Alan hadn’t been paying attention to his environment when he first set out, and missed how cloudy it had gotten. He was unable to miss the rain when it started falling, though. Fat droplets spattered against his face and chainmail as he ran.
Ever sincere he was a boy, Alan had loved the rain. He remembered running cross country practices while it was thundering, shrugging off his coach's suggestion to come inside. The fact that his zone seemed to be at a constant comfortable temperature made it even more pleasant.
His hide pants had been treated by something to toughen it, that also seemed to make it waterproof. By the time he reached the dwarven dungeon his skin and hair were now soaking wet, but for his clothing, only his shirt was wet. Technically, his chainmail was as well, but the bone links certainly didn’t care.
It was with a big smile that he stepped into the dungeon, forgetting to pay attention to the time dilation. He thought maybe it was five to one, but he couldn’t be sure. The dungeon placed him in the same location as every other time, but he was startled to hear footsteps coming from behind him. Turning around, he found that the wall that had previously marked the end of the tunnel was no longer there. Instead, it continued for almost twenty meters before taking a sharp turn, leaving the rest to his imagination.
Unlike the last dungeon, there were no torches on the wall here, but the light coming from the larger cavern ahead was enough for his newly enhanced perception. Now that he had an opal class, his nightvision had gotten even better. Alan could easily make out the group of well equipped dwarves coming around the bend.
When the front two noticed Alan, he heard them call for a halt. There were about eight dwarves in two rows that he could see at the moment, but it looked like there were more behind them, out of sight around the corner. One of the front two from the group came forwards and stopped barely more than a meter away from him.
In a gruff voice he asked why Alan was there. “Name and business please.”
“Um…My name is Alan, and I am on my way to check on a friend.”
Another dwarf, slightly taller than the others around him, had made his way to the front. He took over the questioning. “Your friend got a name?”
“Yes, Thadrick. He’s a miner. What’s this about?” Alan was surprised by this reception and the fact that he didn’t recognize any of the people here. He thought he had met all of the guards in the village.
“My name’s Lieutenant Kargan, we’ve been dispatched to check out the camp ahead. Would you mind coming with us?” It was phrased as a question, but his tone left little doubt that it was, in fact, an order.
Alan didn’t usually have much of a contrarian streak to him, and what he did have the military had tried to beat out of him, but he had to bite his tongue to keep from making a flippant remark. After a moment of thought, he realized it made sense that tensions might be high around the mining camp since it had recently been attacked by a previously unknown invader.
The fact that he had been instrumental in fighting off those attackers wouldn’t mean anything to people who hadn’t been there at the time, which Alan suspected was true of these soldiers. This guy was just doing his job, and rather than argue here, it would be easier to go with them and straighten anything out at the village.
After agreeing to go with them, Alan found himself sandwiched between four of the troop. Nobody was pointing a weapon at him, or trying to clap him in irons, but it was clear he was not fully trusted. Luckily it wasn’t a long trip and in a few minutes he should be free to find his friend.
With nothing better to do, Alan circumspectly inspected the dwarves around him. He started with a traditional scan using his eyes, identifying a lot of well made heavy armor and expensive weapons. His limited time with Helge had done a lot to improve his ability to discern quality gear. What these men and women were wearing was not the cheap stuff.
All of the dwarves were also veterans, judging by the many small scars and their age. These were not fresh recruits or local guards. Next he tried identify, he was curious if any of them would be able to detect his probe.
Each dwarf was white grade and they all had a class. For a regular group of people, that would have been surprising, but Alan had become accustomed to the idea that only people with classes would be part of a military unit. It was interesting to note that all of the soldiers he scanned had at least opal classes. Also, none of them noticed his scan, or if they did, they were disciplined enough not to react.
This had the look of a professional troop, which was further reinforced as they entered the camp’s cavern. The guards at the gates straightened up when they caught sight of the group and before they had made it all the way over, Kespar and a small honor guard were formed up and waiting for them. Alan had noticed how the soldiers had slowed their march to allow the camp time to properly greet them.
The guard captain was the first to speak after the group, which Alan now knew numbered forty dwarves, drew up in formation before the gates.
