Rebirth

by Devin Auspland

Zach began patting his clothes down, looking for his coin purse but unable to find it. He looked up with an uneasy smile on his face, but the woman wasn’t having any of it. Before she could kick him out, three silver coins were placed in her open palm. He turned to see Droknal and Thao taking seats beside him.

  “Make that three, please,” Thao said with a smile.

  The three of them quickly settled into their seats, shared a meal together and had a nice evening getting to know one another as a group. Their plan was to explore the town and possibly delve into the dungeon come morning. It was just the relaxing evening Zach needed to get his mind off of what happened and move past it.

  What started as a fight for his life, ended with having dinner with his friends. All in all, it was a good couple of days.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Stoneaxe

  Zach woke up the next morning still in a bit of pain, but it was manageable. After enjoying a friendly dinner and evening with his party members, they all retired to their shared tent. Sitting up in his cot, he had the first real chance to look at his living quarters.

  Zach’s cot was off to one side, Droknal’s just a few feet away, and Thao slept on the opposing side. There was a wooden privacy screen blocking her from view. The tent was held up primarily with a large wooden beam at its center. The tent stood roughly fifteen feet high at its highest point and had a thirty foot diameter. It provided plenty of room for the three of them to sleep and store crates of supplies.

  This tent looks great and we sure do have a lot of supplies, but that begs the question… How much did Thao spend… Zach grimaced. Easy come easy go I suppose.

  “Are you up?” Thao came out from around her partition. She was wearing a long baggy nightshirt that went down to her knees.

  “Yeah, I’m up. Droknal?” Zach turned but, upon closer examination, he realized that Droknal’s cot was empty. “Looks like it’s just us.”

  She stretched and walked to a nearby open crate. Pulling out an apple, she took a big bite. “How did you sleep?”

  “Good. My wounds hurt a lot less. They seem to be healing nicely.”

  “Oh?” Thao walked over to where Zach was sitting. “Take your shirt off and let me see.”

  Zach’s face turned beet red, but he complied. She ran her hands over his scars and started removing several of his stained bandages. She grabbed fresh wrappings and rubbed a thick green paste on them before wrapping him back up. When she was finished, Zach could feel her tracing his muscles a bit. The look on his face told her she was found out.

  “Sorry. You have more muscles than I originally thought. Your clothes do little for you. You may want to pick up some better equipment before we head into the dungeon.”

  “Thanks, I’ll see what's available. I like the tent and it appears the dungeon’s grown a bit of a following. How much did all of this cost?”

  “If you’re asking how much of the three gold I have left over, the answer is none. But before you freak out, let me tell you what I got.” Thao walked over and placed a hand on one of the crates. “Aside from the tent and cots, we have enough rations to last us a month, some healing supplies, some potions, and I was able to pay Debbie for a full month of service.”

  “Who's Debbie?”

  “She’s the older woman I know and paid to keep track of the dungeon. Aside from keeping records, she's been regulating entry for the guild. And she's doing it all for a very reasonable rate. To be honest, she's just happy to get out of her house and have a job. Old people get bored too, ya know?”

  “Regulating entry for the guild?”

  Thao nodded. “Yeah. She decides when parties can enter so the dungeon doesn’t get swamped with people. Dungeons don’t like it when multiple groups enter the same room at the same time. It’s best that only one party clears the dungeon before another enters. Debbie used to be a bookkeeper at one of the local shops so she’s great at making schedules and keeping records.”

  “That sounds great.” Zach got out of bed and threw on a nearby shirt before donning his poor quality armor. Reviewing himself, he agreed with Thao’s assessment. I really do need some better protection. “I think I’ll go find a merchant who sells armor.”

  “Ok.” Thao walked behind her curtain. A moment later, her nightgown was draped over it and other pieces of clothing nearby were grabbed and pulled behind the privacy screen.

  Zach blushed. “I’ll just wait outside.” He rushed out with his hand shielding his face.

