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The Human From a Dungeon 62
🕑 Added 2024-07-29 12:55:14 +0000 UTCChapter 62
Gali Morathi
Adventurer Level: 13
Dwarf - Calkutin
Mako, Heino, and Ithrima talked amongst themselves about what the receptionist had told us. He had said that even though it will take a while for a team of specialists to be formed, coming back was the right call. If we had tried to take on the vampires by ourselves we would have almost certainly died and become part of the vampire nest.
I know it was the right call, but Rebis and I felt a bit bad about it. In the time it takes for another team to form, more people will disappear and the nest will get larger and more dangerous. Part of us wanted to go back in to give it a try.
An extremely stupid part of us, that is. To distract ourselves from these almost certainly suicidal urges, we'd been watching the overgrown lizard try to eat its weight in meat. It's a good thing the meat's cheap.
"So you like the food?" I asked the kobold.
"Mmmhmm," it replied with a stuffed face.
"Voracious little shit, isn't he?" Rebis muttered.
The kobold tilted its head at Rebis and then unhinged its jaw to swallow what it had just shoved in its mouth. Rebis and I flinched in disgust as the chunk of roast direwolf slid down its throat.
"What mean?" it asked. "Vo... uh... that word?"
"Voracious. It means someone or something that eats a lot," I clarified.
"Is I eating too much?"
"Nah," Rebis chuckled. "The meat here is pretty cheap, and you probably saved our asses. So eat up."
"Can I just eat regular? Don't know how to eat up," it said, lifting its head and pointing its snout at the ceiling. "Maybe can... What's that thing?"
The kobold shifted its head to look at the group approaching us. I had been keeping an eye on the outsiders the moment they'd entered, but they'd headed straight for the receptionist and hadn't caused a fuss. They were dressed as adventurers, not hunters, but it isn't uncommon for people from the AG to come around.
Still, some of the groups closer to them had looked pretty shocked. I wasn't able to tell why, though. Maybe one of the elves is famous or something? Come to think of it, a pair of orcs with a pair of elves is kind of an odd sight around these parts...
"You should know this one. Those are orcs and el..." Rebis stopped talking as he got a better look at the group. "Actually, you're right. The fuck is that?"
There were indeed two orcs, but one of the elves looked off. As they walked up, I did a quick comparison and noted several discrepancies between it and the other elves. First, round ears. Second, wrong facial architecture. Third, its smile showed a few sharp teeth that shouldn't be there.
"Probably not an elf," I muttered.
"Hello, sorry to intrude," the not-elf said. "We were told that you were just inside the nearby dungeon and found some vampires. We were wondering if you'd be willing to share some intel with us."
Heino, Mako, and Ithrima turned to face the newcomers. Each of their eyebrows rose once they got a good look at the one speaking. The silence started to get uncomfortable, so I interrupted the awkward moment by sliding a chair towards the group.
"Sure, but intel isn't free. Buy a round and we'll chat," I said.
The non-elf thing took the chair while the rest of its group grabbed some more, and before long we were all sitting together. Once everyone was settled I waved an order of drinks to the receptionist and gave a brief summary of the events that took place in the dungeon, including how we ended up with a kobold.
"So at least seven vampires, then," one of the orcs said. "That'll be tough."
"Tough is an understatement, brother," the other orc said. "It'll be hard for Nick and I to pin that many vampires down long enough for you and Olmira to blast them."
The odd group began discussing entering the dungeon and the rest of us settled into another awkward silence. I glanced at my party members, but they were still trying to figure out what the thing in front of us was. Even the drinks arriving didn't snap them out of it. I took a swig of the mead and sighed.
"Well, since the rest of you aren't going to ask, I might as well," I said. "Don't mean to be rude, but what exactly are you?"
"I'm a human," it said.
"And that is?"
The human laughed and provided a summary of the events that led to him being here, introducing his party as they became relevant to the story. Nick, a human found in one of the Unified Chiefdom's dungeons. Nash and Yulk, brothers from the famed Alta clan that had found and resuscitated Nick. Finally, the one that kind of set things on edge, Olmira the Eternal.
When Nick got to her part of the story, Olmira looked nervous. Once she was introduced, it was easy to see the reason for her nerves. Here we were, having drinks to lament our vampire problems when one strolls in and sits down with us. I almost laughed.
"So what do you think, Gali?" Mako asked.
