Dungeon Walkers 2 Read online

  Dungeon Walkers

  Book 2

  Daniel Schinhofen

  Copyright © 2021 Daniel J. Schinhofen

  No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without the written permission from the publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2021 Daniel J. Schinhofen

  All rights reserved.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter One

  Stern looked at the letter he’d finished, summing up the last few months of his life.

  Dad,

  I hope you, Mom, Mom, and Mom are good. I guess I should say the same for my brothers and sisters. It hasn’t been a full year, but, well... I thought you’d like a letter.

  Did the last starium dungeon go well? Have the Seekers already quested farther north for the next set?

  I’ve finished the first three dungeons. Cleared them all by myself. Well, me and Pawly. Pawly picked up some perks from me that enhance her in different ways. You’ll be surprised by what she can do now. She helped me more than I can even say, in the dungeons and out of them.

  I had a few adventures along the way. When I made it to Bloodstone (my third city and dungeon), things took a detour from my vague plans. An old woman was crying outside the entrance, asking for help retrieving her grandchild. I did what we should all do... I went to pull her out. Bit of a problem with that. Cyra Walot (that’s the grandchild’s name) was left there by the mayor’s son.

  An entire crew left her soul fractured. I might have spouted off at them and publicly vowed to pull her out. Another crew offered to help and, between us, we managed to get all her shards. I took her grandmother and the shards to the temple and got the rebirth started.

  The idiot that left her behind, Skippy Bloodcoin, stopped me the next day and demanded the shards. Because he was the mayor’s son, he thought everyone should do as he said. You know how I can get with people. To make matters worse, that was after the rebirth, and Cyra and her grandmother were coming up the street behind me. Skippy sent some of his goons after them, to kill them. He and his closest minion stayed to kill me, telling me how they’d claim self-defense. Well, it didn’t go their way.

  I killed them, Dad. Pawly and I... we killed them, then rushed off to help Cyra. Luckily, another crew intervened for them. Cyra made it, but her grandmother didn’t, and the other three killers were dead, too.

  The guard arrested all of us. Instead of us all going free, I was hauled to the magistrate because the city was corrupt as hell. Things happened, and the Walkers turned out in force. In the end, I was cleared.

  I knew that wouldn’t be the end of it for Cyra, though, and she told me what she’d hoped for. I took her through the dungeon, then we left the city to stop reprisals. We hit Brightstone and cleared it, then came back to Darkstone. We cleared the dungeon here, too, but we knew we had to train.

  Cyra was a street urchin with her grandmother, and the mayor’s son had pulled strings to get her through the classes without her learning a lot. We hunkered down here and trained. Cyra’s quick and eager to learn.

  Now, this is the part where you’re going to laugh. The two of us met someone, Trish Moxxy. And… well, the three of us are starting a relationship together. Yeah, go ahead, show it around to them. Okay, got it out of your system? Yes, I’m dating two wonderful women, and I understand more, now. The balance of maintaining multiple partners, but the joy of the extra love, too.

  And no, to stop you all from wondering, we haven’t done that. It’s complicated, but to put it honestly, Cyra was almost raped by Skippy and his friends in the dungeon. I know Mom is saying she can help even as you read this to her. Maybe she’ll accept that help in time, but we’re making it work on our own for now.

  I did tell them about you, about the family. They were shocked, but they just supported my decision and didn’t make a big deal out of it. I hope that they’ll meet you before you rush off to the next dungeon, but it’s going to be a bit before we reach that far north. Maybe we’ll meet in one of the mid-tier cities?

  I do have a favor to ask, but not for me. It’s for Cyra. Her parents were Seekers and Walkers... when she was a child, too young for clear memories, her parents went looking for dungeons in the wilds. I think that was the prismatic iron or prismatic steel one? They died out there somewhere, and she doesn’t know who they were. Her grandmother didn’t tell her much. I can say that she’s part-rabbit lykian, so one of her parents must have had the traits, too. If you can, ask around? She wants to know more about her parents.

  Anyway, I’m going to end this. It’s already far too long. We’re about to head off to the next set of dungeons and get our tin badges. It’s just the three (four, with Pawly) of us, but we’ll try to pick up another couple of crew members before we dive into the next set.

  Oh, and thanks for everything.

  Your loving son,

  Alistern Masterson

  Stern exhaled as he finished reading his letter. “That sums it all up.”

  Trish and Cyra had been reading over his shoulders. “It looks right to me,” Trish said.

  “Can they?” Cyra asked with a sniffle.

