CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One

by Antony W. F. Chow

  The bodyguards chuckled and followed behind the two.

  Ryota trailed behind the dwarves. He was aware of a group of women who had been stalking them for several blocks. But the warrior felt that the guild building would be a safe place to visit. He casually glanced around and made eye-contact with the stalkers before entering the building.

  The lobby of the Adventurer's Guild was a large-spaced, airy room full of tables and chairs. On the left side were a bar and a diner. Patrons ate their meals and drank tankards of beer while boisterously trading greatly exaggerated stories. The right side of the lobby was lined with desks manned by people dressed in black and white business attire. The middle of the room was occupied by adventurers having quiet discussions amongst themselves or parties waiting for their members to arrive.

  To the immediate right, next to the main entrance, there were bulletin boards full of index cards affixed with thumbtacks. Every now and then, adventurers removed a colored index card and walked over to a free reception desk.

  Alethea walked up to a desk and sat down in front of a guild employee. The person was also a dwarfess, which was why Alethea had approached her in the first place.

  The dwarfess smiled. "My name is Guera Brewrock of the Highback Clan," the clerk introduced herself and placed a left fist over her heart. She had long, light blonde hair tied with a plain-looking black ribbon; her hair hung over her left shoulder.

  "I am Alethea Nowrins Galgot, Apprentice Earth Singer of the Bulddinger Clan," Alethea replied with a reciprocal gesture. Since Guera was introducing herself formally in the traditional manner of a dwarf, etiquette required Alethea to reciprocate and provide her full name.

  "This is the first time I've seen you. Did you just arrive in the city? Are you looking to join the guild?" Guera asked. She always paid attention to new dwarven faces appearing before her.

  Alethea shook her head slightly. She pulled out her adventurer card and placed it on the desk. "I just arrived. I had joined a merchant caravan from Bethmund. Along the way, we were attacked by a group of dark elven bandits. My husband here managed to collar a few as slaves. But a knight patrol took possession of the bandits for interrogation. Captain Deslogia said there may be a bounty on the bandits. She promised to leave the reward at this office for us to retrieve," she reported.

  "Just a moment," the guild employee said and raised a forefinger. In front of her were a clipboard and several pieces of blank paper. She took a pen and started writing the report. Guera took Alethea's identification card and copied the name down. She returned the card and looked at Alethea's companions. "Can I see your guild cards?" she requested.

  Everyone took out their cards and placed them on the table.

  Guera examined the cards and copied the names into the report. "Guild policy requires us to keep track of which members participated in these events. This allows us to give proper credit to you in consideration of promotions toward the next Adventurer Rank," she explained.

  "Thank you," Alethea smiled.

  "Whenever Captain Deslogia visits the office to confirm this report and leave your reward with us, we will inform you," Guera promised.

  "Can you recommend us an inn?" Alethea asked.

  "Preferably run by dwarves," Tensa quickly added.

  Guera grinned. "My sister, Quera, runs The Golden Ax. When you leave this office, please make a right turn, walk three blocks, and you'll see a sign with a battle ax painted in gold. Please tell her that I sent you to get her best rate for rooms."

  "Thank you," the priestess grinned back. She pulled on her husband's arm and exited the office.

  "Why are we in such a hurry to leave? We could have checked the quests board and accepted a quest while we were there," Sibalt protested.

  His wife stopped and turned around. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned her face toward his. "My dear hubby, I'm hungry and thirsty. And I want some dwarven ale!" she demanded.

  "Yeah, me too!" the other two dwarves joined in.

  "Yes, dear," the husband replied meekly under the harsh glare of the trio.

  Ryota saw an unfamiliar woman reach for Sibalt's behind while he was distracted by the dwarves. With his gauntlet, the warrior gave a hard slap to the back of the woman's hand.

  The would-be harasser stifled her scream. "Ugh." And quickly walked away while holding her hand.

  Sibalt finally noticed her. He turned around and gave the warrior a thumbs-up.

  Ryota shook his head. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings at all times," the ancient warrior warned.

