a rather underwhelming process, and he chuckled nervously. Until that point, he’d been so excited over finding the dungeon and so focused on wanting to exploit it that the fear of what could go wrong inside hadn’t truly settled in. He’d understood there was a chance they’d find something they couldn’t handle inside, and there was also a chance one or all of them wouldn’t make it back out. This is it, though. If I want to be an adventurer, I have to adventure. And if I want the rewards, I have to take the risks.

Elease and Tarna were both looking at him. “Are you ready?” She asked.

Aidan steeled his suddenly fluttering nerves and nodded. “Yep, let’s do this.”