It took the better part of an hour for Tobias to be ready. Petr had quickly changed and sat beside her in what Astrid could only assume was solidarity. His armor was layers of overlapping leather covering his chest, shoulders, and thighs. Heavy boots and a helmet completed his armor, but a stee-wrapped shield as large as Astrid's was strapped to his back. It took her until that moment to realize that Petr was a good deal shorter than she was, maybe 170 cm. Once he was ready, though, Astrid had no doubt that he was a competent frontliner.
Svana too took her sweet time to get outfitted in a dark colored boiled leather armor set. When she came down half an hour after Petr, she padded quietly, and Astrid couldn't help but think of Liesl. Instead of joviality, though, Svana radiated a general air of hostility. She didn't look at Astrid or Petr, and just left to brood in a corner. At that point, Astrid had finished her second serving of lunch and was, alongside the rest of her part, waiting for Tobias to show. He didn't when Grom showed up with a pouch of copper pieces as payment for the wargs. Counting through the individual pieces, she saw that she'd been paid the complete bounty, not just half.
"It's nothing to me, and it's something I can do for you. Nothing you need to worry about." After his explanation, Grom hustled out of the inn, and Astrid couldn't see him any longer.
With three copper a warg, she wouldn't be strapped for money any time soon. That said, Astrid realized just how lucky she'd been to have parents with the financial capabilities that Brighid and Savraba did. Her armor was much the same quality as Grom's was. Sure, his armor definitely had enchantments and whatever else, but the chain mail and materials were much the same as hers. Looking at these other, somewhat established delvers, Astrid couldn't help but feel awkward as she stood in her own armor.
Since Tobias still hadn't appeared, she stripped most of the armor from her previously wounded leg to clean the worst of the grime and crusted blood from it. As she did so, she asked, "How long have you two been in Schteld?"
"Couple months." Petr grunted.
"I've been here a little less." Svana answered. Neither provided more information, and Astrid's hopes of adventuring and delving with her friends withered even more. Two uncommunicative people led by a self-obsessed pervert of a leader. She fought the urge to smash her head into the armor piece she held. Instead, she nodded.
"And how often have you been delving? Do you go to the second floor, or stick to the first?"
"First level." Petr answered. Neither said anything about how frequently they delved, and the bad feeling that Astrid had fought to keep down whispered what she already knew.
"How often does Tobias actually get into the Dungeon?"
Petr looked at Svana, waiting for her approval or answer instead. She took a moment to think about it before meeting Astrid's gaze. "He delves once or twice a week. Since he can frequently get experience in the inn, he likes to stay here and heal people when they return from their delves for a reasonable price. Experience and better money than delving."
"And that's why he's a higher level than you two?" Astrid fought to keep her tone of disbelief from being too obvious. More and more, she hated the prig.
Neither of her new party members replied. For at least the third time since being introduced to these people, Astrid resolved herself not to stick with them any longer than absolutely necessary. Instead of working herself up more, Astrid spent the rest of the time until Tobias appeared merely cleaning her armor. When the Healer finally showed up, he wore a light leather chestpiece over his thick healer's vestment. The gray fabric hung nearly low enough to drag on the ground, and Astrid had to keep from criticizing his fashion choice.
Instead, she forced another smile onto her face and met the Healer's gaze.
"I'm glad you're ready! Shall we?"
"I suppose." Tobias sighed as he mentally extended the invitation to party with them. Astrid accepted the feeling and could understand the general positions of the others in the party. "However, do know that the same moment I begin to run low on mana, we'll make our retreat. I cannot allow any of your lives to be at risk."
"Of course." Astrid grated out. She'd need to take special care not to let Petr or herself get injured to ensure they could actually get some more experience today. Something inside of her crumpled as she had to think as much, but she didn't let it get to her. Instead, she forced on another smile and led the way out of the inn. Petr walked alongside her while Svana and Tobias lagged behind.
