Morcster Chef B3: Chapter 23 (Patreon)

“Well,” Arek drawled as he caught his breath. “I think we’re still in pretty good shape.”

“The dungeon should be doable,” Belmont allowed reluctantly. “I think we’re significantly stronger than the average F-Ranked team. Considering we’re actually holding our own against Arek, we should be high E or low D at the minimum.”

“Don’t forget I lost much of my strength,” Arek said. “I’m not a C-Ranked adventurer anymore – though I don’t fully know what the Blessed One curse has done to me. Perhaps I would be if I was in my battle rage.”

“Perhaps,” Belmont allowed, helping them all to their feet. He paused to flick some grass from Ming’s shoulder. “But we should be strong enough to handle an E-Rank dungeon without any hiccups.”

“So long as the Howlers haven’t messed with it,” Malissa growled.

“We should probably tell Magus what’s going on before we go in,” Ming said reluctantly. They all turned to stare at her.

“What?”

“You’re being responsible,” Malissa said, a note of wonder in her voice.

“I’m always responsible!”

Three sets of eyebrows rose as one.

Ming harrumphed and crossed her arms, turning her nose up. “You all suck.”

Arek shook his head and chuckled. “Really? I was just about to start making dinner.”

Ming’s eyes shot open and she leapt to her feet. “Really? Yes! I want to eat! What is it?”

“Jerky,” Arek replied. They all burst into laughter as Ming crossed her arms and pouted. The Happy Sunflowers sat down around their camp and ate their dinner before heading off to bed.

Arek rose early the following morning to get back into his routine. He set off in a jog in a wide ring around the camp, getting himself warmed up. Malissa joined in on his second loop, and the two ran wordlessly for several minutes.

Belmont and Ming both woke as well, but they buried themselves in the books Magus had given them instead of physical activity. Arek and Malissa finished their run and stretched for a few minutes.

“Should we go to the dungeon today?” Malissa asked as they walked back to sit down next to the faint smoldering remains of last night’s campfire.

“Might as well,” Arek replied. “Ming, can you contact Magus and let him know what’s going on? You said you had a way to do that.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ming said, standing up and brushing the dirt off her clothes. She dug around in her bundle of staves and pulled out a wooden rod.

“You’ve got another one of those artifacts?” Malissa asked, her eyes widening.

“Nah, it’s just a stick,” Ming replied. “But it helps me focus on my Magus-calling spell.”

“He gave you a spell that specifically called him?” Belmont asked suspiciously. “I thought you could only use pure magic. Is there a communication spell that works like that?”

“Yep,” Ming said. She let out a low hum and blue light started to gather around the wooden staff, coursing out from her hands and spiraling around it. “But I don’t know it. This is a custom spell.”

She thrust the staff into the sky and it shattered with a loud crack. A tiny bolt of blue light launched into the air and vanished.

“Well, at least it wasn’t a pillar of light this time,” Arek said with a sigh. “Will he really notice that?”

The air crackled and a blue portal snapped open. Magus strode out, a gnarled staff in his hands. Magic pulsed through his veins and he scanned the area, letting out a cough as the portal snapped shut behind him.

“I knew it. Why is it that every time I feel a pure magic pulse, it’s you?” Magus asked, grabbing Ming by the ear. “Stop that! Learn a normal communication spell! I know I gave you one in the book!”

“It’s boring!” Ming whined. “Why would I learn that?”

“So you don’t make me think there’s a blasted artifact leaking out pure magic every single time you need my help,” Magus snarled before doubling over in a coughing fit. He sighed and wiped his mouth, shaking his head. “What do you need? Why aren’t you in Seaside? Don’t tell me you killed someone.”

“We didn’t kill anyone,” Ming said.

Magus stared at her. “That was incredibly unconvincing.”

“We didn’t,” Arek said. “But we did run into a little trouble.”

“Of course you did,” Magus said, rubbing his forehead. “Why wouldn’t you? Anyone else would enjoy the vacation and stay under the radar for a month without any trouble. But no. You manage to find trouble in a city in the middle of nowhere. What did you do? Get into a fight with Valen?”

“The guy running the adventurer’s guild?” Malissa asked. “No, not him. Well, probably not. Is he on the council?”

“Of course he is,” Magus replied. “The guild has members on any city council where they have a presence. Don’t tell me you’ve managed to start a fight with the council of Seaside.”

“We didn’t do that either,” Arek said. “We didn’t do anything this time, actually. We left because we suspected that the Howlers might have been trying to make moves against us.”

“What? The Howlers were in Seaside?”

“Not exactly,” Belmont said. “We opened up a food cart to pass the time. It was going well enough to start, but someone showed up and told us that we weren’t allowed to run it without a certificate, which takes months to get. Apparently, that rule had never been enforced before, so we started looking deeper into it and found out that Null, a member of Ox’s team, was in the city recently.”

