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 29
"That was kind of the opposite of inspiring," Jackal grumbled, rubbing his wrist. Around them, people finally understood the silent glare the man was giving them meant they were to leave.
"I don't think it was meant to be," Carina said. "Is it my imagination, or did he sound like he hopes we aren't going to come back?"
"He definitely doesn't want to see me again," Jackal muttered, but shrugged at the expectant look Tibs gave him.
"Less people are easier to deal with," Tibs said, not that he knew what the fighter expected. "What does it mean that he's going to have other people guarding the dungeon?"
"Absolutely nothing good," Jackal growled.
"Should we go?" Tibs asked.
Jackal looked around. Most of the people were gone, even Harry and the adventurers, except for those at the crack.
"Sure, but where?"
"Our room?"
"Is that where we want to go?" the fighter asked. "I mean really want to go?" He nodded to Tibs.
"We need to go to our room first anyway," Tibs said and started walking. "We have privacy there at least." Jackal and Carina caught up to him.
"Then," she asked, "are we going to MountainSea, or do we want to do more research? That man said we can go anywhere. The capital has the best universities. We can find a scribe, if it's more difficult to breathe the higher we go, maybe there's a higher mountain we can go to. It isn't like Kroseph has been everywhere in the world, right?"
Jackal looked at her, smirking. "And where are you hiding the kind of coins needed to pay one of those people? You think the electrum we have is going to even get them to look at us? Also, how long until they have answers? Seems to me the best way to do this is to go to MountainSea. Try it, if it doesn't work we detour by the capital or another place with scribes, find out how much it cost and while we're running the dungeon again, they can find the information."
"Did you know we'd get to leave?" Tibs asked. "Is that why you had Kroseph tell us about his home?"
Jackal was silent until they almost reached the town. "I thought it might happen. Saphina's dad told me about dungeons graduating, how they close off to make changes."
"It made changes without closing before," Carina said. "It removed the marks on the triggers in the trap room. Rearranged the rabbits in the warren room."
Jackal shrugged. "Just telling you what he told me. What I found out of Hard Knuckles led me to think he wouldn't want people underfoot while he made the changes he needs."
"How did you find out about that?" Carina asked. "That was the first I heard things were going to change."
"I've been asking around," Jackal said in a tone that made it clear he didn't want to discuss it. Then he sighed. "Don't make it obvious, but look toward the tailer's shop, there's a woman dressed in a green and black tunic." Carina turned to look where Jackal said, which earned her a "City folks," mumble from Jackal and she was glaring at him.
It did mean that when the woman in green and black looked in their direction, Carina was no longer an indication they'd noticed her. Tibs thought she'd been trying to be ignored.
"She's one of Hard Knuckles people. I had the so good fortune of coming across them when the first few arrived. We got to talking, and—"
"You fought," Tibs said, remembering Jackal's bruises, his reluctance to talk about them.
"There might have been a disagreement about this or that," the fighter admitted.
Why hadn't they killed him? Tibs wondered. The rules were clear, and they were guards. Or worked for Harry, so it sounded like he was in charge of that now. Had anyone been in charge of the adventurers before?