  As soon as he stumbled outside, he noticed Droknal sitting in the lotus position. He appeared to be meditating.

  “Hello, Zach. Are you feeling better >>click<<?” Droknal inquired. Zach nodded and Droknal stood. “I heard you wish to acquire some new armor. I believe >>click<< that would be wise.” He pulled a coin purse from his pocket and handed it to Zach. “This is the remainder of the quest reward >>click<<. I took some to buy additional items but most of it is there.”

  Smiling, Zach checked the pouch's contents. There was one gold and a few silver and copper coins inside. More than enough to get a decent piece, or possibly two, of armor. As he cinched the bag closed, Thao came out of the tent. She had her usual outfit on, including her massive pack. Zach gave her a questioning glance.

  “What? I’ve gotten used to carrying it. Besides, you don’t want to have to stop back at the tent before we dungeon delve, do you?”

  Zach just shook his head, and the trio headed into the shantytown. Shantytown… “Ya know, we really need to come up with a name for this place. Shantytown just doesn’t have a great ring to it.”

  “What did you have in mind >>click<<?”

  “How about… Ice Town! Because of my essence type. Or we could go with Dungeon Village.”

  Thao broke into laughter. “Ice Town? Dungeon Village? Please tell me you aren’t serious.” She glanced over at him. His embarrassed expression caused her to topple over from laughter.

  Zach’s face turned beet red for the second time that morning, and he scuttled away, Thao quickly chasing after him. Every time she got close, she chuckled. This caused him to speed up in an attempt to lose her again. This continued for almost an hour until they reached the market.

  “Woah. This place is getting big. We have a full marketplace?” Zach was stunned at the sheer size of the ever growing town.

  “The market was here before we arrived >>click<<. We purchased some of our supplies from one of the local merchants. He was very kind and will certainly have armor >>click<< since he's a blacksmith by trade.”

  Droknal guided the party to a large gray tent at the edge of the market square. The banging of a hammer on an anvil was unmistakable as they made their approach. Zach was taken aback as they entered. Items completely covered every viable surface on the inside with purchasable goods of a wide variety.

  “Stoneaxe!” Droknal screamed over the smithing.

  The hammering from the far side of the tent abruptly stopped. A short, stout man came out from around a corner. He was four feet tall, looked to weigh in the mid two hundreds and had long red hair and a beard that went down to his waist. When he spoke, it was in a deep but friendly voice.

  “Droknal! Hello, my friend. Welcome back to The Stone Axe! How can I help you today?”

  “Hello Stoneaxe. This is the friend >>click<< that I was talking about. Please meet Zach.”

  Zach outstretched a hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Stoneaxe. I hope you don’t take offense but… are you a dwarf? I haven’t met many dwarves, but I hear your weapons and armor are second to none.”

  Stoneaxe shook Zach’s hand, his grip being much firmer than Zach imagined.

  “Aye boy! I be a dwarf and our smithing is the finest you’ll ever find. How can I help today?” Stoneaxe looked at Zach’s blade. “It doesn’t appear you need a weapon. Even though it’s not dwarven steel, that looks like a fine blade. I can’t say as much about your armor? It looks like it’s held together with string. A poor excuse for defense.”

  “Actua
lly, yeah. I need some new armor, but I have little coin. I’m looking for just a piece or two for now.”

  “Hmm… You use light armor, it appears. Why not metal like a real man?”

  “I am a real man,” he replied sheepishly.

  Thao erupted in laughter. “Real men don’t need to say they’re real men. Really brings it into question.”

  Droknal even giggled at Zach’s humiliation.

  “Right my boy. Big man’s armor for the big man.”

  “Listen. I would really appreciate it if we stop questioning my manhood. I just need some quality armor."

  “Get over here so I can measure you.”

  Stoneaxe took several measurements and wrote them all down on a clipboard he was carrying. The complete process only took a couple of minutes before Stoneaxe moved Zach aside.

  “Tell me about the armor you want. Is metal completely out of the question? What is your fighting style like? I see a sword but no shield or off-hand weapon.”