"Petr," Astrid asked, "do you have any Skills that'll help you draw the attention of nearby enemies?"
He nodded, and thankfully explained, "If they are within 20m of me, I draw in monsters. The wargs almost always fail."
Astrid nodded. If he was confident in that, then she wouldn't complain or bring up any failsafes. Her job was to finish off the monsters first, and then to protect the others second. If she was in this party, which she was, then she'd need to trust that the others were capable of filling their responsibilities.
"And Svana?" Astrid spoke louder to draw the other woman's attention. With a sigh, Svana looked at Astrid. "Do you have a Skill that specifically tells you where the nearest monsters are? I'm not very familiar with the Scout Class."
"I can scout out the surroundings." Svana replied with a theatrical sigh. "I know how strong monsters are and where they are. Is that enough for you?"
"Yup!" Astrid forced a cheery tone yet again. Fortunately, she didn't feel the need to clarify with Tobias what his Skills could be, and instead, she continued walking while keeping an eye out for any more wargs that could have escaped the dungeon. It wasn't common for them to escape from the stairs, given that they had to spend a full 6 hours inside of the stairway itself to do so, but it was possible. Beyond that, sometimes the mana in a particular entrance of the Dungeon would go through a pseudo-Surge and monsters could just spawn outside of the Dungeon itself.
Even though it wasn't actually that long a time, the minutes it took to get back to the Dungeon served as a painful reminder of Astrid's broken hopes for her future with her friends. She forced herself to go through quiet breathing exercises to focus herself and keep from allowing emotions to overwhelm her. By the time the silent party arrived at the entrance of the Dungeon, Astrid had mastered herself. Before they could descend in, though, another party came out.
A full party of five, they had an obvious pair of frontliners, a finisher, scout, and who she supposed was a healer. Astrid gritted her teeth as the other party joked with each other in easy camaraderie. When they saw her party walking in, the healer's face lit up.
"Oh, you're coming in? Sounds great! There weren't too many near the exit, so you might need to go a bit further out this time. You'll find some no more than a kilometer or two away, though. If not there, there's always the second floor. Good luck, rookie! Tell us about your first day tonight!"
The bubbly woman, who Astrid recognized as the person who'd asked her a couple questions when she'd first appeared, smiled widely as she moved along past Tobias's party. Astrid had to pull herself back from begging to be allowed into their party, even though it would take their numbers above 5 and would hurt the party as a whole.
"Goodbye Lariche." Tobias's voice was somehow both smarmy and derogatory at the same time as he spoke to the other Healer. "Have a good rest."
"You should know all about getting a good amount of rest." One of the others in the party piped up, causing a wave of laughter to wash over their party. Tobias burned with resentment as the party continued on their way Even Lariche, good natured as she appeared, had to stifle a chuckle. Astrid felt a vicarious wave of shame at being associated with Tobias, but she forced the feeling down and instead resolved herself to help this part to be productive. Wouldn't that be a great capstone for her as she was able to get her fourth Skill? That she turned a lazy and unproductive party into a great one? Yes, that would be her new goal.
"What a self-righteous, holier-than-thou witch." Tobias spat as they walked to go into the Dungeon. "Thinks she's better than us because she doesn't charge to heal."
"Why do you charge if you can get free experience that way?" Astrid asked as Petr then she led the way down the stairs.
"Because you must always charge for any service or good you provide." He spoke as if explaining to a particularly slow child. "If not, you will never make any money."
"Isn't it better to get to be a higher level, where you can make more money anyways?" Astrid asked, trying to appeal to his apparent values.
"There is no rush." Tobias brushed her off. "Now, in case you didn't know, we're going into the Dungeon now, and you need to pay attention or you'll be injured."
Astrid bit off her retort. Maybe, reforming this party into upstanding citizens would be more easily done if Tobias was thrown out. She could volunteer herself to bodily haul the prig away. Instead of continuing to indulge in those fantasies, though, Astrid focused on their surroundings as they walked into the off-putting black forest. The leaves still danced in a breeze she couldn't feel, and there were no sounds except for the rustling branches and the party's movements.
