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The Human From a Dungeon 91
🕑 Added 2025-02-17 14:44:17 +0000 UTCChapter 91
Thunra Grantuf
Adventurer Level: 23
Orc - Nillisonian
The cold air ran up my spine as I stood in front of the Alta home tryin' to work up the courage to knock. It'd been a few weeks since the first time I'd retrieved Nick for training, and Yilda had told me that I could come by whenever, but my nerves kept gettin' the best of me. The only time people like it when you show up at the crack of dawn is when you're making them money.
The reason for my nerves had changed, though. At first, I was worried Yilda'd hit me. Now I just don't want her to dislike me. It's a silly boy's crush, and I know it, but controllin' this kind of feeling is like trying to wrangle greased up hissers. Things get slippery.
I took a deep breath to steady myself and looked up at the sun shyly peekin' out over the horizon. Or maybe I'm seein' it like that 'cause I'm the one that's shy. I released my breath with a quiet sigh, steeled my nerve, and knocked on the door. Gently.
It swung open almost immediately, and Yilda regarded me with a smug expression.
"Well, well, well," she said. "Look who finally got up the courage to knock."
"I-uh... Wait, how long you been standing there?" I asked.
"I wasn't standing here. I was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast."
"Then how'd you-"
"I'm VERY fast, Thunra. Anyway, come on in and grab a seat."
"Oh, uh... I'm just here-"
"To pick up Nick, yes, I know. They're not up yet, though, and I don't get paid to wake them up."
"I'll wake 'em up," I said with a grin.
"Just get in here and plop your ass on a chair," she ordered, moving to the side to let me through.
"Yes, ma'am."
I squeezed past her and heard the door close behind me. I walked to the table, mindful of her nearly overwhelming presence behind me, and did as I was told. The chair was a little small for me, but it's hard to find a chair that fits someone my size. Wonder how guys as big as the High Chief manage it.
The smell of an excellent breakfast wafted from the fire-counter, but I took my mind off my stomach by looking around the house. It was shockingly normal, as if it hadn't even heard of the two legendary members of one of the most powerful clans to ever exist that called this place home. Way nicer than anywhere I'd ever lived, but much less gold and gems than I was expecting.
"Nice place you got here," I said as casually as I could.
"Thanks," Yilda replied as she began working on the food again. "It's been a great retirement home."
"Glad to hear it. Actually, now that you bring it up... Do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked.
"You just did," she laughed, making my heart flutter dangerously.
"Besides that one, I mean."
"Sure."
"I heard a lot of stories about you and your husband. Dangerous gangs broken up, massive monsters brought low. Y'all did great work. Why'd you two decide to retire?"
"Well, I retired because we were pretty well off and I was pregnant with Nash. The thought of having my child be raised by someone else always rubbed me the wrong way," she said as she continued cooking. "Plus, I never really enjoyed the work. Don't get me wrong, it had its charms, but it was a little too reminiscent of my childhood more often than not. Becoming a pampered house-wife sounded like a nice change of pace. So I jumped at the opportunity to collect my pension when it came up."
"Fair enough," I chuckled. "And your husband?"
"Oh, that little shit just retired from the big jobs," she laughed. "Too much energy and courage to actually retire from adventuring work. There were a couple times I caught him sneaking into the dungeon, too. Fought about it, even. Seems stupid now."
"I don't think it's stupid, ma'am," I said. "If you knew then whatcha know now, sure, but you didn't so it isn't."
"I suppose. And he WAS being an idiot by sneaking into the dungeon by himself. But then, that's one of the reasons I fell in love with him. He was so damn certain of himself at all times," she laughed wistfully. "And even with enough confidence for a team of adventurers, he was humble enough to fall for a homeless orphan like me."
"Is he the one that got you into adventurin'?"
"No, but he's the one who helped me get good at it. Before him, I was a solo act. Mostly because I couldn't really trust anyone to have my back, but also because I didn't want to give anyone a chance to put a knife there."
I nodded sagely. A story I'd heard a thousand times. A hard life makes it hard to trust soft things.
"One day, I snagged what was supposed to be a simple herb-gathering job. Mossilia flowers, very rare and difficult to get to, but the pay was very good. Too good, as it turns out. I climbed a mountain, slipped past a basilisk, navigated a cave filled with beasties, and got the flowers only to have the client turn out to be a vampire and the quest turn out to be a trap."
"Woah, really?" I asked, dumbfounded. "The guild didn't handle the particulars back then?"