  “Well… I don’t really want anything too heavy. I use a single sword and alternate between one and two handed styles. I also like to have a free hand to use my essence.” Zach scratched his chin. “I don’t think metal is out of the question but it would have to be something light. I want to stay mobile and agile.”

  Stoneaxe wrote everything down. “Ok. I think I have a rough idea. I can make you a perfect set of dwarven made light armor for roughly… five gold.”

  “Five gold? What could I get for one gold?”

  “Since it’s light armor, I won’t have to use as much resources but one gold isn’t a lot. Normally that would get you a helm or possibly leggings if they were on discount.”

  Droknal stepped forward. “Perhaps you could help us as a favor >>click<<? Zach is the adventurer guild’s appointed emissary here. Helping him would go a long way with the adventurer’s guild, I’m sure.”

  “The adventurer’s guild, ya say? I’ve done some work for them in the past. Listen, I’ll give ya the guild discount and make you a new tunic for one gold. That’s the best I can offer.”

  Zach pulled out a gold and tossed it at Stoneaxe. “Thank you, I’ll take it!”

  “Yeah, yeah. Make sure the guild knows I gave you a good deal. Now come back tomorrow for a fitting. After that I should be able to complete the final piece in a day or two.”

  “Thank you, Stoneaxe. I’ll make sure to point all guild members your way.’

  The group left and, after some debate on where to go next, headed for the dungeon entrance.

  “Wow! This place has changed.”

  Droknal nodded. “Yes. It looks much better now >>click<<.”

  “Hello Debbie.” Thao approached the older woman sitting behind a small desk outside the staircase leading into the dungeon. “This is Zach. He’s the one in charge around here and technically your boss.”

  “Hello there. My name is Debbie. Thank you so very much for this opportunity. I’ve had all the reports sent to your tent. I’ve also had my lovely granddaughter make copies that I’m storing for you in case you ever need them.” Debbie had a motherly voice. It was very welcoming and friendly.

  “Thank you Debbie. I haven’t gone through them yet, but I will take a look at them in the next day or two. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Right now we’re actually hoping to go down into the dungeon. Is it clear for us to enter?”

  Debbie checked the papers in front of her. “The last party entered an hour ago. You should be all clear to go in. Parties have regularly been delving. Usually we have a line but it’s about dinner time so it’s perfect timing. I’ll be leaving shortly for the night if that's ok?”

  “Umm…” Unsure what to say, Zach just nodded and waved to her as he went down the stairs leading to the dungeon. I’ll have to get used to having some more responsibilities. Never thought I would be in charge of someone, but I suppose that's what a party leader does. Am I the party leader? I’ll have to find a way to pawn that off onto Droknal.

  The group entered the first room and readied themselves. Zach gripped his sword and grinned. Bring it on!

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Second Floor Fight

  “Come on, come on. You know you want to go down. Explore the secrets of the second floor. Imagine all the great treasures you could find.” Breck was talking to no one in particular but referring to a group of travelers who had just defeated Sting.

  The group was making remarkable time clearing the dungeon, but that didn’t surprise anyone. The average rank of its members is beginner eight, their leader being basic rank two. As the group debated on proceeding, Breck readied the boneless tribe.

  “Kezdet! Get some of the tribe into each of the rooms. Make sure they take some coins from the vault with them. I want only one silver on each kobold, but the mage boss can take four or five silver. Feel free to have them grab whatever weapons they want.”

  “Yesss massster. I will sssend them up immediately.” Kezdet stood and shouted orders to nearby kobolds.

  Several groups of the enhanced creatures flooded into the vault that connected their living quarters to the second floor of the dungeon. The vault’s walls were covered with swords, spears, bows, arrows, leather armor and some pieces of chainmail. In the center of the room was a large circular table with stacks of neatly placed silver coins. Originally, Breck added some higher quality staffs for the mages but they refused to use them explaining that they needed to find and make their own staffs as part of their craft.