  The young man nodded. And then he was dragged again by his wife.

  Chapter 51

  The Golden Ax

  The party arrived at The Golden Ax after a further delay due to another amorous woman who was by far the most persistent. She ran up to Sibalt with her arms out for a hug.

  When Pewma rebuffed the advance with a shove, the human woman became indignant and shoved back. Only when the three dwarves approached her in unison did she finally relent and left.

  Flustered by the encounter, Sibalt entered the inn and he quickly looked around. While patrons saw him enter, no one approached him to physically harass him because tavern rules forbid such behavior. The young man breathed a sigh of relief.

  Alethea laughed. She understood why the women on the streets found her husband attractive. But she was not going to share him with total strangers. While polyamory was an accepted practice in society, due to the severe shortage of men in the world, the foundation of polyamory was knowledge and consent of all the partners involved. Alethea had made it clear to the most casual observer that she had a relationship with Sibalt. Yet, they insisted on ignoring her rather than talking to her to attain her consent.

  A dwarfess approached the newcomers. "Are you here for a room or a meal?" she asked. She had light blonde hair but kept it short. Her light green eyes quickly swept over the group.

  "Both," Alethea answered. "We just came from the Adventurer's Guild office. Guera recommended this place."

  "Ah! I'm Quera, the proprietor of The Golden Ax." She did a quick headcount of the guests. "Your party has five guests? How many rooms do you need?"

  "I'm Alethea and my companions are Tensa and Pewma. Sibalt is my husband and Ryota is his friend. We will need three rooms: one with a queen-sized bed, one with a double bed, and one with a single bed," Alethea answered. "We would like to stay for a week."

  "The cost will be four gold coins and this includes meals and non-alcoholic drinks. For alcoholic drinks, we only serve dwarven ale and it will cost extra."

  Sibalt reached into his pocket and took out four gold coins. He had made over a hundred gold coins with his Create minor object ability during the journey with the merchant caravan.

  Quera accepted the coins. "Please find a table. I will return with your room keys." She nodded and walked away.

  Alethea pulled Sibalt to an empty table. The two sat next to each other on a bench.

  Pewma and Tensa chose to sit on the opposite side of the table while Ryota sat next to Sibalt.

  Another dwarfess holding an empty tray soon approached the table. "Oui, new faces!" the dwarfess beamed in delight. She was as thick as any dwarf Sibalt had seen but a few inches taller. Her long, fiery red hair was braided and hung over her right shoulder. "My name is Tessa Sapphirearm of the Highback Clan." The dwarven waitress held her left fist to her heart.

  "I'm Alethea Nowrins Galgot, Apprentice Earth Singer of the Bulddinger Clan and with me are clanswomen Tensa and Pewma. The two handsome men sitting next to me are my husband, Sibalt, and Ryota," she introduced the group formally.

  "Husband?" Tessa's thick brows rose.

  Suddenly, Alethea grabbed Sibalt's head and buried his face in her bosom. "Husband," she confirmed.

  Tessa chuckled. "Aren't you the lucky one!" she said while looking at the young human. "Um, I think your husband's face is turning blue."

  The priestess immediately released her hold on him.

&
nbsp; Sibalt took deep breaths as Tessa looked on sympathetically.

  Pewma said, "We just paid for room and board for a week. What food can we get?"

  Tensa interrupted and slammed a hand on the table. BAM! "Forget about the food. Bring some dwarven ale right away!" she demanded.

  Tessa grinned. "Okay, dwarven ale for the table first." She turned around and marched straight for the bar.

  Alethea looked at her husband. "I'm sorry for holding you so tightly. I became jealous when Tessa was looking at you. She's very beautiful."

  Sibalt shook his head. "You're much more pretty than she is."

  The wife gave him a peck on the cheek as the bodyguards looked on and grinned.

  Soon, Tessa and Quera returned together with the former setting down tankards of dwarven ale on the table while the latter handed three room keys to Alethea. "The room assignment is marked on each key," Quera explained. "You have Rooms J, K, and L. And I do hope you enjoy our Brewrock Ale. Our tavern is famous for our ale," she explained.