“Welcome to our camp, we are always glad to welcome members of the King’s Patrol.”
The lieutenant that spoke to Alan earlier was apparently the leader, and he answered for the squad, “On behalf of the King’s Patrol, we appreciate your welcome and hope to assist in any way we can.”
The exchange seemed like a symbolic greeting, and after exchanging words the patrol group filed through the gates and into town. All except for Lieutenant Kargan and the four dwarves Alan was still surrounded by.
Before he could call attention to himself, the dwarf patrol leader did it for him. “Kespar, it is good to see you again. We ran into this human wandering around in the tunnels nearby. He claims to have been on his way to meet a friend of his.”
It was obvious from his reaction that Kespar had not realized Alan was there. “Indeed, he is well known to us. We count him a friend and thank you for making sure he made it here safely.”
Kargan would have made a daunting opponent across the poker table. His face remained inscrutable as he received the news that Alan was who he claimed to be, despite the fact that Alan was almost positive the dwarf had expected him to be lying. His escort was dismissed and before Alan could even think of lingering to eavesdrop, he was waved to go in by the stoic lieutenant.
With a mental shrug, Alan decided to seek out Thadrick. He knew that his path and the squad of patrollers would most likely cross again, this was a dungeon after all, but he was less worried about that, than on catching up with his friend. It might all be fake to the denizens, but it was real for him.
As he made his way to Thadrick’s tent, Alan checked out the village to see if he could notice any differences. Judging by the state of the repairs and the damage he could still see, he didn’t think more than a few days had passed since he left. Some areas were still demolished or burned out, while other areas showed signs of limited repairs.
When he got to his friend’s home, he found that the dwarf wasn’t home. That wasn’t exactly a surprise, but it was disappointing. Alan’s next stop was at the mining guild tower. Even if Thadrick wasn’t there himself, they usually kept track of where miners were going to be in the tunnels. Also, if this was only a few days later, they were still probably making them mine in larger groups, for safety.
The center of town looked basically the same as the first time he came through. The kobold raiding parties had managed to reach even here, but the stone buildings were not so easily damaged. Alan briefly thought of checking out the store with all of his newly earned gold, but he managed to stay true to his mission.
Entering the guild tower he was once again met with a mostly empty hall. The tables where miners gathered in between trips into the depths were completely empty, and only one of the receptionist desks was occupied. Unfortunately it wasn’t Eile, the only receptionist he knew.
A short conversation with the new guy was able to confirm that Thadrick was currently working. He would be back later in the day, most likely, and Alan was free to wait here or he could pass the time at one of the taverns in town. Arwyl, the friendly desk dwarf, was happy to take a message for him.
Rather than leave anything, Alan told him he would check back later. He did ask for directions to a local tavern, however. That was how he found himself sitting in a building a few minutes later, looking over a menu while Parina stood over him.
He remembered her from that awful stone house where he found Cassidy. He hadn’t known who she was at the time, but during his time recovering under Cassidy’s care, he had heard a little about the young woman. She had been a friend to Cassidy, so he was thankful to her for that, but she wouldn’t leave him alone. Alan had tried to assure her that he would call her over when he was ready, but Parina told him it wasn’t busy and chose to hover instead. In truth it made him a little uncomfortable.
He tried to get her to say something at least, the silent watching was killing him. “Have you seen Cassidy around recently?”
Parina was only too eager to answer. “No, she left shortly after you did, we haven’t seen her since. I think she said something about returning to her home.”
Her response didn’t surprise Alan, and it was the reason he hadn’t tried to look for her earlier. Because of the trauma Cassidy had been subjected to the last time he was here, she had managed to free her consciousness from the dungeon’s control. Parina had gone through a similar ordeal, but for some reason she had not broken free from the dungeon core.
Cassidy had warned him that she would most likely not be in the dungeon when it upgraded. Since she had broken free of its control, chances were it would reject her from continuing on. It would have been nice to see her again, but he had already hardened his heart for her absence.
Her alleged friend, Parina, seemed altogether too eager to take her place. He supposed that was unfair, since she had no idea that Cassidy and he had formed a connection already. It wasn’t a romantic relationship, well sorta but not really, which is why he didn’t feel too guilty about the sexy witch dungeon, but he felt no interest in getting involved with someone else now.
