Dungeon Walkers 1

by Daniel Schinhofen

  The man looked at the badge on Stern’s clothing. “Safe run, Walker.”

  Stern’s eye caught the glint of silver on the man’s chest and nodded. “Rest well, Walker.”

  “Time for a break,” the man chuckled as he reached back and patted the wolf. “Do they have a stable?”

  “I don’t know, sir. If you’ll excuse me, I have a delivery.” Stern touched the bag he was carrying.

  “Just finished one, myself. Go on. Make sure you and your crew are ready once you become tin-ranked.”

  Stern just nodded and stepped past the higher-ranked Walker. It was only a few dozen feet over to the Walkers’ guildhall. The main room was subdued so early in the morning, and Stern was glad for it. Even then, he felt the eyes of those in the room on him.

  “Delivery,” Stern said abruptly upon reaching the desk.

  The long-necked man sat upright and Stern blinked at him. The large spots on the man’s skin, along with his neck, gave away his specific lykian blood. “Set it on the desk, please.”

  Stern did as he was asked, pleasantly surprised that the man didn’t react to the way he looked. The moment the bag touched the desk, he felt the release of the quest from his mind.

  The lykian man picked up the bag and put it into the drawer. “Your task is completed.” He placed two large copper on the desk. “Your payment, Walker Stern.”

  “Thank you, sir. Please put it toward my recovery fee. Are there any incomplete crews that are going into the dungeon today?”

  “Not that I know of, but most have already gone to the dungeon. A few might be there looking to add another.”

  “Very well. Thank you, sir.”

  Turning to leave, Stern nearly ran into a man as tall as he was and about five times his size across the shoulders. The man just stared at him, his gaze dropping to Stern’s badge. “New blood. If you have some coin, me and my crew can take you through.”

  Stern looked at the man’s tin badge that had only a single mark on it. He felt the subdued anger and arrogance coming from the man, and exhaled before he spoke, “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine even if there isn’t another crew my rank there.”

  The large man snorted. “Suit yourself. It’ll be a shame to throw your life away like that.”

  Stern’s lips thinned. Stepping around him, he started for the door.

  “Stupid kid,” another snorted when he went past the table.

  Stern’s mood soured as he left the guildhall behind. Heading to the academy and dungeon entrance, he tried to let go of the emotional turmoil. He followed the clearly marked signs and went around the main academy building.

  A couple of dozen people stood underneath an awning, speaking in small groups. Five men in uniform stood farther back, next to the sloping tunnel. They were talking with a group of six in a patchwork of gear, clearly ready to go into the dungeon.

  The feeling of excitement and a bit of uncertainty filled the air under the awning. Stern moved closer to the people, wanting to hear the conversations.

  “Third run... after this, we have to move onto the next dungeon. I’m thinking Darkstone.” The speaker was clearly half-dwarven— his stature, build, and beard all pointed to it.

  “Hitting all of them the maximum number of times just makes the most sense,” one of the half-dwarf’s companions said. She ran a hand over her scaled head in what was clearly a soothing gesture to her.

  “We barely make enough points per run to make it worth the effort,” another said. “We should just push to tin and hit those dungeons multiple times.”

  “Foolish,” the last of the group said. Her voice had a light clarion tone and her white wings fluttered in agitation. “We made enough selling our loot to finish getting all of us better weapons. If we do that in Darkstone and Bloodstone, we’ll have decent equipment for the next set.”

  Stern stepped away from them, as that crew clearly already had their plans set. His movement brought him to three large men, who all glared at him. He went past them, as they were far from welcoming.

  The third group there also only had three people in total, so he approached them. “Excuse me, are you interested in having another join you?”

  The man with black leathery wings gave him a once-over and shook his head. “What are your perks?”

  Stern exhaled, already knowing this wasn’t going to work. “I can summon a companion to help us fight.”

  That actually made the contempt the man felt for Stern dim. “You got a summons? What kind?”

  The other two in his group looked interested, and their disdain of him was rapidly diminishing, as well.

  Stern flexed his fingers and summoned Pawly. The cat looked at the people nearby, then at Stern.

  All three of them blinked, then started laughing. “No! Go find another group to help you,” the infernal man said.

  Pawly hissed at him, her fur standing up.

  “Easy, Pawly, easy,” Stern said, glancing at the guards. “Come on.”

  Pawly walked with him off to the side.

  Kneeling down, he ignored the laughter and voices of the others. He pulled out the chunk of meat he’d saved from breakfast and fed it to her. “They have no idea how dangerous you are. We’ll be going in alone again.”

  Pawly chewed the meat, purring happily.

  Stern waited, watching the other groups as they went toward the guards. They were let in one at a time, and the guards took their time checking the badges of anyone going inside. Eventually, the groups were gone, leaving Stern as the only one left.

  The guards gave him an appraising look when he got to them. “Alone, or is the cat with you?”

