They had left the dungeon entrance, practically gasping for fresh air. The light of evening filtered through the trees, and the sun glared past the clouds. Rennia felt like a zombie—of course, even she didn't know what a zombie felt like, but she might as well have been dead. Maeve strode just behind her, much more physically affected by the ordeal of navigating hordes of monsters. Her smaller frame simply wasn't cut for running and carrying.
Their bags were heavy with silver coins clinking on their backs. Maeve had been doubly blessed, as the moment she left the dungeon, she had been graced with another level in whatever strange [Sorcerer] class she possessed.
Rennia did advance in the Pathfinder class, [Pathfinder Level 3] > [Pathfinder Level 4] but no new discernable skills had been available to her. She was stronger faster and durable, but she was nowhere near her hayseed jack days. That was a worry for tomorrow, as was the whole seed thing. At least the dungeon was behind her now. But some things came along with her.
Their goal right now was to walk as far north of here as possible the way they came, beyond the long bridges, and then set camp at one of the crossroads. The walk was going to be long and irritating. At least they didn't need to spend the night in the dungeon. That might have been a death sentence.
Maeve pointed at something faraway, and Rennia turned, barely to see.. "Look, Rennia!"
There, nearly a mile away, a man was sleeping against a tree, a small boxed-up cart next to him, with a horse pawing on on the ground, nervously grazing whatever it could pick. It was Dontellin, and his steed after all.
She frowned at that thought. Did he wait here for them? That was appreciative and affectionate, but it also made Rennia question her own agency. Maeve, in sudden high spirits, edges forward. forward, barely able to keep her balance. Rennia leapt after her, running while encumbered, and stopped herself from stopping Maeve.
For once.
As they neared their driver, she could see the horse turn towards them and give them a dead-eyed stare as they came in that direction. Dontellin stirred from his slumber and squinted his eyes as they approached. he spoke up, groggy and tired. "Ah, I'm pleased to see you made it out in one piece. You really shouldn't make a man wait so long."
Maeve strutted forward, ignoring the atmosphere in the air. "Cart driver, I demand to be taken back into the city at once. No delays," She harrumphed, and Rennia sighed.
"You really shouldn't wait so close to the dungeon. If a monster outbreak occurred, you'd be the first to go. Besides, don't you have other work to do?" Rennia pleaded to the man.
He snorted. "Please, Miss Perillion, a horse is much faster than most dungeon critters. Besides—I was concerned for your well-being, and the money you gave me more than covers the expenses of setting out here."
Rennia gave up her trail of thought. His noble demeanor didn't suit his profession. She had become suspicious of him.
"well, it's settled then, Maeve exclaimed.
They'd gotten on shortly after, the coins clinking as the bags were set down, and Dontellin looked more than happy to leave. Rennia stretched her legs out across the cart. She was spent—more than spent. She'd unshackled her boots, but she didn't want anyone to raise a brow. Much to her surprise, Maeve refused to give her eye contact during the road, and instead turned her attention to the cart driver.
"Mr. Dontellin, I find it strange that you would risk such a venture out here, where danger runs wild." He sneered and coughed into his chest.
"Well, a man has to work with what he has. Unfortunately, I fear this cart is all that I have."
She raised her finger to her lips. "How strange. The money we gave you should be worth more than a couple of wooden planks. I doubt we were your only customers, judging by Rennia's recommendation. Why does someone of your expertise not upgrade to something much more robust?"
He coughed again. Now his body language just looked plain suspicious. Where the hell did Ishmere even find him? Strange indeed.
"Living expenses, food, and a monthly payment to my landlord. Taxes, because the council demands, of course. I also make visits to certain places, you understand, yes?"
Red light districts?
"Certain places?" Maeve asked in confusion. Rennia rolled her eyes out of sight. There was zero way she didn't know what was being referred to here. She raised her chin and made eye contact with the air.
Rennia did, however, briefly take in her regal darkness. There was something way off about how maeve conducted herself in public and how she conducted herself down in the dungeon. She was a kinder, more dependable and rational kind of person down there. Up here, she acted like a spoiled princess—irritable and annoying. Of course, you couldn't know a person in a day.