Alan made his order, “I’ll have the stew and the beans with an ale please.”
“Of course, I’ll get that right out to you.”
A few minutes later she brought out his order and offered to keep him company. She looked hurt when he turned her down, but another customer came in at that moment, so Parina was forced to attend to them anyway. Alan took the opportunity to try the stew. The wooden spoon was fairly big, dwarves had larger mouths than you might imagine, and it contained a large chunk of potato, a piece of meat, and a few smaller vegetables.
Steam was pouring off of it, so he took a moment to blow it cooler. Sliding the spoonful into his mouth, it was as if he was being assaulted with flavor. His high constitution prevented him from burning his mouth on the still hot gravy, so he was able to savor the deliciousness. There was a combination of seasonings he was unfamiliar with that were causing his taste buds to do a joyful dance. The next bite was just as good.
Giving the stew a chance to cool a little, he moved onto the beans. These were green beans that had been prepared, somehow, and baked. They were both hot and crunchy, and tasted strongly of butter and possibly garlic. This was one of the better meals he had eaten in a while. He told Parina that when she swung around to check on him.
“Please give my compliments to the chef, this is delicious.”
She blushed a little before answering, “You just did. I’m the chef.” A shadow of sadness flashed across her features before she added, “The previous chef was killed after we were captured. He had taught me some of what he knew, so I’ve been doing the cooking since then. Its been a wonderful learning experience, but I miss Gayorg.”
Alan wasn’t sure how to respond, so he muddled through it. “I’m sorry to hear about your friend, but he must have taught you well. I wish I could learn to cook like this. My lack of culinary skills has caused me some regrets recently.”
“Well, if you’re interested, I could give you some lessons right now. Just come on back to the kitchen with me.”
Alan eagerly agreed, he had time to kill anyway, and cooking was becoming a passion of his. It didn’t take long, however, for him to realize that they were not on the same page. Parina seemed disappointed when he really was just interested in learning how to properly season things. She kept offering for him to taste things off of her fingers, but he pretended to misunderstand and used a tasting spoon instead.
Eventually her frustration overcame her desire, and she stopped dropping hints. Alan was such an eager student, though, that she ended up enjoying their time together in spite of it. Alan got the feeling that she had realized he wasn’t interested, but it also seemed like she might be taking that as a challenge.
Their lesson ended, not when it was time for Alan to check on Thadrick, but instead when Kespar and Lieutenant Kargan arrived. Parina had gone out of the kitchen when she heard the front door open, and Alan had followed when he realized she was greeting the guard captain. He thought they had come for him, but it turned out they were looking for the chef-waitress.
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Kespar began the conversation, “Parina, if we could have a moment of your time, we’d like to talk to you about the drow Oshae.”
Alan saw her face pale, and he lended her an arm as her legs began to sag. That dark elf had done terrible things to both girls, and Alan wasn’t sure why they would want to bring that up again.
Lieutenant Kargan tried to sooth her, “We hate to make you recall anything about that time, but it has come to my attention that he may have spoken to you, bragged even. We were hoping you could tell us what he said.”
It was obvious that the idea didn’t thrill her, and just thinking about it had her taking a seat at a table. The two dwarves thought it was an agreement to talk, so they sat as well. Alan felt it was important for someone to be there for support, so he took a seat as well.
Parina’s first words were soft, almost too quiet to hear. “Please, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I know this can’t be pleasant, but it could be very important. The lieutenant is here to help us deal with the kobolds and he needs to know what to expect down there.” Kespar said.
Alan tried to intervene, “I spent some time in their city as well, maybe I could answer your questions?”
Kargan looked at him then, “You were the human who helped rescue our people?” The question sounded rhetorical, as if he was just confirming something he had suddenly realized, “I thank you for that, but it was the things the drow said that I need to know about.”
Parina reached her hand over toward Alan and he took it without thinking. His instincts as a doctor and a gentleman demanded nothing less. “If it’s important, then I’ll try my best, but I don’t remember too much. What is it you want to know?”