  “She’s my companion,” Stern replied.

  “Okay. If she dies inside, that’s going to upset me,” the second guard said levelly.

  “He has three cats at home,” another guard snickered.

  “Shut it!” the first one snapped. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Stern. “You’ve got a badge, obviously been through the academy, and cleared Blackstone, so I shouldn’t have to tell you that you can’t solo run for long.”

  “I’m aware, sir,” Stern replied. “I tried to join one of the groups, but they just mocked me.”

  “Because of her?” the second guard asked, squatting down and extending a hand to Pawly. “I bet you’re useful, aren’t you?” The question was directed to Pawly.

  Pawly sniffed at his fingers, then extended her neck to his hand.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, Johnson,” the first guard sighed as the others laughed. “Find a damned lykian with cat features, already.”

  Johnson shook his head. “Assholes.” With a sigh, he stopped scratching Pawly’s neck and stood up.

  Stern’s lips twitched. The guards were clearly friends and just joking at Johnson’s expense— mostly, anyway. “Can we go in?”

  “Yeah. You know how it works,” the guard said. “Since you’ve cleared one of the three, this one will be a bit longer than your first.”

  “I’m aware, sir,” Stern said, “but it still won’t be intelligent monsters. They don’t happen until tin and above.”

  “That’s true,” the guard said, motioning him to the tunnel. “Safe run.”

  “Thank you.”

  Johnson cleared his throat, giving his fellow guards a glare before looking back at Pawly. “Safe run.”

  The guards guffawed and teased him, but Pawly nodded once before trotting toward the dungeon. Johnson blinked, not having expected the cat to respond to him as blatantly as she had.

  Stern walked down the sloping tunnel until he found the swirling mist of the dungeon. “Ready to go?”

  Pawly chuffed and was about to walk forward when a commotion came from behind them.

  Stern looked back and saw a group of six people talking excitedly as they moved through the tunnel. Seeing and hearing them, Stern grinned as he felt a surge of excitement. With a chuckle, he stepped into the fog.

  Chapter Eight

  Stern went still�
�� the sun warming his face was not what he expected. Crouching down amid the waist-high grass, he exhaled slowly. Pawly watched him while sniffing the air.

  “Okay... outside dungeon, which means a kill-all to get out,” Stern murmured. “No trees, but waist-high grass, so ground animals. Probably won’t be a boss mob here, just a larger number of smaller mobs, and they’ll likely be social. Glad that even in these dungeons there’s a mobless area to prep.”

  Pawly continued to watch him, waiting to see what they should do.

  Poking his head above the grass, he looked around. The plain looked to stretch in all directions as far as the eye could see. Ducking down again, he shook his head. “Looks endless, but there should be a limit with invisible walls. We should find one of those first. Dad always said ‘stick to a wall, work your way around, and then go in.’”

  Pawly chuffed at him, moving forward just enough to push her head against his knee.

  “First, let’s make you a badass, huh?” Stern asked her with a grin and flexed his fingers.

  Pawly purred as she was suddenly tall enough to bump his chest with her head.

  “Okay, we’re going to turn around, walk until we find a wall, and then do what we were told. You have point, because of the grass. I’ll be moving slowly to stay under it.”

  Another chuff and Pawly did what Stern said.

  Pulling one of his knives, he held it reversed so the blade ran along his forearm. Crouched and using his right hand to keep him balanced, he followed the much larger Pawly.

  He wasn’t sure how far they’d gone, but he knew that he’d have a hard time holding to this position the entire time. Trying to stay focused for threats as he half-crawled after his friend, he was glad that his mother had pushed him to train physically with her.

  Pawly’s head snapped to the side just before a furry blur came rushing at her. Jerking back, Pawly was just able to get her head out of the way from the claws going for her eyes. Her return strike slammed into the critter, sending it flying into the grass. Pawly lunged after it and Stern looked about, waiting for more.

  A minute later, Pawly came back and dropped the dead beast at his feet. Stern looked down, lips pursing as he took in the mob. Spots and lines marked the back of the overgrown ground squirrel. The claws on the monster were thicker, longer, and sharper than they had any right to be.

  “You okay?” Stern asked Pawly.

  Pawly let out a small chuff as she faced back the way they’d been heading.

  “Well, now we have an idea of what we might face. Guess this is a scurridane… there aren’t any trees around here, after all. Keep your eyes open for burrows.”

  Pawly meowed and stalked forward again. Stern followed her, very glad that Pawly was twice as big as she had been— the scurridane was almost as big as she normally was.

  No more attacks came, but suddenly, Pawly stopped moving, even though her feet still tried to push her forward for a second.

  “Okay, this is the edge,” Stern said. “We’ll go left. I’ll keep my hand on the wall so we know if it opens up more.”