“And there’s a good chance Null is related to the Howlers,” Magus concluded. “But why would they bother doing something in such a roundabout manner? That’s… incredibly stupid.”

“He’s kind of petty,” Ming said, crossing her arms. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he did it just to piss me off because I didn’t join up with him.”

“That’s bothersome,” Magus said. “I could probably have gotten you some sort of pass, but if the Howlers really did have a presence in Seaside, it isn’t a good idea for you to be near them. I’ve still yet to find any more information about Dortusk or the Blessed One curse, and the guild war brewing on the horizon is getting closer. You lot are my best lead on the curse, since all the other cursed people are either hiding or already in Dortusk. The Howler guild isn’t going to want any proof of what they’re doing to be just walking around.”

“We gathered,” Belmont said. “That’s why we were thinking about doing this dungeon instead.”

“Not a bad idea,” Magus allowed. “It’s what – E rank? That should be more than easy enough for you to handle now.”

“That’s what we were thinking as well,” Arek said. “But I think the bigger question is what we should do once we finish. It probably won’t take us more than a few days.”

Magus coughed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “My information sources are getting cut off, and if things really break out, I won’t be able to come help you. I’ll be too busy fighting. Ideally, you should hide. But I don’t know if you’ll be able to. Just… stay away from Dortusk for as long as possible. The Howlers have the city reinforced and protected to the point where even an A rank mage wouldn’t be able to break in easily.”

“And what about when the Curse forces me there?” Arek asks. “And Ming as well, possibly. She hasn’t shown signs of being affected by the curse, but it’s possible that she’ll still be pulled in by it, isn’t it?”

“It is. If that comes, you likely won’t have a choice. I will endeavor to find a way to put the Howlers down before your curse activates. We don’t know exactly how long it will be, after all. A lot can happen in a month.”

“We’ll do our best to stay out of trouble until then, I guess,” Malissa said. “But I’m going to be honest with you…”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” Magus said wearily. “You’ll probably end up in the middle of the Howler guild by the time the week is up. Your incredible incompetence somehow wraps all the way back around. I’m somewhat certain there’s some genuine magical theory that proves this, and it’s one I’d love to study once this debacle is done.”

“So… no blowing up the Howlers?” Ming asked.

“Not unless they seek you out first,” Magus said. “Really, the less you see of them, the better. And, whatever you do, do not interact with Ox’s team. They aren’t on our side.”

He glanced around, then snatched a piece of jerky from Arek, who was holding it out. Magus gave Arek an appreciative nod and finished chewing before he spoke again.

“Good jerky. Hard to get this stuff places other than Seaside. Is there anything else you four need? Keep in mind that I may not be able to get in contact with you again until this entire situation is dealt with.”

“I can’t think of anything,” Arek said, but then he paused. “Ah, actually, there’s one thing. You recall what happened some time ago, back when the Star Piercers were disbanded in court, right?”

Magus cocked an eyebrow. “That’s a broad statement, but I believe I know what you are referring to. What about it?”

“Is everything going well there?” Arek asked. “I’d rather not find out that I’ve breached some law or the like on accident.”

“As well as it could be,” Magus replied. “The courts have much bigger problems than you right now. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. The Blessed One curse you and Ming have might prove instrumental to bringing the Howlers down if we can link them to it, which would help a lot of people and do much in your favor. Just make sure they don’t bring you down with them.”

Arek nodded. “Thanks, Magus. We appreciate your help as always.”

“And we’re sorry for contacting you with these methods,” Belmont added, rubbing the back of his head.

Magus coughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m sure. You know, there was a contact spell in the book I gave you as well. I can understand Ming’s incompetence since she refuses to learn anything that doesn’t look fancy, but I expected more from you.”

Belmont cleared his throat and looked away. “I might have been more focused on learning spells that provided defensive capabilities. Or ones that looked cool.”

Magus sighed, but Arek spotted the flicker of a grin that crossed the mage’s face before he stamped it out. “Learn the spell. It’ll do us much use, especially once I’m caught up in this fight and unable to visit you directly.”

He snapped his fingers and a crackling portal yawned open behind him. Magus stepped through the disk, waving a hand in farewell before it sealed around him with a pop, leaving them alone on the beachside once more.

“That went pretty well,” Malissa said. “Maybe the first time Magus didn’t leave pissed off at something we did. Good job, guys.”

“If that’s an attempt to make me learn the stupid communication spell, it isn’t working,” Ming said, crossing her arms.

“I – oh, never mind,” Malissa said with a laugh. “Belmont, do you think you could figure it out?”

“It shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Belmont replied. “I’m unsure if I’ll have enough magic to actually cast it at long distances, but I can take a look at it now that I’ve figured the more important stuff out.”

“Perhaps after we deal with this dungeon?” Arek suggested, rolling his shoulders and yawning. “I’ll admit that I’d like to get the blood pumping a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight – our training notwithstanding. It’s just not the same, you know?”

“I thought you weren’t bloodthirsty anymore,” Ming said. “Is the Blessed One curse making you want to fight more?”