Kespar seemed content to let the patrol lieutenant do the talking, “I heard he was working on a ritual?”
Alan had seen the area the kobolds were constructing for the ritual, and Cassidy had told him a little about it while she was teaching him alchemy, but this wasn’t his story to tell.
Parina’s voice was still quiet, but there was less pain when she responded. “Yes, he told us he was going to save us from the ritual if we consented to his twisted desires.”
“Do you know what the ritual was for, or how it would work?”
“No, it was supposed to be used to corrupt something, but he never said what. He also didn’t tell us how, just that it would mean the prisoners’ deaths.”
Kargan kept pushing, “So he never said anything about what ritual it was going to be, or what they were corrupting?”
She thought for a moment before answering, “He wouldn’t tell us what they were going to perform the ritual on, but he hinted that it was something incredible.” Turning to Alan, she had a sudden idea. “You have his necklace, is it something in there?”
Both dwarves turned their attention to Alan, but he held up a hand, asking for a moment. Most of what had been in the drow’s necklace had long been used. There had been a lot of plants and money, food, and clothes. There were a few odds and ends like a class stone and the sphene that had gone into his spewn. Nothing seemed like something that would be the center of a ritual.
It took Alan only a few seconds to supply an answer, “I don’t think so, unless they could be corrupting a class stone?”
All three looked at him like he was crazy, so that must not be a thing. He was saved from further questions when Parina spoke up again.
“Maybe he didn’t have it, maybe it was his accomplice.”
That set off the rest of the table. Alan didn’t remember Cassidy mentioning an accomplice. Since Parina was still bound to the dungeon, she didn’t realize that Oshae had freed himself from its control. The idea that he had an accomplice, who might also have broken free, was troubling. There was no way for Alan to explain this to any of them though, the dungeon would cloud their thinking if he tried to explain. He had seen it happen before.
Kespar was the first to ask her about this new revelation. “Nothing I heard about previously mentioned an accomplice. How do you know he had one?”
Parina had her answer ready, “He occasionally mentioned how he was glad that he had been talked into coming here. A couple of times he mentioned how he couldn’t believe his friend didn’t want to try ‘the ladies’ out.”
Alan had to ask, “Do you know if it was one of the drow we killed in the escape?”
“I don’t think so. The way he talked about this other person was as more of an equal. He was arrogant enough that I don’t think he considered anyone a true equal, but he treated those others as subordinates. It must have been someone else”
Kargan had apparently heard enough. “Thank you for your time, mam. Kespar, and Alan was it? If you could come with me please.”
It looked like the dungeon was finally ready to get him started on his quest. He thanked Parina for the cooking lessons and followed the other dwarves out. Not only had she helped him learn about spices, she had also given him some of her spare ingredients, like green beans and peas. His farm was going to need another expansion project.
Neither dwarf was interested in talking while they walked the streets. They made their way over to the guard headquarters and entered the captain’s office. On the way in, Alan had noticed the patrol soldiers were sparring with the regular guards. Perhaps part of their job was to help train those they supported, or possibly they were scouting for talent.
Refocusing on the office, he saw Kespar motion for Alan and Kargan to take a seat. Once everyone was settled, Kargan took the lead again. Even though he was a lieutenant and Kespar was a guard captain, it was clear that the patrol leader was in the superior position.
“I’ve got just a couple of questions for you Alan. I’ve heard that the city that attacked you all had around two thousand kobolds in it. Other than the few drow you encountered, were there any other creatures in the area?”
Alan didn’t have to think before answering, “Two thousand is a rough estimate, it could be lower or much higher depending on how densely they live. Other than kobolds, and the few drow, we didn’t see anyone else. However, we only scouted out a few sections, and I can’t definitively say that there’s no other beings in the city.”
“Were all the kobolds you found just low leveled warriors?”
“No, most were warriors like you mentioned, but we also ran into a few that were higher leveled and were some type of priest.”
“But that’s it, nothing else?”
Alan could tell that the lieutenant was looking for something else, but he had nothing to give him. “Again, we only saw a small subsection of what’s there, but that’s all we encountered.”
