Haeros Dungeon - Chapter 10 preview (Patreon)

The building, on first sight, was rather simple. Well made, for sure, with a lot of mortar used for the stone blocks. This was more of a peasant building, so while the stones were cut, there was just as much a mixture of broken blocks slotted in with other similarly sized or broken blocks taking up the space. Leftovers, I assumed, or apprentice work that was purchased from the higher floors and brought down low, rather than carting it upwards. Made sense, since I doubted those who lived on this floor had that much in terms of orbs or shards to trade. The windows – what few there were – were small slits, meant to let in air but not very good at offering much in terms of light.

Then again, the glowing light from inside the building indicated that those here were not worried about finding shards for their spirit lamps. If nothing else, they probably had a ton of leftover shard bits from the work they did and the monsters that were attracted here.

Like most buildings, the concept of a chimney – and the necessary engineering for it – was not present. While the majority of buildings in the main city were good at adding that feature, you could tell it was a “recent” innovation. At least, in relation to the timeline of city building it was still something only the richer groups could afford.

“We should find another place,” I said, as I noted the light.

“Agreed, but we haven’t seen anything in the last half-hour.” Kira sighed. “This is also the highest point. If we get to the top, we can look around and find the next way.” Head tilting upwards, she took in the core stones that glittered above, giving the dungeon its version of a day-night cycle, dimming fast. “And we best move it.”

“Can’t we ask them to share?” Sophia asked, quietly. “I know the stories but…”

“Staying outside is worse with the bramble goats, yes.” Kira said. “But we should be able to go by then.”

“And I’m not looking to stay with any dwellers,” Yorrick said, a little shudder going through his body as he spoke. “Or to eat anything they’re going to feed us.”

“It really isn’t any different from what you’ve been eating.” The voice that roes up from near us had the team spin in that direction, a pair of wisps darting forwards to home in on the speaker who leapt back, away from the attacking elementals, which shuddered to a stop as Kira managed to get hold of her instinctive reaction. “Whoa—!”

“Who are you?” Sophia said, a hand raised.

“I’m Timball. I live here!” he snapped. “Who are you?”

“Adventurers.” I stepped forward, putting myself between the group and the man. Also, coincidentally, putting him closer to me so that I could grab him easier if I needed to. “We just wanted to use your hill to find a place to stay, overnight.”

“You won’t. Not for another candle,” Timball said. “We took the stone from the old places and built ours. The Candle doesn’t like neighbors.” Seeing our skeptical looks, he added. “It’s bigger than it looks.”

“Would have to be,” Yorrick muttered under his breath.

I was more focused on the term he had used. “Candle?”

“The Candle in the Dark, our leader.” Timball answered. “He brightens our night and warms our hearts. A savior to everyone who willingly embraces his wisdom and guidance.”

“Right…” Brand muttered. “Cults.”

Timball just smiled at the not-too-subtle criticism rather than get angry. “You are welcome to rest with us. The warmth of the hearth is to be shared with all.”

“Not a chance,” Yorrick answered before anyone else could. “I’m not going into that… that… place!”

“Our house?” Timball said, mildly. “You are, of course, welcome to decline the invitation. Many do. But at the least, you could camp behind our walls. It will offer some additional safety.”

“You’re allowed to make such an offer without asking your… Candle?” Kira said, an eyebrow raised. One of her wisps had swung back, helping to light the rapidly darkening surroundings, while another still hovered near where I was, between Timball and us.

“Of course. As I said, the welcome of the hearth is open to all.” He gestured up the hill, and as he did so I caught sight of the hole that he had been hiding within. It was a small dug-out with a very artfully concealed camouflaged trapdoor made of intertwined branches, planks and naturally growing grass on top of the door. No wonder none of us had seen him.

“What’s the hunter’s blind for?” I said – or tried to. I managed to make it to “hunter’s” before stumbling across the word for blind, eventually using the word for hole. There were, I admit, quite a few words I was still missing.

“The lookout post?” Timball smiled as he turned away, adjusting the trapdoor so that it fell against the ground again, making the blind all but disappear, with a very small opening that would allow him to stare outwards and down the hill. “We are in a dungeon, you know.”

I snorted, choosing not to question his statement further. Or the incongruity of putting a man under the ground, in hiding, when it would make more sense to put a tower to keep him out of harm’s way. The only reason for a blind like this was so that you could hide from individuals or creatures that could reason their way around the watchtower and the death that arrived from it. Or just knew what a watchtower might mean.

No, the blind said something about the paranoia involved.

“How many of you are there?” I asked curiously.

“There are thirty-eight embers,” Timball said, proudly. As though we had accepted his invitation, he started walking up the hill. “We just had three new recruits come two weeks ago.”

“So you go to the surface to bring people down?” Kira asked, falling into step with him though keeping a little behind. I moved to put myself between them, shifting myself to be closer to the man even as I gestured for Yorrick to fall back. Not that I had to say much, since I could see how he had unconsciously moved to cover Sophia, Brand doing the same with Kira.

I made mental note of the little interplay, the burgeoning romance – with each party dancing around the idea without committing. As though they knew instinctively that the moment they did, it would mess up the team dynamics forever.

There was a reason why inter-office romances were barred; why I hated to see it happen in the dojo. The moment people got together, you were just waiting for the relationship drama to mess with everything else – and it didn’t even have to be breakups. A bad day, a sulky evening could mean one or the other was paying too much attention to what happened in the events before, instead of the throw they were practicing or the monster trying to eat their face.

In this case, it meant I was too busy mentally grousing about the upcoming problems to pay attention to our current predicament.