Dungeon Walkers 1

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “I do care for you, though more now than I did then. It was purely reflex to protect you before, but now, I want to.”

  Cyra looked over at him, a soft smile touching her lips. “That makes me happy.”

  “I know. I can feel it.”

  “That helps me,” Cyra said, “the fact that you’ll know what I feel.”

  “It makes most people uncomfortable.

  “If I didn’t know you, it might make me feel that way, too,” Cyra admitted, “but with my problems, it makes me happy. You can understand what I might not be able to say. All those times I felt love for you and couldn’t even hint at it myself...”

  Stern chuckled softly as he finished the dishes. “It was different. Outside of my family, having someone care for me like that was new. Now, both you and Trish feel that way... her feelings are still newer, but they’re growing.”

  “She told me about it growing,” Cyra said, a hint of amusement to her voice.

  Stern laughed, drying his hands. “She’s rubbing off on you.”

  “Not yet, but she hopes to,” Cyra giggled, her face red.

  Stern laughed with her as he moved to the open space of the room. “Stretching, running, and then training.”

  “You’re going to spar with me today, right?”

  “During the last hour of training, yeah.”

  Cyra smiled. “Okay.”

  ~*~*~

  Stern entered the training room just in time to see Cyra kicking Velina. The teacher staggered back a step and swayed in place. Cyra took that moment to bring her staff around at Velina’s legs. Shaking her head just before the staff connected, Velina wasn’t able to stop the sweep. When she crashed onto her back, she found Cyra’s staff poised over her.

  “Good. The stun from your kick can change the flow of the fight,” Velina said. “It’s a shame it’s such a low chance of it working, or else you could easily control any fight you were in.”

  “Thank you,” Cyra said, offering a hand to Velina.

  “Excuse me,” Stern said as Velina stood up, “I’m here.”

  “Good,” Velina said. “I’m going to have the two of you spar unarmed for a bit, then with staves.”

  Cyra went to put the staff back in the weapon rack while Stern moved to the center of the mat.

  Velina came up beside him. “She’s coming along well. I have no doubt that she can protect herself long enough to give others a chance to assist her in a dungeon. She told me that Trish will be joining her in two weeks?”

  “We thought we should have two weeks of them training, then a week of the mock dungeon.”

  “Just over a month,” Velina said. “Did you tell Grandfather?”

  “He agreed,” Stern said.

  “Very well.” Velina went to stand a handful of feet back from them. “Standard sparring rules. Half of our time is going to be unarmed. Bow to each other.” They did, and Velina raised her hand. “Fight!” she called as she dropped it.

  Stern rushed in, his eyes cold as he came at Cyra. Cyra felt fear rise up, but she pushed it down and kicked out at him. Stern slipped to the side of her foot, intent on grabbing her.

  Cyra rolled with his throw and was back on her feet faster than Stern thought she would be. She blocked the few punches he threw before her foot slammed into his blocking shin— Stern felt his body lock up when her kick connected. Seeing him freeze, Cyra grabbed and threw him to the ground. When he shook off the stun, he found her foot poised over his neck.

  “Break!” Velina called.

  “That stun is a game-changer,” Stern said, taking Cyra’s offered hand. “Are you okay?”

  Cyra backed up, holding up a hand as she took a deep breath. “Yes. My fear was hard to control, but I did it, though.”

  “Because it was me?” Stern asked.

  “Maybe...” Cyra said softly.

  “Are you willing to test it?” Stern asked.

  “If you’ll be here.”

  “Velina, can you have another man come in to give her a single match?” Stern asked.

  “Hmm... Is that wise? Cyra, you told me about what happened. It is possible that doing this will only make things worse.”

  “If Stern’s here, I won’t worry as much,” Cyra said. “I know he’d protect me. I need to know if I’ll lock up.”

  “Take a moment. I’ll go find someone,” Velina said before going out the door.

  She returned a minute later with her grandfather and a man old enough to be Cyra’s father. “I thought maybe a double test would be best. Cyra, you’ve met my grandfather, and this is my uncle.”

  Cyra bowed to them both. “Thank you for helping us with this.”

  “Grandfather, if you will go first?” Velina asked.

  “Very well,” Winla said. “I will attack as swiftly as I can, but will moderate myself to what a lesser student would do.”

  Cyra nodded slowly, and focused on the old man. “I’m ready.”

  When Velina called for them to fight, Winla closed the distance with surprising speed for his age. Cyra felt a small spike of fear, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from reacting. The fight was over after a few exchanges. Winla slammed her to the mat with his fist poised over her.

  “Break!” Velina said.

  “I didn’t panic,” Cyra smiled broadly. “I was okay.”