She let out a sigh and a moan as she bowed her head. Her mouth hung open. She wanted to sleep straight away. But something caught her eye, As the cart went on its way, a much larger one passed them, with a closed canopy. Rennia made brief contact with the driver, and then the crew at the back. Adventurers, most of them anyway. A man, a dwarf, and a female elf, all quiet, eyeing them.
"Adventurers?" Maeve asked.
"I... I think so," Rennia answered. "Perhaps we should tell them about what we encountered."
"I wouldn't do that!" Dontellin said in panic. "You two came back with quite the hoard. Seems a bit of a waste."
"Agreed!" Maeve said.
Rennia clicked her tongue. "Bah, I've been doing this longer than you. It's a newbie dungeon, Maeve, and you're not an adventurer, Donty!"
They both made sounds of disaproval.
She stood up, waving to the passing crowd. Their lives were more important than everything—just a brief snapshot of what they encountered. "Hey, you lot!"
All the attention was on her as they leaned forward to listen. "Shroomkin on the first floor, bat lurkers on the second, hidden room somewhere on the second. Good luck!"
It didn't look like they heard. The dwarf muttered aloud, "What?"
The man who seemed like an emotional husk just stared at them outside, barely thinking.
But the elf with her long ears nodded, whispered something to Rennia akin to thanks, and a whole string of letters she didn't bother to decrypt. She sat back down as the group fell out of view.
"Rennia, the fucking gall of you! What about competition? About who comes first and who gets what first?"
"Exactly what the cart driver said. You've just lost whatever advantage you had in that place, and for what?"
"Oh, be quiet, you two. I've done this longer than either of you. Where I come from, we adventurers have to look out for each other. We leave no man or woman behind."
Maeve shut her ears. "Spare me your details."
Dontellin made his silly cough again. "Say, you two did come back quite loaded, didn't you? Lots of 'loot,' I wager. You should leave in my cart what you can't carry home, ha."
"How amusing," Maeve answered.
****
When they had gotten back to Ivarcant, the city was ablaze with streetlights. Rennia had planned to take a ride home immediately. Maeve wasn't satisfied with that approach—even aghast that Rennia did not live inside the city—and so the guild was their only route.
What surprised her was the night sprawl, just barely differentiable from day. The only main factor was that there were fewer little humans running around. Street performers singing, juggling, and wagering. Late-night merchants standing in corners, probably selling questionable stuff. It was overwhelming to her. Back in Kibblestadt, the roads would be nearly empty, and not a soul would be in sight. Here it became severe.
"Why is it that you look so lost, Pathfinder?" Maeve's comment snapped her out of her stupor.
"Huh?"
Maeve chuckled. "What do you mean, 'huh'? You look like a lost puppy. Not one for the streets, I guess."
"No... no, I come from a small town in Osterria, across the border, so no! I've never even seen our capital. Is that weird?"
"You're Osterrian? Oh, that explains your—never mind." She cleared her throat. "Osterria, you say? I've heard it's filled with knights, feudal lords, and the famed Inquisition of Ceytin. That's across the border—the outskirts, at least, as I understand."
Rennia nodded but didn't say a word. Thinking so deeply of home made her somber. Maeve did all the asking and initiation.
"Wh-what's your hometown like? I think you've mentioned it before—Kibblestadt?"
"It's quiet. There's nothing of interest. Some monsters on the outskirts, as I've said. Never really been to big places. Never had the coin. It's almost as if—forget it."
"Touchy subject?"
"Messy subject." Maeve's eyes lit up. The sudden curiosity unnerved Rennia.
"I've heard that in your country, it's customary for a woman to be the initiator in a relationship, and it's customary for a woman to take the first steps in any kind of domestic matter as well. Could you shed some insight on that?"
Rennia shook her head. "Not really. It's a bad subject too. I'm not a cultural ambassador, Let's just—" She pointed at the guild building. "Look, the guild is up ahead. Let's finish and go home."
Maeve's face turned icy cold, but Rennia couldn't humor her. She didn't want to revisit past right now. She asked all the dumb questions as well. Rennia knew she couldn't leave it like that. "I'll tell you about my home sometime, and maybe you could share about yours. Right now, I don't even want to think. I need to get these boots off, they're killing me!"
Dontellin said not a word, but his ears were twitching, and his breath was heavier.
As they got off and went inside, the well-endowed redhead stood at the entrance. She was locked in a conversation with another receptionist. She wasn't screaming, but there was an anxious tone to her voice. The other receptionist seemed annoyed. Rennia couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were clearly thinking very hard.