  The three dwarves took a sip and slammed their tankards on the table. "It's good!" they praised in unison.

  Quera grinned in satisfaction and walked away from the table, leaving the waitress behind.

  "What would you like to eat?" Tessa asked.

  "Something that goes well with this ale," Pewma requested.

  The rest of the party nodded in agreement.

  "In that case, I'll get you today's special: slow-cooked rabbit stew with green peas," Tessa replied. Seeing no one object to her suggestion, the waitress turned to leave the table.

  Before Tessa walked away, Sibalt raised his hand. "Can you give us the directions to the Clerk's Office?" he asked.

  The waitress was surprised by the question but nonetheless answered him. "The office is located north of the public fountain. This inn is on the south side. So when you walk out of the inn, you need to walk straight for five blocks to reach the fountain. Look for a red building on the other side. That's the Clerk's Office. The local residents just call it the 'Red Building,'" she explained.

  "Thank you," Sibalt said and bowed deeply.

  "Glad to be of service," Tessa replied and blushed at his attention on her. She was dazzled by his dreamy eyes!

  Alethea's brows rose at the exchange; she had noticed Tessa's reaction.

  "I better head back to the kitchen," the waitress said while avoiding eye contact with Alethea.

  "Is she your type?" the wife asked gently once Tessa was gone.

  "Uh, no," Sibalt quickly answered.

  "I don't mind if you decide to marry a dwarfess from another clan," Alethea said honestly. "Unlike my clan which is focused on smithing, the Highback Clan appears to specialize in the hospitality business. I've heard of Brewrock Ale and it is rated as decent by us dwarves; that is pretty good considering that our standards are fairly high when it comes to dwarven ales. The Highbacks try to establish inns at the major cities that permit business ownership by demi-humans," she explained. "It's also a network to pass along news and information through their inns."

  The husband waved his hand to reject the idea. "I'm still trying to adapt to living with one wife. I don't think I can handle a second wife right now," he remarked.

  The dwarven companions laughed. "Our little Earth Singer can be a handful," Pewma joked.

  Sibalt took a sip of the dwarven ale and nearly choked on it. With great effort, he gulped. "Whoa! This is strong ale!" he gasped.

  Tensa passed some coins to Pewma.

  "What's that for?" the young man asked out of curiosity.

  "Oh, we were betting if you could hold down your first sip of dwarven ale," Tensa replied nonchalantly.

  Sibalt shook his head and noticed that Ryota had been silent while staring at his tankard. The human avatar leaned his mouth next to the warrior's ear. "I know you're undead and all, but you should at least pretend to eat and drink. Or else it'll look weird to the staff," he said quietly.

  The undead warrior nodded. He lifted the tankard to his mouth and pretended to take a sip. He made an exaggerated look of disgust. "It looks and tastes like piss," he said loudly.

  "Is that so?" a dwarfess suddenly appeared. She had long, dark brown hair pulled back by a yellow hairband. She wore an apron over a tunic and pants; the formerly white-colored apron was heavily stained by food and drinks. Also, she was unusually short and wore platform shoes which added four inches to her height. "I'll take it back and give you water instead." When the dwarfess reached for his tankard, she glared at Ryota and dared him to stop her.

  Ryota wisely stayed his hand. "I apologize. I didn't mean any offense." He bent his head down briefly.

  "As the brewmaster, of course I took offense!" she yelled at him. With a "Hmph!" the dwarfess took the tankard away.

  Tessa returned with a tray loaded with food and distributed a bowl to everyone at the table. When she was finished serving the food, the waitress turned toward Ryota. "You were lucky that Pulmei did not throw you out. She's a bit touchy when it comes to criticism of her ale," she explained.

  "I take responsibility for upsetting her," he replied diplomatically.

  "Please enjoy your meals." Tessa smiled and walked to another table.

  "She's right," Alethea spoke up. "Brewmasters are known to issue challenges to critics of their ales. You got off light."