  When all the groups were stocked up and equipped, they headed into the dungeon. A group of four filled the first few rooms and a mage, being escorted by three chainmail shirt-wearing warriors, entered the boss room.

  Breck grinned devilishly when the party started descending deeper into his depths.

  “Kezdet, Jeeves, we’re a go! Get ready for some fun and excitement. Let’s see what the Boneless Tribe can do!”

  “Yes, Sir. I will be watching closely.”

  “The Bonelessss tribe will not disssappoint you massster. Let usss show you our power. I have faith in usss.”

  “So do I Kezdet. I have faith in all of you and I can’t wait to see you all in action against adventurers. Hey, Jeeves?”

  “Yes, Sir?”

  “Should I leave the exit open for them and just shut the first floor entrance that it connects to?” Breck questioned.

  “That is probably for the best. We don’t want to trap them down here or they may think of the dungeon as unfair.”

  Breck mentally nodded and removed the door closing off the second floor from the staircase leading outside. Let’s put on a bit of a show. This is the first time we will introduce the world to the Boneless Tribe, after all. Generating some wood, he placed it around the walls and ignited them with fire essence. The room was now well lit as the group of four kobolds waited in the room's center.

  They were all wearing leather tunics and leggings. Two of them were wielding swords, one had a long spear, and the fourth carried a bow with a quiver of arrows. As the four adventurers made their way into the room, they paused in shock when they saw the scene in front of them.

  “What the hell are those?” their leader questioned. “They kinda resemble kobolds but I’ve never seen a kobold before that was that tall. Even chieftain kobolds are only three feet at best. Those are taller than dwarves.”

  “And look at their skin. I’ve never seen a cream-green kobold, not to mention one with teeth and claws as long and sharp as those,” another member commented.

  “They must be dungeon created kobolds or something. I mean… look at them. Those are not normal,” their mage commented.

  “I don’t care what they are or what they look like. I bet they bleed like everything else.” The leader readied himself for battle.

  The group followed suit and made their move. Their leader charged forward, thrusting his spear out at the closest kobold. The creature dodged to the side and retaliated with a downward strike of the sword he was wielding. The man was battle
trained and pivoted on his heel to escape the blow. Unfortunately, he pivoted right into an arrow from the kobold carrying a bow.

  The arrow sunk in with a heavy thud. The remaining kobolds swiftly moved in to finish the man off, but his party was there to defend him. A bolt of green energy sent a kobold soaring into the wall. His flesh was eating itself from the point of impact. He screamed in pain and tore at the wound, but they cut his screams short when a warrior removed his head from his body.

  Distracted by finishing off his opponent, the warrior missed the kobold sneaking up behind him. A sword pierced his stomach and poked out the other side. The man spun and delivered a jab to the kobold’s chin, dazing him. Before he could follow-up with another strike, an arrow sank into his shoulder.

  “Kezdet. They’re working great as a team. Defending each other, capitalizing on their enemy's openings, really working as a cohesive unit. They’re fighting on a whole different level then anything on the first floor.” Breck praised his tribe’s chieftain.

  “Thatsss excellent massster. I’m glad you are pleasssed. We fight for you.”

  Breck mentally nodded and returned his full attention to the battle. Three of the kobolds were now dead, with the remaining one ripping apart the adventurer’s mage with his teeth and claws. The other three party members were all wounded, with arrows or cuts covering their bodies.

  As admirable as the remaining kobold was, fighting to his last breath, this fight was over. The three melee warriors swiftly finished him. Checking on their fallen mage, the party grimaced. Breck was already collecting the dead man's essence.

  The group grabbed the coins from the dead kobolds, which temporarily brightened their mood. Breck wished they would continue, but they were in no shape to fight and the group agreed with his assessment. They limped to the staircase and headed for the surface.

  “Hey, I’ll take it. That was an excellent first run for the second floor and now I’m full of essence. Jeeves, I think I’m ready to rank up into the intermediate levels. I’m not sure I could take much more essence.”