The Adventurers Bond

by Tao Wong

  As the large Overseer passed the first of Rob’s balls, the enchanted trap exploded into action. It unleashed a cloud of tiny spores into the air which the Overseer inhaled. An errant gust of wind brought some of the spores towards the trio, catching Daniel and Tula by surprise. Both managed to stop themselves from inhaling the spores, but almost immediately Daniel’s eyes began to water and itch.

  “Close your… oh, nevermind,” Rob said, having realised what was happening too late. The Enchanter himself had a pair of newly donned goggles covering his own visage.

  With a snarl, Daniel cast Healer’s Mark on himself and then Tula, grateful that the Overseer, in his sudden partial blindness and coughing fit, had stumbled into the caltrop field. As the healing pulse from the spell took effect, Daniel found his eyes itching and watering less. Still, the delay in casting both spells allowed the Overseer to limp close, it’s whip swirling around his body to attack.

  Rob, seeing his party mates distracted, gestured with his hands, taking direct control of his enchanted weaponry. The spikes flew downwards, one was batted aside by the whip but diverted its trajectory enough to allow Daniel to catch it on his shield. The second shot forwards towards the Overseer, only to be dodged by a tilt of the Overseer’s large body.

  “Ba’al’s blessing!” Daniel cursed as he dropped the rockbow to the ground and tugged his hammer free. He took a step forwards and then stopped, realising he dared not approach the Overseer across the trapped ground.

  “Right,” Tula cautioned, her eyes squinted tightly as she loosed an arrow from her recurve bow directly at the Overseer. The arrow gleamed with blue light as the Ranger used her Skill, Penetrating Strike, causing the arrow to fly too fast to be dodged entirely and impaling the Overseer’s left shoulder.

  With Daniel holding the edge of the trapped zone with his shield and both Rob and Tula harassing the Overseer from a distance, the Floor Boss was forced to duck and dodge attacks in a confined space. Unable to build up momentum across the trapped floor, the Floor Boss was unable to push past Daniel’s shield and hammer, suffering from the occasional buzzing strikes of the spikes and the arced Homing Arrow shots of Tula that impacted its back. With no recourse, and having had experience fighting the monster before, the group of Adventurers quickly slew the Floor Champion, leaving Asin to pick up the leftover Mana stone and later on, the Floor Chest they found on its original platform.

  Their short-term task completed, the group trooped towards the nearest exit – in this case, the entrance towards the second floor and the portal back to the exit at the second floor’s entrance. As they traversed back, Daniel could not help but consider the words he would have to speak to his new party members later.

  Chapter 2

  “That was not a complete disaster,” Daniel said to the group as they gathered around their table in the Lonely Candle. A platter of bread had been laid out for the group to eat with a late autumn compote of raspberries and direberries. “For our first run, we cleared the floor - which was great.”

  “A minimum level of competence I would expect,” Rob rebutted with a sniff. “I nearly lost a spike on that last battle.”

  “Come on, Rob.” A friendly elbow struck the Mage’s side as Tula smiled at the group. “It wasn’t that bad. And it was you who poisoned us.”

  “And distracted the Overseer!”

  “Yes. At least you didn’t bring swarms of Imps on us by being too loud,” Tula said with a roll of her eyes.

  “It would be bad to attract more Imps,” Omrak said agreeably, his loud voice rumbling through the tavern. Having spent the last few months in the inn, none of the regulars even turned their heads at the loud Northerner.

  “You,” Asin said, prodding Omrak in the side with an extended claw. Omrak hissed, edging away from the sharp pain, having discarded his ‘stuffy and overbearing’ leather tunic upon leaving the Dungeon.

  “Friend Daniel has just exhausted his Mana healing me,” Omrak said as he rubbed his arms in reflexive recollection of the damage. “We should not force him to work again.”

  “And you,” Rob pointed at Asin and then Tula. “You both need to speak more.”

  “Hard!” Asin protested, rubbing her throat.

  “Dangerous,” Tula said, shaking her head. “In the wild, an errant noise can bring disaster. The wilds are not like the dungeon. There are no floors to keep truly dangerous monsters away.”