Once they were all down and ready, Svana spoke. "I'm going."
Without another word or warning, she disappeared into the forest. Her movements didn't make any sound, and Astrid felt duly impressed as they walked onward. She stayed beside Petr, who continued stalking forward into the forest with his shield held on his right arm. He didn't have another weapon, nor another shield like Grom, but he moved easily with the massive item. When Svana rushed back towards them with a pair of wargs trailing after her, Petr strode forward and activated his Skill.
Different from Grom's roar of challenge, Petr's Skill manifested itself as a glowing pattern on his shield, and the two wargs immediately forgot Svana and changed him directly. Both smashed into his prepared shield at the same time, but Petr didn't move. Instead, they bounced off, only to turn to continue their attack on him.
"Focus on this one!" Astrid called to Svana who held a short straight sword in her right hand. "I'll hit it first so it focuses on me."
Svana merely nodded and waited for Astrid to do as she'd said. With the implicit approval, Astrid held her hammer high, and when the nearest warg bounced off Petr's shield, she smashed it down. Bone crunched as the weapon crushed the warg's shoulder. The crippled beast turned to try to do something to her, but Svana's sword stabbed into its ribs as soon as it was slowed. Even so, the creature didn't die, and Astrid lifted the hammer again and pulverized the beast's head.
Warg slain. 6 Experience gained, split among party.
That was 2 experience, since she'd dealt the killing blow. Though Astrid wondered where the other point would go, she didn't focus on that. Instead, she nodded at Svana and circled around Petr, where the other warg was easily being held back. It threw itself at the shield again and again, and Petr seemed entirely unconcerned. With Scout and Warrior ready, the other warg quickly met its end at Svana's sword.
Warg slain. 5 Experience gained, split among party.
Astrid rolled her shoulders, both warm but not burning. As she did so, Petr looked around before raising a thumb at her. Svana gave a begrudging nod, and Tobias said nothing. If she was honest, Astrid would prefer it if it were always that way, so she didn't say anything except, "We ready for some more?"
***
Hours must have passed before the party found themselves too tired to continue. They'd picked off nearly two dozen pairs and groups of wargs. Tobias had only been needed twice, the first when a level 4 warg took Petr by surprise and knocked him prone. Though Astrid had wanted to panic in that moment, instead, she'd taken a second before raising her hammer and smashing it through both of the wargs' front legs' knees. The weaker bones snapped with the blow and the warg fell to the side in agony. With her and Svana both attacking the downed creature, it didn't last long, and the other, a level 2, hadn't been able to do much to Petr.
The second, however, had been the first pack of four that the party confronted. When there were three, Astrid had stepped up to take the attention of the third while Petr held off two. Then, Astrid and Svana together could kill the extra before dispatching the other two without incident. When overconfidence, poor execution, or simple bad luck brought a pack of four, Astrid had only been able to get the attention of one of the extra wargs. When the fourth went past her towards Tobias, he'd screamed shrilly as he stood there in terror.
Leaving her back open to the warg she'd been engaged with, Astrid rushed forward and swung her hammer into the attacking warg's flank. Its hip gave out from the hit, but it wasn't deterred. Though the monster screamed in pain, it still pushed forward to attack Tobias. With a roar of challenge, Astrid held her shield tight against her body and fell onto the warg with the shield's edge leading the strike. There was a wet crunch, and then there was a death notification.
Warg slain. 5 Experience gained, split among party.
While Astrid was still on top of the dead body, though, the warg she'd left alone leapt on top of her. Its jaws gnashed on the back of her neck, fortunately not finding purchase through her helmet and chain mail. Even so, it grabbed her by the scruff and smashed her against the ground one, two, three times. The warg was surprisingly strong, and, despite herself, the wind was knocked out of Astrid. As she grunted on the ground, the warg released her neck and instead bit into her elbow. She screamed as the monster found where she was exposed and, as its fangs ripped into her, her blood flowed freely.