When she did notice the pair, she started running anxiously, stopping before them and breathing heavily. "Oh god, you're alright. I thought I might've had to send a team after you."
"A team for what?" Maeve inquired. Rennia perked her eyebrows.
Mara froze up and struggled to utter another word. The other receptionist looked away, almost in guilt. Clearly, something had been afoot. "It's nothing. We can discuss it when you two take another job or so. Really, it's nothing."
Now Rennia smelled a big rat, and it was not comforting one, the invasive kind. She had her suspicions.
"Did you get the required things you need? For your... uhh, quest."
Had she already forgotten? Her body language wasn't the only thing that was wrong—so was the demeanor of her speech. Maeve didn't seem to notice or care beyond it, but Rennia couldn't just ignore it. She'd ask her when Maeve left, if it eased her discomfort.
"Yes, indeed. We have your annoying crystal deposit right here. All that is left is a physical examination, yes? Can we hurry this along?"
"Of... course," Mara replied. She beckoned them to follow and disappeared into a room. Then she came back and stuffed two pouches into their hands, along with two metal cards with their names and ranks listed on them. Rennia picked up the card. Surprise, surprise—the card had been made out of tin. It stated: Ms. Rennia Perillion, Tin Rank, Licensed Adventurer of the Ivarcant National Guild.
Tin rank. Definitely below what she was capable of.
Mara stared at both of them. "Now, is there anything you want to declare according to adventurer law? Something you've seen? Crimes you may have committed?" They gave each other a brief stare, and Maeve slumped away.
"We may have discovered a treasure room on the second floor." Both receptionists turned towards them. The other random adventurers sitting in the hall had also turned towards them. It was now that Mara had taken note of the bags on their backs.
"I see. It's what I suspected."
"You realize we may need to inspect, clear, and tax you on your finds."
Rennia nodded. Maeve started complaining. "Do you really? Finders keepers, yes? The law of nature."
"Not the law of this guild. I'm sorry for taking even more of your time. If you two would follow me to the room next door." They both tensed up and followed.
In the next room, while an appraiser was busy rummaging through the gold, Maeve had turned her attention towards other things, such as the merchandise the guild offered in its equipment requisition rooms. Rennia was standing next to the red-haired giantess, and then pointed a finger at her.
"You sent us to a higher-level dungeon, didn't you?"
The appraiser turned his head, curious. Mara panicked. "It was a mistake, okay? My fault. I didn't know."
"That's irresponsible for any guild official to act. Back where I come from, losing your job was not out of the question if someone lost their lives and foul play was found."
Mara bowed her head and whispered, "I'm really sorry, Rennia. It's complicated. Our information must have been mixed up."
"Mixed up?" Rennia ignored every word she heard from the sigh. "And now you're shamelessly taxing us. After we declared things to our disadvantage. Oh, how low the guilds have fallen."
She held her finger up. "Be quiet. You're lucky I took pity on you."
Rennia wasn't convinced. "How about this—I'll owe you a favor of your liking, and you sweep this under the rug."Mara stated.
Rennia's eyes brightened, and her head started racing. "Seems like corruption to me. A favor—any favor?"
"Who cares about corruption? Everyone's a corrupt cunt." The appraiser flicked his fingers. He heard it all.
"Oh, fuck off, Felix. Like you haven't had your mishaps." Felix shrugged and went back to counting and inspecting the silvery hoard.
"A favor, you say?"
Mara shrugged. "A favor. A treaty amongst adventurers and a closed secret."
"A favor," Rennia murmured at the tip of her tongue. "Anything?"
"Within limits, of course. Just keep it from your new friend. For all her regal fervor, she's pretty dumb."
Rennia rested her hands on her hips. A favor could mean many things, and she wasn't one to forget. Anything she wanted—Rennia's skewed brain clicked as she stared at the woman's massive breasts.
"Anything I want..." Mara looked uncomfortable. "I'll hold you to it. Right now, I want to get home."
"Yes... the old tavern." she spoke,, and then there was silence, that followed. "Say, we heard something from that place a while back. Sounded like an explosion. The guards went and investigated. They apparently haven't been back. Do you have any idea what's going on?"
An explosion? At the tavern...Oh no.