  “But we’re not in the wild,” Daniel added. “Could you not speak a little more? Not everyone understands Ranger hand signals.” In fact, Daniel reflected, none of them did beyond Tula. “It would help us understand what you see.”

  “Bad training creates bad habits,” Tula intoned before she shook her head. “Or at least it’s what Min always said. And there’s little to speak of in the dungeon. I alerted everyone correctly, yes?”

  “Yes,” Asin agreed immediately, tail waving around behind her. The Catkin fixed large, green cat eyes on the Mage as she dared him to refute her fact.

  “Bah! Adventuring is about more than finding and informing each other of the correct dangers. It is about creating a party; a group of fellow teammates one can rely upon. Like the Seven!” Rob said. “How are we to develop such bonds in silence?”

  “We don’t,” Tula said. “I’m here under orders. No one knows what the environment in Artos is going to be like this time. My Skills and training are best served outside of Dungeons, and I’ll be there faster than Hursa exiting a bank once this is over.”

  Daniel snorted at Tula’s words, the young God’s penchant for thievery a well-known fact. Hursa rarely being invoked by the majority of Brad had more to do with a desire to avoid his fickle attention, leaving worship of the god extremely sparse. Though, Daniel recalled how the merchants they had escorted discussed how certain villages held to the old ways, providing offerings for all eight of the gods.

  “Enchanter Rob is correct. We must work together. For one or more dungeons, our task is not easy as Adventurers,” Omrak said. “Trust is important among axe-brothers. But bloodshed is the greatest bind of all.”

  “Talking of trust,” Tula said, eyeing Asin next. “What’s with giving Asin all the stones? Don’t trust us to hand in our portions properly?”

  “No.”

  “No what?” Rob said, exasperated as he thumped the mug of beer he had just picked up onto the table. “No, you don’t trust us or no, you do trust us!”

  “Yes,” Asin said. Daniel’s lips twitched as he noticed how the Catkin’s tail swished behind her, her ears flicking back and forth.

  “You…”

  “What Asin is saying is that we trust you. It’s just, well, it’s how we do things. Asin is very good at haggling with the merchants when we need to sell the drops outside of the Guild and has the contacts. And rather than having all of us go to the Guild on bad days,” Daniel cut in before things grew any worse, “the haggling is something she enjoys doing, and it allows the rest of us time to do our own thing.”

  “Like what?”

  “I train,” Omrak said, tapping his chest. “Or visit the docks – though Silverstone has none of those – to earn more coin. Daniel spends his time healing the poor.”

  “Do-gooder,” Tula said with a smirk. But there was a hint of admiration in her voice too.

  “Not, well. It’s good practice for my skills,” Daniel said and then hid behind a hastily raised mug.

  “Well, I do not think…” Rob stopped as he was interrupted by Elise, the Innkeeper, arriving with their meal. She began dropping plates in front of the Adventurers, offering both Omrak and Asin a double-portion of the lamb haunch. Once Elise had confirmed the table required no additions, she left. But not before shooting Daniel a worried glance which the Adventurer missed entirely.

  “Ahem,” Rob said. When he found that none of the others were paying attention to him, he repeated himself louder. When the other somewhat annoyed and hungry team members stared at him, Rob nodded. “We were
speaking of the allocation of the Mana stones.”

  “Oh, leave it be! If we lose Asin’s body, we’ll probably have bigger problems anyway,” Tula said with a wave of her knife. She then ducked her head back down, focusing on her food and sneaking sidelong glances at Omrak and his heaped plate beside her.

  “But…”

  “I think you’re out-voted here, Rob,” Daniel said. “We’ve yet to lose Asin – or the Mana Stones – in all the time we’ve adventured. I doubt we’re about to start.”

  Rob huffed but fell silent, picking at his food. He stayed in sulky silence for the rest of the mostly silent meal, the hungry Adventurers devouring their plates. It was when everyone had pushed aside their plates that Daniel looked around and spoke slowly.