With a definitive nod, Kargan turned his attention back to Kespar. “All right, then I think we can continue as planned. I’ll descend with my squad plus a few more volunteers and we’ll see about forcing the kobolds to retreat.”
Kespar seemed fine with the plan, but Alan had some questions. “There’s forty of you and thousands of them. Doesn’t that seem like suicide?”
The guard captain smirked, and Kargan chuckled as he explained. “As you might have noticed, all of my soldiers have opal classes. It would take a creature over level ten to compare, and most many are well on their way to evolving to diamond, like myself.”
“Still, quantity has a quality all of its own. Even if the kobolds are not a threat individually, won’t you eventually run out of stamina, and then they can slaughter you with impunity?”
Kespar took over the explanation, “You would probably be right, normally, but lieutenant isn’t just his patrol rank, it's also his rank in an Army Array.”
Kargan went next, “He’s right. I can command an army of up to fifty soldiers. If the kobolds have no officers among them, which seems to be the case, then my army will have an impossible advantage over them. Their numbers won’t mean a thing, it will only delay our final victory.”
Alan wasn’t sure if their confidence was deserved or not, but this was all still new for him, so he wasn’t going to doubt them outright. Also, having experienced an Array for himself, he knew that they were powerful. And, since all of the patrol soldiers had reached opal, they would get the full benefit from it.
“What do you need from me?” Alan asked.
Kargan gave him a look before replying, “Nothing, I can only take ten more soldiers beyond my own squad, and we’ll be able to fill that out with volunteers from the camp’s guards.”
Alan was going to interject, but Kespar beat him to it. He coughed before speaking up, “Actually, he’s quite a talented fighter. Not only was he instrumental in rescuing our citizens, but he was also a huge help in fending off the original attacks.”
It was always difficult for Alan to take praise, so he lowered his eyes as the captain gushed over him. Kargan was initially unconvinced, but then he took a second look at the taller human. His eyes caught on his sheathed spewn, and a smile grew on his face. “All right, you’re in. We’re mustering in about an hour, take care of anything you need, and be ready in the training yard by then.”
That wasn’t much time, but Alan was excited to get started. He still hadn’t gotten any messages from the Network, but it was only a matter of time now. The only problem was that Thadrick probably wouldn’t make it back from the mines before he left. Checking in with his friend had been one of the things he was looking forward to.
With only an hour, he barely had time to return to the mining tower to let Arwyl know of his change of plans, and then get back. He did make a side trip to the store to pick up some more cooking supplies. He now had a more portable grill, a few pots, some larging spoons for cooking and stirring, and some more dishes. If he was gonna be traveling with an army, he wanted to be able to feed himself if needed. Militaries were not usually known for their food and Alan was getting spoiled. He also managed to purchase a few cloves of garlic, and some more spices. They were expensive, but the flavor boost was so worth it.
Back at the training yard, he saw the forty patrol dwarves lined up, their Lieutenant standing before them. As he arrived, a few more of the local guards appeared and took their places in the back. Alan joined them and soon received a Network request.
Army Array Invite:
[You have been invited to join a Dwarven Kingdom Patrol Army, under the command of Lieutenant Kargan. Would you like to Accept?]
This was a similar message to the one he had received when joining Pixel’s squad. One major difference was that the notification didn’t list a squad. Maybe that was because the lieutenant’s rank was only high enough to form one cohesive group, and he couldn’t make smaller squads. Alan willed his acceptance and then received another message.
Army Array Update:
[You have previously been awarded the rank of Corporal, but were unable to accept at the time. You are now capable of assuming that rank, do you accept?]
As notifications went, this was a good one. He had earned the rank as a bonus reward, but because he didn’t have an opal aura he had been unable to accept the promotion. The Network had even been nice enough to give him an alternate prize, but it seemed he still got to keep the rank. He accepted the update and felt a slight adjustment to his aura. It was fast and he wasn’t expecting it, so he was unable to see how it changed.
“Does one of you have a rank in the Army already?”
Distracted by his thoughts, Alan hadn’t caught who had spoken. It was soon obvious as Kargan made his way back through the ranks to study the guards at the rear. He looked between them expectantly, but they all looked confused. Then his eyes turned to Alan.
