Dungeon Runner
The Tiger Writes
sciencefiction
sciencefiction
31K5
Tibs survived by picking pockets; until he's caught.
Instead of losing a hand, he's sent away and told he must now survive a dungeon.
How is a kid who knew nothing more than his ...Bottom Rung, Chapter 28
"You heard about the other team who beat the boss?" Carina asked, joining Tibs and Jackal at their usual table. She waved to Kroseph.
"Finally," Jackal said. "I can't believe it took this long for another team to manage it. Now people can go pester them for what it's like to fight it and how to beat it."
"Maybe one of them will brag about it," Tibs said, thinking of the number of times he'd had to remind Jackal they weren't allowed to say anything about what took place in the dungeon outside of it.
"And they can deal with the consequences," the fighter said. "This rule was made to torture me specifically, I just know it. It was such an amazing fight. You were amazing in it, I was amazing in it, and I can't tell a soul." He rested his head on the table. "We're going to die in obscurity."
"I like obscurity," Tibs said.
Jackal glared at him. "You're a rogue, you love obscurity. I'm a fighter, I should be able to be famous for my battles. How is that going to happen if I can't tell my stories?"
"What stories?" Kroseph asked, placing a plate of stew and a tankard of ale before Carina.
"The one about the dungeon," Jackal said, and Tibs narrowed his eyes at Kroseph.
"Did he tell you?"
"Me?" the server said, acting far too innocent. "I have no idea what he's talking about." He hurried away, and Tibs turned his glare on the fighter.
"What?" Jackal asked. And mouthed 'he's Kroseph.'
"You realize you're placing him in danger too, right?" Carina asked.
"Just let me have that, okay?" Jackal asked, then muttered. "At least he likes my stories."
"Everyone likes them," Carina said. "That's just one you can't tell yet. I'm sure once everyone can beat the golem, no one's going to care who was first."
"You see, that's what you don't understand, that's why I have to be able to tell the story now, before there's dozen others flying about town all claiming to be the first. We beat it. We should be telling it."
"We'll still be the first," Tibs said, "no one's going to forget us and the shield."
"Unfortunately," Jackal grumbled.
"Sounds like you don't know what you want," Carina said, pausing as she ate. "you can't be remembered for one and not the other."
"It's the guard," Tibs said, "isn't it."
"How did it go for that team who beat the boss?" Jackal asked. "Was their loot better than ours?"
Tibs shrugged at Carina's look. Jackal wouldn't say anything about the man he'd called Harry Hard Knuckle. Each time Tibs tried, he changed the subject without even trying to pretend he hadn't heard.
"I didn't see what it was, so smaller than ours, but with dungeon loot it can't mean much. There was some arguing at the table, from what I was told the adventurer there tried to convince them the guild would give them a better price for it than merchants, because the guild was fair, and merchants were crooks."
Jackal choked on his swallow. "Tell me they didn't believe whoever that was."
"No. They're probably doing the rounds of the shops now to see what they can get."
"They should see Darran," Tibs said, since their merchant had given them such a good deal.
"Let's not send too many people to him," Jackal said. "I'm hoping we'll get one more run before Hard Knuckle can make the changes he wants to make. It would be a shame if my favorite merchant was out of coins when we bring him the loot, because once the guild starts paying us, we're going to get screwed worse than Miral on the guard's payday."