  “So. Omrak’s noisy – he’ll work on it. Tula and Asin need to communicate a little more for Rob and everyone else’s peace of mind. Maybe we can learn some of the more common Ranger signs?” Daniel said and when Tula nodded, he nodded back. “And Rob will be clearer on the kind of enchantments he’ll deploy and their effects.

  “Did I miss anything?”

  “I heard no corrections for yourself, Friend Daniel,” Omrak said. “I would wish to hear those from our esteemed colleagues before we end this discussion.”

  Tula glanced at Rob and then at the rest of the group before raising both of her hands upwards. “No real complaints about Daniel. I’ve never worked with a Healer before though, so I’m not particularly experienced here. He’s not the best fighter I’ve ever met, but he’s not horrid.”

  “I have. Worked with a healer that is,” Rob said, straightening slightly and puffing out his chest. “A number of times actually. Daniel’s methods are a departure from the Priest and Herbalist that I’d delved with before. Neither took to the front lines.”

  “Well, we don’t have enough people for me to avoid that,” Daniel justified.

  “And why is that?” Rob said with a sniff. “There is no reason not to hire a sixth. Certainly, locating another melee fighter would be simple. Those kinds are a dime a dozen.”

  “Split low,” Asin growled.

  “Is that why you’ve been running with three?” Tula asked curiously.

  “Not only that,” Daniel said, ducking his head low. However, the real reason – that they needed to keep his Gift secret – was not something they were willing to trust their new teammates with. Not yet. “As you’ve realised, it takes a bit to organise a team.”

  “The way you work, certainly,” Rob said with a nod. “Not all teams are as methodical.”

  “It’s allowed us to clear the Dungeons,” Daniel said, frowning slightly.

  “Beginner Dungeons. Advanced Dungeons, as you’ve realised, require a wider range of individuals. If nothing more than to deal with the larger number of monsters. And the Floor Bosses.”

  Daniel nodded, knowing that their speed of advance, even today with the new members, had been faster than the three of them had experienced before. Of course, thus far, the pair had yet to really take advantage of his abilities as a Healer – the ability to keep entering a Dungeon day-in and day-out. Teams with a Healer had the advantage of in-house help, reducing the team’s cost and increasing their ability to arm themselves with better weaponry and armor as well as allowing a constant grind. Many of the Adventuring groups that Rob mentioned had a large number of team members to deal with the lack of Healers – allowing them to rotate in members to keep the team Adventuring.

  “Well, I’m not moving to the back lines,” Daniel finally decided to state, deciding to make his view clear. Rob’s lips tightened but the Enchanter finally nodded, accepting Daniel’s statement. “Now, if there’s…”

  “Finally, back from stealing another place?” Gerardo called as the portly Adventurer stomped over, his sword sheathed by his side and dark eyes flashing with anger. Behind him, Farhad, the dual-wielding fighter, strode behind, olive eyes tight with anger as his robes flowed behind him.

  “Stole? We stole nothing!” Tula said angrily, standing.

  “Oh, you don’t think so? Where do you think your place in Artos came from?” growled out Gerardo.

  “Now, Gerardo, that’s not exactly fair,” Rita called, popping up next to the quintet as she finished quaffing from Asin’s mug. “The Guild Master promised that we’d have a chance to enter if a third slot opened up.” Her voice was laced with good-natured sarcasm as she spoke. “So, they didn’t steal our place, they just dislocated us.”

  “I…” Daniel stuttered to a stop, realisation crashing down on where their slot had come from. “I didn’t know…”

  “Of course not. Just because you’re a Healer.” Gerardo spat to the side. The moment he finished letting the gob of spit loose, Erin appeared next to him, hands on her hips.

  “And that’s enough of that. Out!”

  “You…”

  “You spat in my inn, Orange. Get out,” Erin growled. The Bloody Blades were only an Orange-ranked team, same as Daniel’s team. Just a step above the bare bones Red teams.

  “This has nothing…”

  “I said out! Your invitation is revoked!” Erin snapped. Gerardo’s eyes widened as he was suddenly picked up and flung out of the inn, the doors opening up for the Adventurer by themselves as his body flew through the air under its own power. “The rest of you will mind your manners. Or you can leave.”