  “They’ll try,” Stern said, putting his arm around Cyra’s waist. “Trust me on that.”

  “I do,” Cyra whispered, then kissed his cheek.

  “We’re heading out?” Trish asked Stern.

  “Pick up some quests to do on the way to Waterrock,” Stern said, “then on the road north.”

  Cyra wiped her face, then walked toward her room. “I’ll get my bag.”

  “We need to, as well,” Trish said as she headed off.

  Stern didn’t get the chance to stand— Pawly jumped into his lap, purring as she snuggled against him. “Grab mine, please, Trish?” he called after the redhead.

  Looking back and seeing Pawly, Trish nodded. “Got it.”

  Stern sat there, petting his oldest friend, and Pawly accepted the love as her just due. The Maine Coon purred louder as she snuggled against him.

  “Thanks, fur-face,” Stern said softly, scritching her neck. “I’m fine, though
. I hope they don’t come rushing down to meet them. That won’t help with my goals at all.”

  Pawly yawned and shifted so he could rub her ears.

  “How much do you have in this?” Trish asked, carrying two loaded bags out of his room.

  “About fifty pounds,” Stern chuckled. Without warning, he lifted Pawly up and squeezed her to his chest, getting a surprised squeak from the cat. He set her back on the floor a second later. “Time to go. Lots of walking, Pawly. Do you want to—?” He cut off when Pawly waved a paw at him. “Fair enough. Go home.”

  Pawly vanished bit by bit, her eyes and teeth the last things visible as she did.

  “I’ve seen it dozens of times, but that can still easily be nightmare fuel,” Trish said.

  “It could be,” Cyra said as she came out of her room, her bag already on her shoulders. “If she wasn’t such a loveable cuddle-bug.”

  “She’s also a vicious killing machine,” Stern said as he claimed his bag from Trish. Hoisting it up, he settled it onto his shoulders and hips before strapping it on. “This is the first step for us. North to Waterrock. We need to find two or three others to join us, too.”

  “There will be people looking in Waterrock,” Trish said. “There always are.”

  “Because going without as close to a full group as possible is… not good,” Cyra said, having been listening to them over the last few weeks.

  “Correct,” Stern said, opening the door to the suite. “We also need to come up with a name for our crew…” He trailed off, remembering the one his father had said would suit him.

  “What?” Trish asked as she went past him into the hall.

  “A dad-joke,” Stern sighed.

  “For a crew name?” Cyra asked as she joined Trish.

  “Yeah.”

  When he didn’t elaborate, Trish grinned. “What was it?”

  “It’s stupid,” Stern said, shutting the door behind them.

  “He named Pawly,” Cyra said. “I think that name was perfect.”

  “And a dad-joke,” Trish grinned wider. “Come on, Stern, spill.”

  Stern groaned. “‘Pawsitively Irregular.’” He made sure to hit the first part of the name so the pun was clear.

  Cyra blinked, then began to giggle.

  Trish just laughed. “Yep, that’s a dad-joke. Twice, in fact. I love it.”

  “Goddess, that’ll only encourage him,” Stern sighed.

  Cyra touched his arm. “If it bothers you, we don’t have to use it.”

  “We should, though,” Trish said, chuckling. “Let me explain.” She took a slow step toward the stairs, prompting them to start walking. “It embodies our group nearly perfectly. We have Pawly, and Stern is an irregular. Together, we’re all positive about how our irregular relationship is going to work.”

  Cyra giggled again. “Okay, I can agree with that.”

  Stern just groaned as he trailed the two women he loved. He could feel their happiness and their love of the name. He was mostly complaining because his dad would laugh all the harder when he found out. “Fine...” he gave in.

  “Really? We don’t have to twist your arm?” Trish grinned. “Or maybe bribe you?” Her wink made it obvious what kind of bribes she’d offer.

  “You both like it,” Stern shrugged. “I can just see his smile and how he’s going to laugh. I’m not against the name itself.”

  Cyra took his arm as they went downstairs. “If you really don’t want to, we won’t.”

  He glanced at her, then kissed the edge of one of her long rabbit ears. “It’s fine. Thanks.”

  Cyra blushed, but beamed, giving his arm a squeeze.

  “Checking out?” Jensen asked.

  “It’s time to head off,” Stern said, handing over the keys to Jensen. “Thanks for the room.”

  “Good guests are hard to find,” Jensen said. He gave them a long look, then nodded. “You three’ll be fine. I’ll see if I can’t hear about how you’re doing from the few Walkers that stay here at times.”