  “Good,” Velina smiled. “Uncle, it’s your turn.”

  The middle-aged man bowed when instructed, staying silent as he did. When the fight started, he came at Cyra with a leer on his face. Cyra’s fear spiked hard and she backpedaled, her mind screaming at her to run.

  “Stop!” Stern yelled.

  Velina’s uncle stopped and backed away.

  Cyra grabbed Stern and pushed into his chest, shaking. Stern put his arms around her gently, holding her.

  “That was pronounced,” Velina said. “Thank you, Uncle, Grandfather.”

  When Cyra stopped shaking, the other two men were gone. “I’m sorry...” she whispered, ashamed of herself.

  “Why was it okay with Grandfather?” Velina asked gently.

  “He didn’t feel like he wanted to… do things to me.”

  “But when Uncle sneered, you panicked,” Velina said slowly. “Is it intent, or age?”

  “We can try to isolate it later,” Stern said softly. “I’ll spar with her tomorrow. I think we should stop here.”

  “Yes, that might be for the best,” Velina said. “Cyra?”

  “Please?”

  “Okay. Take your time,” Velina said kindly.

  After a minute, Cyra sniffled and looked up at Stern, realizing he was holding her. “Sorry...”

  “For what?” Stern asked gently. “Fear doesn’t have to be rational. Are you okay, now?”

  “Yes, but… don’t leave, please?”

  Stern stayed as he was, holding her. “I’m not going anywhere. When you’re ready, I’ll let you go.”

  “It’s so silly,” Cyra sniffled. “I panic at the thought of a man coming near me, but here... here, I feel safe. I know that you’ll protect me and won’t do anything to hurt me.”

  “I can feel your happiness,” Stern said softly. “I’m happy to hold you, too. If you’re willing, we can work on finding out what panics you. This way, we’ll know what triggers you.”

  “If you’re here,” Cyra said, “or if Trish is.”

  “Okay. We’ll grab some food on the way home and I’ll cook tonight.”

  “Can we cook together?”

  “Of course. Did you have a preference?”

  “Chicken?”

  “Hmm... I know a recipe you might like.”

  “Okay.”

  Chapter Forty

  Two weeks came and went. Trish had come by for dinner twice, staying the night with Cyra both times. Each morning after, she would wake Stern with a few kisses, but left before they could go further. Trish was affectionate with Cyra every morning, too. They shared kisses and held each other, and they didn’t go beyond snuggling.
>
  Cyra had committed to finding her triggers for her fear. She had a few setbacks, breaking down once or twice, but Stern was there for her, helping her feel safe. By the end of the two weeks, they had figured out that her triggers were men with lustful intent advancing on her and younger men who grabbed her.

  ~*~*~

  Cyra was all smiles as they left the dojo. Stern smiled along with her, as Trish was supposed to move in with them tonight. The two were in high spirits as they left the butcher’s shop.

  “Do you mind?” Cyra asked.

  “Feel free,” Stern told her. “I think you’ll be perfect tonight.”

  “I’ve been looking forward to tonight for the last two weeks,” Cyra admitted. “Tonight, we become a crew of three.”

  “Four,” Stern chuckled.

  “I’d include her if she were here,” Cyra said. “She’ll love the chicken you got her.”

  “She loves anything she gets, as long as it’s meat.”

  “True,” Cyra laughed.

  “Did you want to get a bath as soon as we get back?” Stern asked. “I can start the prep for you.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Cyra said, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

  “You’re very welcome,” Stern smiled. “You’ve been giving me kisses more often. It makes me happy.”

  “It’s been easier the last few days. You always being there to calm me is a big reason why. I feel safer with you beside me.”

  “Trish will be joining your sparring sessions tomorrow. Are you going to try with just her there?”

  Cyra chewed her lip for a second. “At least once, to see if she can calm me as easily as you can.”

  “I hope she can. If she can, we’ll have to try it with both of us there to see if that works better.”

  “Agreed.” Cyra fell silent for a minute before she asked, “Stern, what is the mock dungeon?”

  “Hmm... you should have seen it during the dojo period of the academy,” Stern said grimly. “It’s what it sounds like, though— it’s a small two-to-three-room dungeon environment. You can run it as many times as you want, as there are no perks or loot associated with it. Any wounds sustained vanish when it ends. If you die then, when your group finishes, you can get back up.”

  “I was never taken to it,” Cyra grimaced. “Skippy probably had something to do with that.”

  “Yeah. The mock dungeon reflects the badge level of the crew inside it. For the three of us, it’ll be tin-tier difficulty. We’ll likely see more mobs in the rooms and they will coordinate.”

  “Okay. I’ll do my best.”