  The other pair of Adventurers from the Bloody Blades stared at the quintet before sniffing and walking out after their leader. Daniel winced and opened his mouth and then shut it, realising that the trio had the right of it. While unintentional, it was obvious the Guild Master had made this decision, over-ruling even the Arena results, and creating a new set of enemies for their team.

  Yet, Daniel guiltily thought, he would not offer the slot back. Artos was supposed to be a huge Dungeon, and clearing it was important – both for their reputation and their purse.

  “Well, that could have gone better,” Rob said as he eyed the room that were now watching their table with slight hostility.

  “Yeah…” Tula muttered, ducking her head down as if she was attempting to shrink into her chair.

  “Tomorrow,” Asin said firmly, seeming to ignore the group.

  “We should speak with the Guild,” Omrak rumbled, taking Asin’s lead. “We require training to work as a team further. And perhaps additional equipment.”

  “Not a horrible idea. I could do with a break from the Dungeon,” Rob said, nodding.

  “Oh, we’re going in if we can,” Daniel corrected Rob, watching the Enchanter wince at that pronouncement. “But that’ll depend on how hard they train us.”

  At those words, Rob winced even more.

  The trip to the large, sprawling two-entranced Adventurers Guild that dominated the centre of the city was not long. As one of the main focus points in the city, there were at least four main streets that approached the building and a half-dozen more that lead close by to it. Unlike Karlak, the small Adventuring town the trio had begun their careers in, Silverstone did have other important industries other than the Dungeons. But still, it was without doubt that the Adventurers Guild held great importance to the city and its economy. Just the streets that led up to the building gave ample evidence of this fact as shopkeepers hawked their wares to the passing Adventurers.

  “No, Omrak,” Daniel said, gripping the giant Adventurer’s elbow gently and tugging with force, dragging the Northerner away from a roadside stand. “We’re not stopping for you to shop.”

  “But the powder they offer will provide an increase in heat resistance!” Omrak argued.

  “Crushed Juha leaves are the main component of those bags,” Rob said as he walked beside the pair. “An obvious alchemical mixture.”

  “Juha leaves?”

  “They’re a plant, most commonly found in the Eastern marshes,” Daniel said. “You can buy the leaves, whole, for about two copper a bag. And still get a decent amount of the heat resis
tance effects. Very useful for those suffering from heatstroke.”

  “Then…”

  “It does nothing to stop burn damage,” Rob said with a roll of his eyes. “Heat resistance does not equate to burn resistance. One affects your ability to handle high temperatures. The other is sudden, painful and scarring.”

  “That’s not how the comparison works,” Tula piped up from their side. Daniel absently noted how the Ranger had chosen to take the middle of the group, staying away from the edges of the crowd as they walked.

  “It is good enough for our barbarian companion,” Rob replied.

  “But why would anyone sell such an item if it had no use in the upcoming Dungeons?” Omrak complained plaintively.

  “The same reason they sold you the ‘enchanted’ trap finders, the ‘flask of never-ending wine’ and that cursed, knotted rope,” Daniel said. “Because you have money and they want it.”

  “The flask is never-ending,” Omrak protested.

  “With wine so bad we use it as vinegar,” Daniel added. “And it pours out at a rate of a cup an hour. It’s a good thing that Erin allowed us to trade it in for your month’s rent.”

  Omrak grimaced but nodded, falling silent. Still, it took all but ten minutes before the blond giant spotted another deal. This time though, even Daniel found himself intrigued as he stared at the half-dozen rings that gleamed under the glass container.

  “Rings of water breathing,” Daniel read out loud for Omrak. His friend was still working on learning his words, and so, in cases like this, Daniel was more than happy to help the youngster. “And a decent price for enchanted equipment too.”

  “You’ve got a good eye,” the merchant said as he came out of the shop, stroking his long beard and smiling wide. “I am selling all these rings as a set.”

  “A set?” Daniel frowned and eyed the price. Just over fifteen gold for the set of six rings. Which placed each ring at just under two gold each? Considering the enchanted bracers that he had once commissioned had cost just over a gold – and that was at cost of materials – these rings were a bargain. In fact, almost too much of a bargain.