  "I'll keep that in mind," the undead warrior said. He pretended to drink the soup.

  Markos had been observing through Sibalt and the dungeon core was amused by this situation. Ryota had made zero mistakes during his travel with the group until now. And Markos will not let the opportunity past him by. He said through Sibalt: "Aren't you glad you decided to come with us? After all, when was the last time you got yelled at by a dwarf?"

  Ryota blinked his eyes several times as he considered the two questions. "I guess never. And yes, it has been an interesting journey so far," he admitted.

  Pewma looked at the bowl of stew in front him. "Can I have that?" she asked.

  In response, he took the bowl off the table and placed it in front of her. "Enjoy," he smiled.

  Tensa eyed the extra bowl hungrily. "Can I split the bowl with you?" she asked.

  "Sure."

  Sibalt was amazed at the appetite of the dwarves. He could only watch in half-delight-half-horror as they devoured their bowls; the young man managed to finish half of his bowl before he was full. Furthermore, the stew had too much seasoning for his taste. But seeing how much Alethea was eating, no wonder his wife had so much energy during their lovemaking sessions every night.

  When the group was almost finished with their meals, Tessa returned to their table. "You owe 20 silver pieces for the Brewrock ales. Pulmei asked me not to charge that old man for his ale. Will you pay now or put it on your tab?"

  "We have the option of keeping a tab?" Sibalt asked in surprise.

  "Since you prepaid for a week's stay, sure," the waitress replied cheerfully.

  The human avatar of Markos shook his head. The dungeon core did not like to owe people money. Back in his previous life, the former accountant always paid his bills in full. That was why he had never bought a house--because he didn't like the idea of taking out a mortgage. Sibolt took out a gold piece and handed it to her. "I'll pay in advance for the drinks too," he said.

  Tessa nodded and accepted the coin. She turned and walked over to another table.

  "You don't like being in debt?" Ryota asked. Even back in his era centuries ago, people tried to avoid incurring debt.

  Sibalt simply nodded.

  "Me neither," the undead warrior admitted with a smile.

  When the dwarves were finally finished with their meals, Sibolt left 10 silver pieces as a tip and the group departed from the inn.

  Chapter 52

  Herb Emmu

  Following the directions provided by Quera, the party headed toward the public water fountain. Once they reached it, they continued walking toward the north. The red building was within sight and
they soon entered the Clerk's Office.

  Unlike the inn, the office was relatively quiet. A pair of female guards stood at the entrance and examined Sibalt and his companions with hawk-like eyes.

  Sibalt saw a number of counters but no explanation for the specific duties of each desk. He decided to ask the guards for help. "Greetings! I'm seeking to petition a charter to start a town within the kingdom. Which counter should I approach?" he asked.

  "Riff raffs like you are trying to start a town? Preposterous!" one of the guards scoffed.

  The other one said, "Lancea, it's not our place to determine whether this young man deserves to receive permission. Besides, a new town means more commerce and more tax revenues for the kingdom, no? The foundation of the Kingdom of Vessar is commerce and therefore, this man should be encouraged in his endeavor rather than dismissed outright."

  The enlightened guard turned toward Sibalt and pointed at a man sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. "You see that guy with the funny looking hat? His name is Herb Emmu. He will accept petitions for new charters. But I should note that there may be a hefty fee involved," the guard warned.

  "Thank you." Sibalt bowed deeply to the helpful guard.

  Lancea scowled. "You're no fun, Urwena!"

  Sibalt turned away from the guards and made his way to Herb. The clerk was busy assisting another petitioner.

  Sibalt took the opportunity to examine Herb Emmu closely. It was the first time he saw a man working as a government official. And as Urwena had noted, the man wore an interesting hat which was tan in color. It was pointed above the right ear and attached to colorful feathers.

  The official wore a narrow-fitted white collar shirt with long sleeves; the shirt accentuated his slim figure. A necklace could be seen around his neck; it was a red string attached to a seashell. The man had shortly cropped black hair and dark brown eyes; he seemed to have a perpetual sneer on his otherwise handsome face.