A land of darkmist, fog and despair, dead men cover the earth and a gallus king sits on their throne. "Copper for the ugly poor and weak, Silver for the masses greedy and stained, Gold is for the richest drowning in decay" The king tosses three coins at one's feet. "We have no time for dreams do we?" Unsure he takes a step forward still tired, dizzy and forgetful. "Do you remember? Jakurk"
"Cold iron, Is the master of Men all"
The world once more became dark, yet the words of the king still echoed against the empty minds walls. A noise slowly began to sound. like that of a chatter. A never ending chatter accompanied by moving boots. people talking to one another, bathering it faintly sounded like a market. Although how one would find themselves in a market in a dungeon was unclear.
"Ah you're awake" When Jakurk first opened his eyes he was met with a somewhat familiar face.
"You are.. Laggo? no Lages?" It was the healer from the town. His well tanned face was easy to remember and likewise was his markless hands. They were within a tent or something similar. One of the walls was of the same kind of red stone as the rest of the first floor. Just outside he could hear mumbled voices and passing footsteps.
"Latto, I'm surprised you remember even a bit of it, Stay still would you" Jakurk felt more awful then the time he tried that gourmet puffer fish dish in the streets of Pynt. Yet this experience topped even that. It was as if battling seven hangovers at once and losing every single one of those fights.
"What happened?" In truth his memory felt just a tad bit foggy, he remembered leaving the spider infested room but not much after.
"You got a little bit poisoned, You're quite lucky it was Bellwood venom since it only causes Paralysis, Dizziness and sometimes hallucinations" Latto applied a sort of greenish paste to jakurks forehead. "Your companions already offered payment so you don't have to worry about it"
"Where are we?" This place was undoubtedly the dungeon, but where? Was it simply a part of the entrance? the very first room within the giant gate they had seen when approaching the dungeon, a place just by the exit? If so his untimely paralysis had set the group back a day or two. Dammit.
"Augusts drop" Seeing the confusion on Jakurks face the healer continued. "August's drop is a hamlet established at the centre of the first floor, upon a crossroad, all paths leading down continue on the other side, all paths leading out go on the other. And exactly in the centre is a well, or you could call it a drop to the third floor." A hamlet within a dungeon was not a new concept. Many of the world's famous dungeons had several. littered throughout the dungeons many floors. A safe area controlled by a well of party, guild or influential group. Some hamlets stood unused for months only used during hunting seasons or during times of emergency. While others acted more like open markets offering goods, food or a warm and safe place to sleep. Having one on the first floor however was a bit unusual.
"Where are my companions?" The tent was small. So small that it was hard for Latto to move around the wooden table overlaid with white cloth used as a sort of sick bed without bumping into his own equipment. There was no room for anyone else.
"HES AWAKE!" Latto shouted towards the tent's half open entrance. And immediately an easily recognisable snout stuck its way in between the white cloth that covered the entrance. Opip had remained outside since well they got here.
"Is your health better?" Opip cautiously peeked inside. There was a hesitation in the way that she moved but she did enter the tent. Although she kept her distance. It was not the first time she had been in a healers tent visiting someone old and sick.
"It's not good, but at least I'm not dead" With a bit of a chuckle Jakurk got off the uncomfortable table/bed. As his feet hit the ground he felt a wave of nausea ripple through his body. He was forced to use the table as support to remain standing. Concerned Latto reached out a hand but Jakurk swatted it down and responded coldly "I'm a little sick not crippled"
"Even then with an old body like yours you should be more careful" There were many within the island's population who grew old. Some say it was due to the northern climate or the lifestyle of the island. Either way Latto had many clients who were pushing on in age. And he had seen many who after just one wrong step ended up in a bed for the rest of their lives. Which took a toil on their family if they had one.
Jakurk ignored the warning. He knew best how to take care of himself. And both his life and his body was no one's business but his own. He was after a few short attempts able to stand and walk just fine. It was then that he noticed the clothes he was wearing was not his own but some grey poor quality fiber. "Where are my clothes?"
"They needed to be removed in order to lay down the lines on the right spots, Also you smelled so Tristin took your cloths to be washed by the fountain" A confused look came over Jakurks face which was then replaced by a fearful expression as he frantically searched the area around his neck. Thankfully the iron amulet was still there hanging around his neck.Hidden by the white tunic. "You were holding on to that necklace even while deep in the lands of dreams, must be important to you"
"It is, also I don't smell, do i?" Jakurk shifted his gaze from Latto to Opip as he asked the question. As a hound they had an excellent smell and would be able to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Well…I wouldn't…really…You smell like a dead cat left outside to dry in the summer sun for seven days and seven nights" Someone had to tell him. Although someone else could maybe have said it better.
"Oh, why didn't anyone tell me?" Jakurk's tone was lower than usual, and for a moment he wondered why he himself had not noticed. An awkward moment of pure silence was shared between the three as no one knew what to say.
"You're up early" Tristin entered the tent carrying some dried seemingly nicer versions of Jakurks clothes. These ones lacked the spots and stains and seemed to be a little lighter in colour. "What's with the silence? It's like someone died in here"
"Yeah, someone's cat," Latto laughed at his own joke. When no one else did he stopped.
"How long was I asleep?" Jakurk wasted no time in putting on his clothes. The dark blue wool coat felt soft and not strangely sticky for the first time in months. And both the shirt and pants fit him perfectly.
"Just a few hours, By the way, I traded in the information about the room with the house of coin, they have a small outpost here" Tristin held up a small coin pouch.
"I'm guessing you're not going to share much of that" The small hill folk had beaten him to the punch. If only he hadn't been paralysed. then he too could have had his own little pouch of coin. Greedy young hill folk.
"Who do you think paid for your treatment?" Ouch now Jakukr felt a little bit conscious of his own thoughts. Maybe he was a greedy old man. Greedy and smelling like a dead cat. Growing old sure was though. "Anyways there's another mage outside, and they'd like to have a words with you"
"Whoever they are, tell them I'm not interested" Here comes trouble. Meeting other mages unless they belonged to the same order, guild or faction meant in general just one thing. Conflict.
"It didn't seem like they were the kind of person to accept that kind of answer.. Latto this tent doesn't have a backdoor does it?" Latto went over to the back of the tent, lifted up the cloth wall. Then knocked on the red stone behind it. "No"
"I'm too old for duels" There was a reason that so few mages grew old. A reason there were so few mages around in the first place. And there was a reason for which there were only two other mages on the island. "Get ready to leave, I'll take care of it in a minute or two, and with those words Jakurk left the tent.