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Warnd doesn't sleep especially well that night, his dreams a chaotic mishmash of high adventure and nighmarish failure. He wouldn't want to admit it to Lem, but he's excited for this. Fighting and delving is supposed to be for adventurers, not journeyman shipwrights!

Yet here he is now, about to meet his changeling friend at the bakery just outside the dungeon. He's easy to spot as one of the only people near the bakery and not actively in line nor eating, and he brightens when he spots Warnd and waves for him to hurry up.

"Warnd! There you are! Let's get in line for some cobblebread before we go. You didn't have breakfast yet, did you?"

"Ah... should I have?" Warnd may have been too eager to come and forgot to eat anything at home.

"Nah, this will be breakfast! Their fortified cobblebread is perfect for a delve. Do you like it sweet or cheesy?"

"For breakfast? Sweet, please."

Lem claps him on the back as they get in line. "Hah, me too! Nothing like something sweet to start the day, set the tone, yeah?"

Warnd chuckles. "Yeah."

"Nervous about the delve?"

"Some, but I'm more excited than nervous, I think."

Lem nods at that as the line moves. "The first delve is always the scariest. I've even heard adventurers from the guild say that. No matter the level, a new dungeon always gives that bit of unknown danger. Thedeim's great, though."

"What are we going to do for the delve? With all those real adventurers, is there going to be any room for someone new to it like me?"

"Yeah, the manor will be a perfect place to start. We'll probably want to stay out of the attic until you've gotten a few more levels, but the house and the yard are designed for new adventurers."

"Does that still count you? You sound... pretty confident and secure in all this. I wouldn't want to slow you down."

Lem laughs. "I've only been in a couple times, but I've heard plenty of adventurers talk about their adventurers in there. For us, we should probably grab a quest on the porch and then just wander around some."

"How's that work, anyway? The quests? The pamphlet talks about it, but I just can't picture it."

"So, Thedeim has aranea, yeah? They look pretty scary, but they keep to the rafters mostly. They make little signs and hang them down, and the quests are written on them. Just take the sign and you'll get a quest. You'll get a bit more experience for doing it, and when you return the sign, they'll drop a reward for you , too."

"Anything particularly interesting?"

Lem shrugs. "Mostly clothing made from silk. I think it's a bit rougher than the fancy silk clothes nobles are supposed to wear, but I've never been able to compare, you know? I got a second sock the last time I delved, which is great. They're so comfortable. I've heard it said you're old when you appreciate some good socks, and I think the aranea are making a lot of delvers old prematurely, heh."

Warnd looks a bit confused at how much Lem seems to appreciate a pair of socks. They're just socks, right? He doesn't get a chance to think on it for long, though, as it's soon his turn to order his meal. "Cobblebread, please. Sweet."

"Do you want it fortified?"

"He sure does!" interrupts Lem before Warnd can even ask what that is. "He's going on his first delve right after!"

The lanky troll behind the counter brightens at that. "Ah, a new delver! Then let me do the fortification on the house! Just a little extra help to make that first delve a memorable one!"

While the troll prepares the treat, Warnd looks back at his friend. "Fortified?"

Lem nods. "The bakers here are good enough to infuse buffs into their food. You can ask for a lot of different things, but the fortified cobblebread is their signature for a reason. It's delicious, and also makes you just a bit tougher for the day. Maybe we'll do your second delve without it, just so you can see the difference. Personally, I wouldn't delve without it, and that's not just because I have a bit of a sweet tooth!"

The troll returns with Warnd's selection, and after paying, he takes a seat outside. Ordinarily, he'd wait for Lem to come out with his own, but the scent is just too tempting. One bite is all it takes to ease his guilt, and Lem smirks as he joins him.

"Couldn't even wait for me?"

"No."

The changeling barks a laugh. "Hah! Honestly, I probably wouldn't either!"

There is little room for conversation as they eat, both consumed with consuming the sticky fluffy plate of heaven before them. Warnd eyes his empty plate, debating if he has more dignity than to lick it clean. Lem doesn't give him a chance to decide, though, and scoops both plates up to take to the drop-off.

"Time's a-wasting! Come on!"

The elf can only pretend to be put out for a few moments before smiling and standing. Breakfast was great, now to start working off the energy gained from it! He shudders a bit as they cross through the gates into Thedeim's territory, his instincts telling him this place is dangerous. His eyes, however, beg to differ, as many crafters can be seen on the grounds fighting, chatting, planning, gathering, and otherwise having fun delving.

He follows Lem to the porch, where he finally gets to see the hanging signs offering quests. He can't resist looking up, and accidentally meets the eyes of one of the aranea. He locks up for a moment as the dweller seems to stare into his very soul, before it motions at one of the signs and moves on. Warnd shakes himself, trying to calm down and remember how safe the dungeon is supposed to be, then looks at the sign the monster pointed at.

Kill Three Rats

That sounds... perfect, actually. He takes the sign as Lem rejoins him, bearing his own quest to kill three snakes. "Ah, rats. That should be a good introduction, yeah. I'm gonna get a couple snakes. There's also gathering quests, but the best lumber is still in the maze."

"The maze?" Warnd echoes, still a bit distracted by the encounter with the aranea, and the feeling of having his first combat quest.

Lem nods and motions for him to follow him around the side of the house, where a huge wall of greenery can be seen. "The hedgemaze. Tiny runs the place. It's mostly not for combat, but there's direrats that will steal your stuff if you're not careful. I think I want to be able to clear the attic before I try my luck in there. I figure, by then, I should be able to keep them from robbing me blind."

Warnd wants to ask about Tiny, but he spots a pair of rats heading their way. "Rats!" He points, and readies his bardiche, with Lem readying his hammer and shield as well.

"Just stay calm if they hit you. I overreacted the first time I got hit, and that only made things worse."

Warnd nods before the rats split up, one heading for each of them. He plants his feet, preparing an overhead strike, and shouts as the rat gets close. "Yaah!" His bardiche comes down a hair too late, the small target being more awkward to hit than he was expecting. He can only shift his stance a little before the rat tries to sink its teeth into his shin! The armor holds, though he doesn't know for how long. The urge to swing wildly rises, but he forces it down. Stay calm, even with it chewing on your leg! It's chewing on your armor, not your leg, you have time to react properly!

He considers swinging the bardiche head at it again, but even a fresh fighter like him can guess that'd be a bad idea. Instead, he slams the butt of the haft down on the rat, stunning it and making it release him. He takes a step back and swings the business end, and this time he cleanly cleaves the rodent in twain.

His foe defeated, he turns to help Lem, and is relieved to see he has his own rat handled. It leaps toward his friend, who bats it out of the air with his hammer, bounding the enemy off the ground before it stops moving. He sighs as they two get their experience, and Lem turns to him with a smile.

"Good job! You handled that a lot better than I did my first time, heh."

Warnd chuckles, planting the butt of his weapon on the ground as he fights shaking from all the excitement. "I think it was more that I realized it'd be a bad idea to swing the sharp end so close to my own leg. I still wanted to, but the stupidity of the idea helped cut through the panic."

"Either way, that's two down for your quest! You feeling up for more?"

He really is. It was scary, yet also exhilarating! No wonder adventurers do this for a living! He doesn't think he could handle doing this all the time, but every so often?

"Yeah!"

"Great! Then let's get to it!"

With that, Lem leads the way back to the porch and inside the manor, eager to have a bit of adventure, and oblivious to the dungeon watching them and having just as much fun.