  Pawly turned to the left and bumped her shoulder into the wall. With a huff, she started stalking away. Stern took a moment to stand up and look over the dungeon. There were small pockets of open area he could see, but none near them. Taking a deep breath, he dropped back into a crouch, and, using the invisible wall for balance, he followed his cat.

  It was slow going, and two more scurridanes attacked them only to be ruthlessly put down by Pawly. The third one brought another aspect of the mob to his attention. As he went past the body, he noticed a lot of small, pointy teeth instead of the blunt buck teeth he knew normal squirrels had.

  Carnivorous squirrels? Great, he sighed to himself as the body melted into the ground. Glad I have the leather armor. It should protect me from those teeth, at least. The claws might still be a problem, though.

  After a few minutes, Stern realized that they weren’t walking in a straight line. “Pawly,” he whispered, “I can feel the barrier curving. Be aware of it.”

  She responded with a quiet chuff and kept moving forward.

  By the time they’d made it around far enough that he could be certain they’d made a full circuit, Stern’s legs were burning and his back ached. Pawly had dispatched a few dozen scurridanes, who’d all attacked alone, making Stern briefly wonder if she was the Walker and he was the tagalong.

  Standing up, he stretched and looked over the field. He could see the path they’d taken, as the grass had been displaced enough to make it obvious. A few hundred yards across with a circular barrier. We’ll have to head in now and hit those open points.

  Pawly bumped his shin and purred.

  He sat down, sheathed his dagger, and gave her some affection. “You’re the best,” he said happily. “Carrying my dead ass through here.”

  Pawly purred louder and flopped onto his lap.

  Smiling, he used both hands to pet the large feline. “I’m going to stand straight going forward. The grass is thick and I want to guide us in as near a circle as possible. I keep expecting a couple at a time, too, so be ready for that.”

  Pawly stretched out her paws and kneaded the empty air.

  “Oh, must be a good spot if you’re making air-biscuits,” Stern chuckled.

  Pawly grabbed his hand and dragged it down to her mouth. Placing her teeth gently on him, her back legs came up and she bunny-kicked his arm.

  “Oh, fierce hunter!” Stern laughed. He was glad she had control over her claws or else his arm would’ve been flayed open.

  After a few seconds, she stopped and rolled out of his lap.

  “Yeah, we should get going,” Stern said. “You lead, but pay attention to me, okay?”

  A chuff was her response to him.

  Pulling his dagger back out, he nodded. “Okay.” He went forward into the area, then turned left. “This way.”

  They completed the second loop with another dozen scurridanes killed. Stern had taken a claw to the ankle, but between his pants and boots, it hadn’t cut him. Pawly savaged that scurridane, affronted that it had gotten to Stern.

  “Next loop will see us hitting the first of the open spots,” Stern told her. He glanced up at the sun, which was now directly overhead. “If we’re going to find multiple mobs, it’ll likely be there.”

  Pawly looked back at him.

  “Okay, let’s go. I don’t think there’s going to be a boss, by the way. I think it’s an attrition dungeon.”

  Pawly snuck off, keeping her body low to the ground as she soundlessly paced forward.

  Stern was correct about finding multiple mobs. He’d pulled a second knife when they got closer to the grassless circle. Pawly jumped sideways, her paw slapping a scurridane who’d been mostly hidden. Blood flew as her claws dug deep gouges into it. As she dealt the blow, a second scurridane came rushing at her.

  Stern threw his first knife, but as he hadn’t properly gauged the speed of the large rodent, it only grazed its back. It had been enough to hinder the mob, letting Pawly spin and slap it before it reached her. As her paw took the life from the second scurridane, a third one came leaping out of the grass.

  Stern’s knife hit it and knocked it backward, the stench of burning hair wafting from it. Stern glared as he pulled his last dagger, waiting for more. Pawly spun and growled when the third scurridane hit the ground.

  After a few seconds of nothing, the two of them edged forward. When they got into the clearing, they discovered multiple burrows dotting the area, with dirt mounded up near the openings.

  “Home sweet home,” Stern said as he collected his knives, cleaning them off.

  Pawly went to one burrow and sniffed at it before swatting down inside. She huffed and went to another one, repeating the process. She was too large to even try fitting into them.

  Stern watched her and thought about it for a moment. “I could reduce you. You might fit, then.”

  Pawly looked at him, back at the holes, and then sneezed
.

  “Okay, but if we clear everything and the exit doesn’t show up, you might need to.”

  Pawly yowled softly, glaring at the burrows.

  “There are at least three more clearings,” Stern told her. “Once those are done, hopefully, we will be, too.”

  Pawly growled and tore at the ground a little before she huffed and looked back at him.

  “I’m ready, I’m ready. That way,” he pointed.

  The next two clearings also had three scurridanes each, and they managed to kill them without any major issue. Stern hoped that when they killed off the last mob, a giant one wasn’t going to pop up out of the ground.