Haeros Dungeon - Chapter 22 preview (Patreon)

Eamond and Quinn were my two best friends in the city, the people who took me in, and gave me a place to stay while I learnt about the new world I had been dumped into. Being in the Upturned Stove, the restaurant and inn that they ran, had taught me everything I knew about Tionerth, as they had a very regular flow of minstrels and bards come through, many who sang songs about the history and battles of the world. When such individuals were not singing or speaking, more than a few were willing to take time to play tutor to an ignorant visitor.

In return, I’d helped make the Upturned Stove a place for foodies. We kept to the same focus of providing hearty meals for reasonable amounts, but had added a series of menu items from Earth to elevate the place. Also, and frankly, their old cook – Eamond himself – had very little proper training or skill at it. Bringing me in had improved the overall experience, even when I utilized his own recipes.

These days, I mostly stayed out of the kitchen. The sous chef I had trained in the time I was there – a necessity with the increase in customers – had taken over for me, and he had a helper himself. There was no place for me at the back of the kitchen, and that was okay.

In some ways, running the dungeon was an easier job than being a cook. As much as it might seem that we were in constant battles, the fact was, the majority of our time was spent walking around, going from place to place.

It was not easy, mind you; the tension of being constantly on alert, of needing to be watching for potential trouble, meant that you never slept well, that your nerves were constantly shot. There was a reason why most adventurers ended up in certain bars, certain places.

Like soldiers who are slowly transitioning out of combat zones, like front-line emergency personnel on Earth, we gained a certain dark humor, a certain twisted outlook on life that had us laugh at the silliest of things. Even only a year into the life, I could see how it was warping my own perspectives.

Then, being reincarnated and having lived a full life had already changed me from the norm. I found many things easier to handle than some of my allies, like death and loss itself, while other aspects – the casual violence, the ability to accept inequality – were harder.

Perhaps this was because, over the years, I’d seen a world improve, and then, towards the end degrade, as reactionaries took back everything that had been won. Not that they had lasted long – old age, stubbornness and the refusal of those minorities they targeted to bend – meant they could not win. Not in the long term, at all.

Though, how the world handled the changing climate and those challenges, I never knew. My own passing was before the effects of ignoring the pleas of scientists and farmers and fishermen over decades had played out.

“Eamond.” I returned the hug and backslaps, only stiffening a little before moving on, giving Quinn the same treatment and taking a seat by the bar. A quick glance around showed the usual late evening crowd with a few additions – random passersby, a few travelers who likely had rooms upstairs and a bard in colorful outfit with a big smile, digging into their meal at the foot of the stage while keeping a close eye on their hat. They had emptied the majority of the tips out, but you always checked. I made a particular mental note of the fair-haired bard as Eamond dropped a mug of ale beside me.

“Food too?” he asked.

“What do you have?”

“Just some stew left. Maybe a roast. Bread.”

“I’ll take it all.” I rubbed my stomach, realizing I had skipped lunch and most of dinner.

“Done.” He swept his gaze up and down my body before continuing. “You managed to make it back in one piece too, it seems.”

“One piece and somewhat successful,” I replied. “Didn’t make it as deep as we wanted but we cleared a few more floors. Not a challenge so far, so we’re hopeful we can clear to the nineteenth floor soon.”

“You intend to go further too, don’t you? Become a real delver?”

“Yup.”

Eamond shook his head. “Well, eat up then.” He disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing moments later with my food. It didn’t take long since most of what he had left was pre-cooked and kept warm. I dug in ravenously as he moved around the restaurant, speaking with others and clearing tables with Quinn, the workers with real jobs getting ready to go.

I waited till he had made his way back, before gesturing for him to join me. When he took a seat, an eyebrow cocked upward, I made my enquiry.

“You know the fae right?”

“I know of them,” Eamond said, cautiously.

“I need to know where I can find any you know.”

“Why?”

I looked into his face, weighing my next words. Weighing what I would do if he reacted the wrong way, if he flinched or refused to help. What I was doing was wrong, illegal even. There were no vast tomes of laws to draw upon, but getting in the way of the government could easily see them throw me in prison till they were satisfied. The lack of a proper rule of law, meaning edge cases could flex based off the judge’s viewpoint, offered both a greater latitude for justice and mercy and their opposites.

In the end, I chose to believe in my friends. More fool me.

“There’s a pogrom coming,” I said softly. “We found landfang below.”

Eamond shuddered, looking around the restaurant. His gaze drifted to the various newcomers, taking them in as though they were threats before he wrenched his eyes back to me. Voice low like mine, nearing a whisper, he asked, “How sure are you?”

“We took their orbs and shards, and confirmed it with the Guild. It’s happening.”

A jerk of his head, as he pushed upwards. “I need – I need a moment.” He left without speaking further, causing his wife to look over worriedly. She scanned the tables one last time, decided it was safe enough and disappeared through the kitchen doorway after him.

I tapped the table in exasperation, wondering what had happened. The minstrel, alert to changes in the crowd and the atmosphere, frowned at me and the doorway before they sped up the consumption of their meal and stuffed their hat and the remaining coins into their pocket.

Amusement rippled through me, as the minstrel was the only one who noticed the problem. At the point where one of the regulars, ready for another pint, was beginning to question the lack of attendants, Quinn breezed right in. She waved him down when he called for her, beelining for me.

“You idiot,” Quinn said to me, softly, when she stood beside me. Her tone was still warm, so I knew she wasn’t truly angry at me. “Couldn’t you have broken the news easier?”

“I could have. Didn’t know I needed to.”

“Even if Theod…” She trailed off, eyes narrowed. “You don’t know, do you?”

“I’m certain I don’t.”

“We forget, sometimes, that you haven’t been with us forever.” Lips twisted in a wry smile. “It just seems like it.”

“Who is Theod?”

“Theodin was a friend,” Quinn said. “He was a halfer. A crossbreed that grew up on the street with us. We don’t know who his mother was, or why his father was willing to bring him up. Maybe because when he was younger, he looked the same as us – mostly.”

“That changed.”

“When we became teens. He started changing, a little at first, and then more.” Quinn paused, her voice close to breaking. She looked aside, whispered, “They came for him, one night. Eamond was supposed to spend the night with him, but he was with me and we lost track of time.” I knew better than to make the obvious joke, but with two horny teenagers, it was quite clear what they were likely doing. “We found his body, he and his father hanging from the post.”

“I thought the pogrom…”

“Doesn’t need to be an official thing, for people to hate.” Quinn touched my hand. “If there’s a real one coming, it’s going to get ugly.”

“Yeah.”

She offered me a sad smile and turned away, hurrying the ale over. Sitting there alone, the doorway to the kitchen still empty, I realized that Eamond was not coming back. That with a scar like that, he would never stay silent. That he wasn’t going to just pass the word on. If I knew him, the man I had found being beaten up and stabbed because he refused to pay protection money, Eamond was going to take action. Was going to get involved.

I just hoped he knew what he was doing, because I couldn’t watch over him. Not when I had a dungeon to delve.