"I think it's fine," I said. "I've heard a lot about the Alta's. From what I've heard they're not easily duped and don't associate with bad actors."
"Plus, she's kinda hot if you ignore the age difference. No offense, milady," Rebis said with a laugh. "I am Rebis Oltha, this here's Gali Morathi. The other dwarf is Heino Trant. Mako Muhko is the big ass orc, and Ithrima Solal is our token elf mage."
"Token? You little shit," Ithrima said with a growl.
"Again?" Heino asked. "Do you actually have some sort of grievance against our height?"
"What? I... N-no that's not what I meant! It's just a phrase!" she almost shouted.
Rebis and I laughed as she attempted to explain exactly what she meant by "little shit". After a few stuttered sentences, she realized that the three of us were poking fun at here and started sulking. I finished my mug and looked at Nick.
"We're the Western Wasters," I said. "We're named that because we're from the west and we usually hunt in the wastes. Lately we've been hunting in the dungeons, though."
"Makes sense," Nash said. "So are you going back in?"
"Yep!" the kobold beamed. "Gonna kill the suckers! We has to help the lord!"
"Wow, it really does talk," Nick said.
"Yeah, it does," I grumbled. "Too much, in fact. Anyways, we don't plan on going back in. We're handing the job off to a more experienced group. A specialist party."
"How long do you think it'll be before they're ready to go in?"
"I don't know. Might take a week or two for word to spread far enough to find the right hunters for the group. Then it'll take some time for them to get here, get equipped and acquainted, and finally get to huntin' the vamps. Why?"
"We need to explore the dungeon," Nash said. "That dungeon's probably one of the cult's former hide-outs, and they might know how to get Nick home. We're hoping some clue may have been left behind. If there's nothing, we'd like to know as soon as possible so we can move on."
"Well, we'd love to help you out, but we don't work for free," Rebis said. "Plus, we'd need at least three more mages that know fire spells. Maybe another fighter to help pin the vamps down, too."
"Would fireball work?" Nick asked.
Rebis and I glanced at each other and then at Nick's hip, where a sword was sheathed.
"Yeah... Any spell that can light a fire hot enough to start burnin' flesh would work," Rebis said. "Why?"
"Because Yulk and I know fireball, and I'm pretty sure Olmira can use fire magic too," Nick said. "Right?"
"That's correct," the elven vampire said.
"So that's three mages and a fighter," Nick continued. "How much do you charge?"
Shit. What are the odds of someone being able to use both sword and spell? Rebis glanced at me, making me responsible for setting a price. I sighed and gave it some serious thought. The price needs to be high enough that they can't afford it, but not so high that we end up looking like greedy bastards. That will let us save face while also keeping us out of the dungeon.
"Two gold for each of us," I said. "A little high, but it's gonna be a pretty tough job. So ten gold all tog-"
I was cut off by the sound of ten gold pieces hitting the table. Mako laughed as Rebis and I stared at the glimmering coins. They were Unified Chiefdom and Bolisir minted coins, too, which had a higher gold content than Calkutin coins. No arguing our way out of this one.
"Well... fuck," I said.
"I don't wanna do it, but the gold's on the table. You and your big mouth, Gali," Rebis sighed.
"I'm willing to give it a shot," Mako said with another chuckle. "I think your force analysis was pretty spot-on, Rebis, and ten gold is more than fair."
Ithrima and Heino were silent for a few moments. Finally, Heino shrugged and sighed.
"Fine, I'm in," he said. "Might as well add vampires to the list of things I've killed."
"I'm in, too," Ithrima added.
"In what?" A well-dressed but road-worn dwarf asked as he approached. "What did I miss?"
"Hi, Liath," Nick said. "We found a likely dungeon, but it's filled with vampires. We're going to team up with the Western Wasters to clear the dungeon and explore it."
"Yesss! Kill the suckers! FOR THE LORD!" the kobold shouted, raising a freshly cleaned bone into the air.
"W-What?" Liath asked with a horrified expression.
Comments
Ben Bass
TYFTC! I love the well let’s be too expensive but not outrageous, and then the price is paid without a second thought. I do love the kobold, let’s see what they bring besides the comic relief guide.
DarkValorWolf
watch the kobold(s?) be mvp😎
David Ellis
I am getting serious "Ghost Stories Dub" vibes from that Kobold. "HAVEYOURACCEPTEDJESUSCHRISTASYOURLORDANDSAVIOR?" "...What?"