“Hm. I don’t think so. Not yet, at least,” Arek said after thinking for a moment. “But, as much as I love cooking, I’m still an orc. We were born for battle. It’s been several weeks since I really got my hands dirty, and I’m getting a bit antsy. The Blessed One business isn’t helping either.”

“It won’t affect your decision making in the dungeon, will it?” Belmont asked. “That would be dangerous.”

“I haven’t completely lost it,” Arek said with a laugh. “I promise I can still control myself. I’m not going to lose it if we can’t fight, I’d just like to do something now that my opportunity to run a restaurant has been taken by the Howlers.”

“I can understand that,” Malissa said, her eyes darkening. She ran a finger along the dull edge of a dagger. “Frankly, I feel a bit of that myself. I want to stick something, and I don’t see any Howlers in the area offering themselves up.”

“Let’s not tempt fate,” Arek said, heading over to his tent and starting to pack it up. He stuffed everything into his bag, not bothering to fold it properly. “There’s a dungeon waiting for us. Shall we?”

The others put their belongings back in considerably better fashion, and it took them a few more minutes than Arek to wrap up.

“I still don’t understand how you get things to fit in your bag,” Ming complained, prodding at Arek’s bulging travel bag. “It isn’t fair. If I did that, everything would break or fall out.”

“You have an extradimensional bag,” Arek said, crossing his arms. “And you’re impressed by my stuffing of a tent into a normal one?”

“Yes.”

“Well, can’t fault you there. It does take a certain degree of skill and talent to pack things like I do. Perhaps you could learn in sufficient time.”

“Please don’t,” Belmont grumbled. “Ming will end up crushing all her food in with her bedding and come crying to us to clean it.”

“I would not!” Ming exclaimed. Then she frowned and tapped her chin. “Okay, I probably would. But this is slander.”

“Not slander if it’s true,” Malissa snorted. “Now stop complaining. I want to get this dungeon started. Belmont, lead the way?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Belmont replied, shaking his head as they set off along the beach in search of the dungeon.

Arek was thankful for the man’s guidance. As far as he could tell, everything looked just about the same. To their right was sand and water, and to their left was grassland. The water was beautiful, of course, but with the prospective dungeon waiting for them, Arek found it difficult to focus on much else.

The gate rose in the distance not too long later. Black marble poked up from a small village that had been erected around it, situated just a short way from the beach. Sunlight glittered off the dungeon gate like the ocean waves across from it.

The Happy Sunflowers approached the town cautiously. There was no wall around it, nor were there guards. Houses just cropped up in a small circle around the dungeon. Their stone walls were eroded from years of being near the sea, and it was mostly silent.

A few people milled about the town, sending cursory glances in their direction as they walked in. An old woman did a double take at Arek, but when she realized that they weren’t paying her any attention, she set off without much of a bother.

“Calm place,” Arek observed as they walked past the houses and a tiny general store to stand before the entrance of the dungeon. “I like it.”

“Don’t get too attached,” Belmont said. “We won’t be here long. It’s close to Seaside, and we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves next to the Howlers.”

“I like how you’re assuming we’re going to end up drawing attention,” Malissa said with a laugh. “You’re probably not wrong, but still.”

“It’s hard not to,” Belmont, poking Arek in the chest with a gauntleted hand. “We’ve got the world’s only orc chef strolling around with us. At this point, the Howlers could probably find us just by listening to the most common rumors floating around areas we’ve passed through.”

“Hm. That might prove to be a problem, actually,” Arek mused. The four of them drew up to the base of the dungeon, where a black portal glimmered as if it were awaiting their arrival. “Maybe I should look into getting some form of disguise.”

“You aren’t using that red badge again,” Malissa said. “That isn’t you.”

“I had no plans to,” Arek replied. “But it would probably have to be an illusion, wouldn’t it? Anything less would be kind of obvious.”

“We can look into buying something in the next large town we pass through,” Belmont said. “We’ve got some money to work with. Just… no auction houses.”

“Agreed,” the others all said, shuddering.

Malissa looked up at the yawning portal above them. She drew in a slow breath and let it out. “It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these. Have we managed to do a single dungeon without something going wrong?”

“Not since Arek joined,” Ming chimed.

“Don’t curse us,” Belmont said. “This is going to be a perfectly normal dungeon experience.”

It sounded more like he was trying to convince the rest of them.

“Well, no point standing around out here,” Arek said. They were starting to draw some glances from the townsfolk. “Let’s go kick some monsters in the ass.”

They linked hands and held their breath before stepping forward as one, entering the dungeon. Arek’s skin prickled as ice raced along it. Shivers ran down his back and the world swam around him, twisting and reforming.

Then he was somewhere else. Wet sand squished beneath Arek’s feet as an island formed around him. Tall palm trees swayed overhead, and the sun bore down on him from a cloudless sky. The rest of the Happy Sunflowers appeared around him.