"No, they didn't. And what almost happened to me is why they do nowadays. As fortune would have it, though, that vampire is the reason I met Mirkus. He had been investigating a string of disappearances that led him to the very same vampire that intended to make me a victim. He crashed through the door just as the vampire had its hand on my neck, zipped across the room, and relieved the vampire of her arm in a flash," she chuckled. "I was dumbfounded for a moment, stuck in a trance as the two of them clashed in front of me. I'd seen plenty of fights before, but I'd never seen anyone move that fast. The strength on display was stunning, as well. I vividly remember Mirkus ripping a brick from the fireplace to bludgeon the vampires skull, mortar be damned."
She took the pan off of the fire and started adding seasonings to it.
"The vampire started regenerating, of course, but by then I'd come to my senses. Mirkus, being the confident idiot that he was, didn't bring any way to incinerate the damn thing with him. So I used a fireball. It was the only spell I knew at the time, and it wasn't particularly strong, but it did the job."
"Then he asked you to join him?"
"Nope. The burning vampire set the manor on fire. I got hit by some debris, but Mirkus managed to get me to safety. He came to check on me the next day, and that's when he asked me to join him."
"That could be seen as bein' pretty romantic," I chuckled.
"I thought so, too. He was the first person to see me for me. Gods, I had such a crush on him. It sent me over the moon when he confessed that he shared my feelings. Mirkus was and remains my closest partner and confidant. I'll never love another like I loved him."
And there it was. The flutterin' had died out and was replaced with a sting. I could try to argue. Ask her if that's what he wanted for her. Say that he'd want her to be happy and move on with her life. But as my dad would say, who the hells do I think I am? She's at peace with her situation, and I'll be damned to a thousand hemorrhoids before I trample over that.
Dunno what makes a man fall for a woman who's way out of his league, but I think that doctors should find and cure the cause. Glad this weren't my first crush, or I'd have made a damn fool out of myself. Instead, I sat there with a smile on my face, internally crushing the stupid feelings I had until it they were deader than Mirkus.
"I'm glad you two were able to find each other," I said. "So, what's for breakfast?"
"Ground meat, eggs, and tubers," she replied. "Not sure there's going to be enough excess to fill up a mountain like you, though."
"Don't worry about that," I laughed. "Best not to train on a full stomach anyway, there's a good chance you'll lose it."
"Lose what?" Nash asked as he walked into the room.
Yulk and Nick followed after him, and they all took their places at the table. The few weeks of hand to hand trainin' had built the human up nicely, but he still looked as tired as a half-drowned bird. Guess he's wasn't much of a mornin' person.
"You excited 'bout trainin' today?" I asked with a grin.
"Can't train today. Gotta leave for school," he replied.
"Huh?"
"We received a letter from High Chief Ulurmak last night," Yulk explained. "We'll be boarding a magicart that should be arriving at the guild today at noon and then we'll be traveling non-stop to Kirkena."
I raised my eyebrows at the sorc as Yilda placed a plate in front of me.
"Thank you," I bowed a little.
"You're welcome. The rest of you can get your own," she said as she took a seat with her own plate.
The three boys rose and walked over to the still steamin' pan. I waited for Yilda to take the first bite and then I dug in. It was gods damned good, but weird as all hells at the same time. It took a second for my mouth to decide that it liked it.
"Woah," I said. "This is awesome! How'd you make this?"
"Like I told you, it's just ground meat, eggs, and tubers," she chuckled. "Glad you like it, though."
"Tubers? Like the veggie the dwarves eat?" I asked.
"Yep. Nick needs vegetables as part of his diet, so I've been experimenting."
"I'll be damned," I said as the boys returned to the table.
"It's really good," Nick said as he took a bite.
Nash looked at his food and bit his lip a little. Yilda noticed and turned to stare at her eldest boy. He took a deep breath and released it with a sigh.
"I've made a decision," he said. "I'm gonna be staying here."
"Yeah, we know," Nick chuckled through his food.
"Huh?"
"Nick and I spoke on this at length and decided that even if you attempted to accompany us, we would convince you to stay," Yulk explained. "The saga of Nima and Nash has been waiting a long time to begin, and it would be a shame to place the strain of distance upon your courtship so early."
"But I-"
"You can help me with expanding your room," Yilda interrupted.
"Yeah, but the thing with the fai-"
"You'll still be able to go play with the fair folk this summer. I plan on hiring some laborers so we can get it done as fast as possible."
"You can use my room while yours is being renovated," Yulk added.
"I... Alright," Nash nodded. "I'll take on some jobs to help pay the laborers."
"Nah, you focus on the women in your life," I said. "I'll send some money over. Call it a wedding present."
"I don't need anybody's coin," Yilda argued.