  “I know. We all will. It’s just a taste of what might come, but it’s normally enough to give you an idea of how your fellow crew members react to situations. It should build our teamwork.”

  “Can’t we use the mock dungeons before every new tier, then?”

  “No. Using a mock dungeon is expensive. Master Winla is being exceptionally giving to us.”

  “Because you spar with him?”

  “He’s an excellent fighter. Finding competition who can push him here is… difficult. I paid him for the mock dungeon, as well, but he gave me a steep discount.”

  Entering the hostel, they greeted Jensen as they went past him.

  “Go get your stuff and bathe. I’ll have things ready for you when you finish.”

  “Will do,” Cyra smiled as she climbed the stairs ahead of him.

  ~*~*~

  Stern opened the door, his eyebrows going up when he saw Trish. “Damn, I’m intimidated,” he said.

  Trish laughed. “Let me in so I can get out of this.”

  Stern let her in and watched Cyra as she looked up. Cyra’s jaw dropped, her eyes growing large.

  “Wow... you’re even more impressive in that.”

  Trish laughed. “Thanks.”

  “Keep the helmet,” Stern told her. “Suits you way more than it would me.”

  Trish took the bunnicorn helmet off. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. With your armor, it just looks better.” Stern told her as he looked over her scaled armor. Trish had a shield slung over her shoulder and a hammer in a sling on her hip. The backpack she carried was stuffed as full as Stern’s normally was.

  “Go ahead and drop off your stuff, Trish. I cleared a spot for your clothes in the armoire.”

  “Thanks, sweety. I’ll be right out.”

  Stern went back over to the counter, watching Trish go into the bedroom. “What do you think?”

  “My heart beat faster... it wasn’t fear, but you know that.”

  “True, but giving voice to it is still good,” Stern said. “Besides, my heart did too. She isn’t overly large, but with her armor on, she exudes power and confidence. More than she normally does, which is saying something,” he added.

  “Yes,” Cyra said. “I’ll get the final sear on the steaks. Can you get Pawly’s chicken cut and plated for her?”

  “Of course.”

  Trish joined them a few minutes later. She was wearing a red silk shirt and a pair of tight black pants. A smile was on her face as she took her seat at the table. “That smells heavenly, Cyra.”

  “I hope it tastes that good,” Cyra smiled as she brought a plate over to Trish. Bending down, she gave Trish a kiss on the cheek. “Enjoy.”

  “Oh, I will,” Trish grinned. She looked at her plate and her smile softened. “You made my favorite.”

  “She had it planned just for you,” Stern said. “All I did was prep. She did all of the cooking.”

  Trish leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping.”

  “Of course,” Stern said, picking up the bottle of wine. “Can I pour for you?”

  “Please.”

  “Cyra?” Stern asked.

  “Just one glass. I don’t want to get drunk again. I didn’t like it.”

  “Being drunk isn’t a lot of fun. At least you didn’t have a hangover,” Stern said.

  “Hangovers are unpleasant,” Trish said, “but if you drink enough water before bed, they don’t happen as often. I have only had a few. I had to be told how to not have them.”

  Cyra set Stern’s plate down, kissing his cheek before taking her own seat.

  “Oh, that’s an improvement,” Trish grinned. “I’m glad to see it.”

  Cyra’s cheeks heated slightly. “He’s been very helpful and supportive.”

  Stern picked up his glass. “Ladies. To our relationship and to our forming a crew.”

  “I can drink to that,” Trish smiled broadly.

  “Yes, to us,” Cyra said, raising her glass.

  Pawly waited for them to toast, then was the first one to start eating. Stern chuckled and picked up his knife and fork. The others followed suit, but Cyra took a small bite, watching Trish.

  “Oh, nice and pink still,” Trish grinned. “Looks like you conquered the steak portion.” She popped the bite into her mouth, letting out an appreciative sound as she chewed.

  “She’s right,” Stern said, copying Trish.

  Cyra’s heart felt light. A wide smile grew on her face as she ate in earnest.

  ~*~*~

  Stern sighed happily, pushing his plate away. “Better than mine.”

  “Yup,” Trish agreed.

  “I can do better,” Cyra said as she set her utensils onto her empty plate. “I think a garlic rub on the steak and maybe a splash of the wine for the final sear.”

  “Damn, she already knows my secrets to make it better,” Stern chuckled.

  Cyra giggled. “I’m happy you both liked it, but I want to make it even better.”

  “Make it better and I’m going to be unable to move after dinner,” Trish said.

  “Maybe that’s my plan,” Cyra said playfully.

  “Oh? Didn’t know you were into bondage,” Trish laughed.

  “Food bondage is a new one,” Stern snickered.

  Cyra was bright red. “I didn’t mean it like that.”