With a sheepish look, he raised his hand. “Umm..I’m a Corporal. Is that important?”
When the surrounding dwarves’ jaws dropped, he realized it might in fact be significant. Kespar grabbed his elbow and led him away a little. “Yes, it’s important. With you in my army, it increases the maximum size by two. Not only that, but I can designate you as a squad leader and give you a separate role. I heard about how you were able to scout out the city, would you like to do the same for me?” The lieutenant didn’t wait for a response before lan received another update.
Army Array Update:
[You have been assigned as leader of Squad Scout 1. Current squad capacity is 1/3]
The next step was to find two more members to fill out his squad. Kargan wanted to go to Kespar and find the two most qualified guards, but a shout gave Alan another option.
“Wait! Wait for me. Yer not going back down to that cursed pile of iron shavings without me.”
It was too much of a coincidence that Thadrick and his friend Bodvar showed up just at this moment. The dungeon was definitely putting its core on the scales. Still, he wasn’t going to say no to some familiar faces. Neither of them had an opal class, which wasn’t ideal, but it shouldn’t be that big of a problem. Alan had been part of an army at quartz as well.
Kargan, who had needed convincing to let the opal Alan into his army, quickly allowed the two quartz miners to join. That wasn’t weird at all. It took Alan a few moments to then figure out how to add them to his squad. Apparently, now that he had access to the Army Array himself, there was a menu similar to the one for his town. He tried to select a bonus like Pixel had done, but that option wasn’t available. Perhaps either the Lieutenant or himself were not high enough to get that benefit yet.
It was time to head out, and Kargan had one more instruction for Alan before they left. “For now just stay a little in front of the army, maybe a minute's march and let me know if anything comes up.”
Thadrick and Bodvar followed as he jogged into the mine ahead of the main column. The two miners must have only been back a moment before learning of the army’s mission, so it was no surprise they had questions for him.
“You were just gonna leave without telling us you were back?” Thadrick asked.
Alan felt the need to defend himself. “That wasn’t the plan. Things just kinda snowballed. I was really looking forward to seeing you again.”
“I notice you got your hand all regrown.” Bodvar added.
Thadrick suddenly realised he hadn’t checked, “Oh yeah. How’d it go?”
“No problems. I actually learned a spell that made it even easier. Speaking of which.” Alan realized this was a chance for him to try out one of his new abilities. Activating healer’s mark, he tagged both of his squadmates.
They each got a far away look which meant they were reading a Network message. “Healer’s mark, huh? Well, this would make Helge feel better if she knew.” Bodvar joked.
They spent the next few minutes getting caught up. Only three days had passed for those in the dungeon since he had left. It was enough time for a runner, who had left after the first attack, to get to the local outpost and bring back a patrol squad. The mountain was riddled with camps, towns, and a couple of cities.
It was the Patrol’s job to keep the whole thing safe. They had barracks in the larger towns and cities, but they also maintained outposts to support some of the more distant settlements, like the mining camp. It was also why there was only a small group available to come to their aid. A larger force would no doubt show up eventually, but it might take a week or more for that to happen.
Next it was Alan’s turn to share. Thadrick was happy for him when he learned Alan had upgraded some of his classes. Thadrick still had the one quartz class, and Bodvar had two. Neither was in a position to upgrade, especially since after the dungeon was completed, both were probably hoping they would get another class. It would be a huge upgrade for both dwarves and that would even make Bodvar an adventurer.
If they were going to be in a squad together, Alan figured he should figure out what they could do. He already knew that Thadrick’s class was a fighter, but he had to ask Bodvar what his were. He had a fighter class, as well, but also a guardian class.
They were in high spirits to begin their journey, and hopefully that would continue as they got deeper in. For now, they were close enough to the camp that they didn’t even feel the need to use chat. Alan was also pleased to find that his night vision had gotten to the point where he could see as long as there was at least some light.
It wasn’t darkvision yet, and maybe that was never going to be a thing, but with a glow stone on its lowest setting, he was able to see far enough to make the trek possible. It was a huge improvement over the last time they had made the trip.