"Sure, but even with the maximum pension you can get from the guild, you'll have to dip into your food fund," I winked at her. "If the other foods you come up with are even half as good as this is, it would be a crime against civilization to interrupt your experiments."
"I think you overestimate the cost of laborers."
"Yeah, maybe, but I still wanna do somethin' nice for y'all for puttin' up with my early mornin' visits."
"I'm not exactly poor, either," Nash said, then chuckled. "I'll gladly take your money, though. Pretty sure Nima's mom isn't going to be able to put up a dowry. Wasn't even gonna bother to ask for one, so the extra coin would probably do us some good."
"Urela's financial situation isn't her fault," Yilda sighed. "The Maxim clan's had a terrible run of luck, and Agurno being a piece of shit didn't help things."
"Ulurmak's brother?" I asked.
"Yes. He romanced poor Urela and convinced her to move here with him while he played with the dungeon. Urela had Nima, then a year later Agurno got another woman pregnant."
"With... Alurn, right?"
"That's right. The Maxim clan's hierarchs couldn't afford to retrieve Urela after some bad luck with investments. She's been stuck here ever since, trying to make a living the best she can. Then he has the nerve to promise to raise both children, ignores Nima for the better part of his time here, then fucked off four or five years ago and hasn't been back since. I swear, if I ever see that bastard again I'll castrate him with his own knee-bones."
"That'd be a fight I'd love to see," I chuckled, then grew serious. "Should I send the money to Urela instead?"
"She would return to sender," Yilda shook her head. "The Maxims have a thing against receiving charity, and Urela is a Maxim through and through. She'd rather die than get a hand-out."
"I, on the other hand, wouldn't mind at all," Nash said with a grin. "If I remember right, doesn't the thing against getting charity only count for people outside the family? Can't I give her the coin after the wedding?"
"I don't recall, but you'd best bring it up with Nima before you go making any bold decisions," Yilda said, narrowing her eyes. "Apparently, you and bold decisions pair poorly."
Nash fell silent, but Nick and Yulk chuckled. I was confused for a moment, then I remembered that Nash had proposed to Nima out of the blue. In front of everyone at the guild. It brought a smile to my face as I finished my food.
"Wh-what do you mean?" Nash asked, pretendin' to be ignorant.
"You know damn well what I mean, boy," Yilda said. "Gods, you're lucky Nima forgave you or I'd have beat your ass to the ocean and back. Now shut up and finish your food."
"Yes ma'am."
"All done," Nick grinned. "It was absolutely delicious."
"Thank you, Nick," Yilda said with a beaming smile.
The human took my empty plate with him to the sink and returned to the table. Soon after, Nash, Yulk, and Yilda finished their meals too. Nash took the dishes to the sink, looking like a stricken pupper.
"So, uh... Do ya think I could catch a ride with y'all?" I asked.
"Are you sure? It's a non-stop journey," Yulk said. "It's bound to get uncomfortable."
"Magicarts are both fast and luxurious," I chuckled. "It won't take that long to get to Kirkena, and we'll have plenty of room to get a good nap in. If you'd rather travel on your own, though, I get it. Don't want to be a bother."
"No, no. I'd be happy to have you along. A pair of my pupils, Yini and Nimora, will be traveling with us and I've been rather nervous about their safety," Yulk admitted. "Nick and I can probably handle it if we get attacked, but more security will bring me peace of mind."
"That poor girl," Yilda whispered with a small sigh.
"What?" Yulk asked.
"Nothing, dear. Just thinking about how they're likely already at the guildhall waiting for you."
"Oh, yes you're probably right. I suppose we should get going."
"I'll come with to see you off," Nash said.
We all stood, and the boys said goodbye to their mom. Hugs and kisses on the cheek were exchanged, and watching them made me miss my own mom. Then the three of them were out the door, but I paused in the doorway.
"Take care of yourself, Missus Alta," I said with a soft smile.
"You too, Thunra," she replied with a smile of her own.
I turned to follow her sons, glad that my heart wasn't fluttering anymore.
Comments
Ben Bass
TYFTC! I think Thunra has made a mighty good impression on Yilda, let’s see what happens there. I don’t think Thunra quite understands how important family is to her and him watching out for and helping her boys is definitely going to get him in her good graces.
Aerowarrier
Imma be honest Thunra, don’t count yourself out just yet. Her husband will always be her first love, but that doesn’t mean she can’t love again, and she seems to have taken a liking to you
Aerowarrier
Ah yes, a Sorcerer Orc, better known as a sorc!
DarkValorWolf
loving the switch of pace to love stories for a bit, Thunra seems like a great guy