  “That’ll be easy,” Trish grinned as she opened the front door. “Ask about Pawsitively Irregular.”

  Stern winced, but led Cyra out. “Bye, Jensen.”

  Cyra waved to him, and Trish laughed as she let the door close behind her.

  Jensen stood there for a minute longer, then shook his head and laughed. “I bet his dad told him that one. Such a dad-joke name.”

  Chapter Two

  The three young lovers walked down the streets of Darkstone with light hearts. The light of day was slowly brightening the city around them. A gentle wind blew from the west, bringing the scent of the ocean with it. Sadly, it also brought the scent of the wharf, dimming the clean smell.

  “What quests do you think we’ll find?” Cyra asked.

  “Delivery quest is a given,” Trish said. “There’s always a delivery quest to the connected cities down at this tier.”

  “True, but we’ll likely see a collection quest with the delivery point being Waterrock,” Stern added. “Might be a kill quest on the way, too.”

  “We’d be best taking those, if they’re there,” Trish said.

  “We’ll find out soon,” Stern said.

  “Are we going to rotate camping duties?” Cyra asked.

  “Nope,” Trish grinned. “You’re the cook.”

  “You are the best of us in that regard,” Stern nodded. “Trish is taking over collecting firewood. Pawly and I will do the hunting, and I’ll clean up after dinner.”

  “Okay,” Cyra smiled. “I’m glad you both like my cooking.”

  “You have a knack for it,” Trish said.

  “Agreed,” Stern nodded.

  They reached the Walkers’ guildhall and filed inside. Only two tables had people at them— the occupants gave the women appreciative glances, then soured when Stern followed them in.

  Stern did his best to ignore the emotions from the groups. He came to a stop behind Cyra and Trish, who’d gone straight to the quest board. Peering over their heads, he looked at the quests in the lead and tin ranks. Since they had Trish in their group, they could take any of the tin quests.

  “Waterrock collection,” Trish said, tapping a notice. “Collect twenty dark willow shoots. Take to Curmudgeon’s Corner for payment.”

  “Off-road for that,” Stern said, “which isn’t horrible.”

  “Kill scurriflies,” Cyra said, pointing out another quest. “Redeemable in Waterrock. Bring tails to Kuster’s Coats for payment.”

  “Pick them up,” Stern said. “Hmm... we should officially register as a crew while we’re here, too.”

  “We should do that, then pick them up,” Trish said.

  Stern nodded. “Let’s go.”

  The same male receptionist who’d given Stern the delivery quest for Brightstone was sitting behind the desk. “Walkers, how may I help you?”

  “We want to register as a crew,” Stern said.

  “You’re the lead?” the receptionist politely.

  “He is,” Cyra nodded.

  “Stern is our leader,” Trish added.

  “Just the three of you?”

  “Yes,” Stern said, wondering why he’d been thrust forward as the leader.

  “Very well. I will suggest you all find at least another couple members before tackling any of the tin dungeons,” the receptionist said as he drew out a tablet and placed it in front of them. “I need you,” he said to Stern, “to place your dominate hand on this first. Speak the name of the crew when you feel the tablet get warm.”

  Stern felt the eyes on his back in the room and could hear muted voices. He knew they were questioning why Trish and Cyra were with him. He pushed the distractions away and placed his left hand on the tablet, waiting. “Pawsitively Irregular,” Stern said once the tablet had grown warm.

  The receptionist blinked at him, then down at the tablet. “Remove your hand. I need both of you to touch the tablet and agree that you are part of this crew. You’ll need to remove yourselves from it if
you leave, and your leader can remove you from it, as well.”

  Both Trish and Cyra agreed they were part of the crew before stepping back again.

  “Very well. Your crew is formed,” the receptionist said. “If you come up with a crew emblem, you can bring it to any hall and we’ll add it.”

  Stern hesitated, then sighed and unbuckled his bag. “I have one.”

  “You do?” Cyra asked in surprise.

  “My mother draws,” Stern said. “When dad suggested the crew name, she drew up an icon for it. I think she liked his idea.” He dropped his bag and began to dig into it. “It’ll be a minute. Go pick up the quests.”

  Trish chuckled as she touched Cyra’s arm. “Come on.”

  Cyra hesitated. She wanted to see the emblem, but let Trish lead her away.

  It took Stern a bit of digging to pull out the small scroll tube he’d been carrying since he left home. With a sigh, he opened it and pulled out the parchment inside. He thought of his parents and, knowing they’d be told about the crew before they got the letter, sighed again. He put the tube back and got his bag settled onto his shoulders and hips again.