Svana's sword plunged into the warg's back as it savaged Astrid, making the monster turn away from its current target. As the Warrior activated Quick Recovery and forced herself to her feet, Svana ducked back several times as the warg pressed the attack. Even with its blood flowing freely, its jaws and paws sought to kill the Scout. The panic was obvious in Svana's eyes as the warg got closer and closer to her. Astrid disregarded the agony of her right elbow as she roared and smashed the hammer into the warg's back.
The wound Svana had made spurted blood out as vertebrae cracked and the beast fell. Astrid saw no notification, and she raised her hammer again, disregarding her own blood filling her glove. Once the weapon fell to its target, the death notification appeared.
Warg slain. 7 Experience gained, split among party.
Level 3. That's why it was so damned strong. Even so, Astrid didn't catch her breath or wait. Instead, she gathered herself to help Petr. The Shieldsman had held his own against two wargs very well, but he wasn't able to do anything except to continue to keep them at bay. Once Astrid and Svana were ready to attack, they crippled and killed the other two monsters with little difficulty. As they lay on the ground, Astrid checked her experience.
94/1,000
With a grin more than a grimace, Astrid looked at the others. She was the only one that'd sustained any wounds, and with Quick Recovery, she was ok, but still, she was only in ok shape. Far from ready to go back into battle. Even so, her first full day of delving, and she'd nearly hit 10%! That was enough to celebrate, right?
"How are you so happy, huh?" Tobias demanded as he strode forward and sent a save of icy healing into her. "I was nearly killed, and you're happy? I have half a mind to kick you out of the party immediately!"
"Because I saved your life?" Astrid retorted, too exhausted to continue playing up the happy attitude she'd pretended to have all day. "Or because I've done my job? Tell me, since you're apparently the Duchess's gift to the world, what I did wrong?"
"We shouldn't have been so deep in the first floor!" The response was immediate and venomous. "You stupid rookie! Delvers need to take time to get ready for what we're doing, and we didn't know each other's strengths. Even so, you kept pushing us forward, further, to more. And now, this is where we are. If we run into more enemies on the way back, what are we going to do?"
"Kill them?" Astrid raised her hands helplessly. "What else are we supposed to do?"
"And if someone's injured again? I'm out of mana because of that stunt!"
"Are you stupid? I saved your life!"
"You shouldn't have needed to! If we'd stayed near the exit, then we wouldn't be fighting level 4s or four at a time! If there'd been a level 4, then there would have been a death! You can't come back from that!"
"Then we're supposed to just sit like cowards at the stupid entrance and hope that someday we gain a level? That doesn't make a damned lick of sense!"
"Better to take your time and stay alive you damned Barbarian!"
"I. Am not. A Barbarian!" Astrid screamed as she stepped into Tobias's face and shoved him back. Unsuspecting her outburst, or because he was just that weak, he stumbled back and fell.
"See!" He shouted. "I said a damned Barbarian will lose their minds no matter what! I've been so polite and understanding and she attacks me!"
"How is it that insulting my intelligence all day is supposed to be polite, you blood-licking coward?"
"So angry you can't talk with me like a human, huh, Barbarian? Just goes to show you can't overcome your blood." Tobias taunted. All reason of how he'd begun all this, how he was the responsible person for the argument drained from Astrid's mind.
With a roar, she raised her hammer and swung it at Tobias. When the weapon clanged off Petr's shield, Astrid finally realized just what had happened. When she met Svana and Petr's eyes, Astrid felt her heart drop. She'd just attacked the party's leader, and a Healer to boot. Tobias's eyes glinted with excitement as he wrenched away the party bond and spoke with finality.
"You're out of the party, Astrid Warrior. You've attempted murder of a fellow party member."