Dungeon Walkers 2 Page 4

  “Fiction?”

  “Yes, fiction is fascinating. The fact that someone can imagine worlds from whole cloth...” The dwarf was now radiating happiness.

  “I’m Stern.”

  “Ah, sorry. Drelorin Billson. I’m the owner.”

  “But your real passion is books,” Stern said.

  “A hobby, but yes. I even came up with a ranking system, not that anyone cares.”

  “I actually do know someone who would,” Stern said. “I’ll send them a letter. They love books, as well.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. She’ll find time between runs, no doubt about it.”

  “Hmm... I would enjoy having someone to discuss them with.”

  Stern gave the balding, white-bearded dwarf a smile. “I’ll drop her a letter before I leave the city. Might take her some time to come all the way down from the north, but she’ll come.”

  “Thanks. Now, let’s get this done so I can go back to my book.”

  “Sounds good,” Stern grinned.

  Chapter Five

  Arriving at The Walker’s Respite, after dropping a letter off, Stern was looking forward to the bath. The inn was moderately busy when Stern walked inside, and the majority of those present had badges attached to their clothing. Heads turned his way and Stern felt the anger, hatred, fear, and revulsion in a solid wave.

  Face going stiff, Stern stood all the way up and pushed his hood back. He looked over the room, then headed for the bartender. The attractive woman behind the bar gave him a long look. It wasn’t hostile, but it wasn’t exactly friendly, either.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “My crew should have rented a room already,” Stern said, doing his best to keep the emotions from influencing his voice. “Which room are they in?”

  “Oh,” the bartender said and her expression softened some. “Bunnicorn helmet and rabbit lykian?”

  “Trish and Cyra,” Stern agreed.

  “Top floor. They took one of the crew suites,” the bartender said, her voice starting to warm. “Sorry. They did warn me, but it’s just…” She shrugged, then looked over his shoulder. “He’s an irregular, not a blighted, so knock that off. He’s also a Walker, in case you missed seeing his badge.”

  The emotions in the room spiked, then most of them shifted or died off. Stern exhaled slowly and gave her a nod.

  “I’m Sara Chapple, owner of this establishment. You’ll see my husband in the mornings, and my kids will be handling the chores. If anyone gives you trouble in here, Walker, we’ll handle it. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Stern replied, feeling curiosity rising above everything else in the room. “Which room did they take, so I can drop all this and go bathe? We’ve been in the wilds for a couple of weeks.”

  “They arranged food to be brought up to the room for dinner. Said you’d all likely relax tonight before looking for more members.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Top floor, room C-4.”

  Stern smiled, thinking of a dadism about explosives. “Thank you.”

  Muttered conversations followed Stern, but he ignored them, just glad the feeling in the room wasn’t oppressive anymore. Goddess, why do us irregulars look like the blighted? Isn’t it bad enough that we’re not normal? To have us look like the monsters of the north, though…? It makes it so much worse. Guess I should be glad I wasn’t just killed at birth. Not that Mom or Dad would have allowed that.

  Reaching the fifth floor, he went down the hall and noted seven doors, then found the one clearly marked C-4. He tapped on it before he walked in. Much like the suite they’d shared in Darkstone, this had a central room with a comfortable sitting area and dining table. Four doors split up the sides of the room, with two on each wall.

  “Trish? Cyra?” Stern called out.

  A gentle cry of pleasure came from one of the doors on the left, and Stern smiled. Shaking his head, he took one of the rooms on the other side of the suite. Dropping off his gear, he dug out his clothes— he had to wash the set he was wearing, and he wanted clean clothing for after his bath.

  “I’ll put the rest away, afterward...” Stern muttered to himself as he summoned Pawly. “Hey, fur-face, we made it to Waterrock. The other two are in Cyra’s room. I’m on my way to the bath, but thought you might want to relax for a bit.”

  Pawly purred and twined against his legs.

  “I’ll give you some kibble. Dinner isn’t for a bit, yet,” Stern chuckled.

  Pawly huffed, then headbutted his leg.

  “Yeah, you’re still cute.” Stern dug out the container of kibble and poured some into the small, wooden bowl he used exclusively for her food. “Your food, your majesty. I’m off to bathe.”

  Pawly purred, already eating her kibble.

  Stern crossed the main room, feeling the pulses of love and lust from the closed room as he heard more cries of pleasure. He wondered if Trish would join him later after his bath. Cyra wasn’t ready yet, but maybe Trish and he could do at least as much as they had before. With a hopeful sigh, he left the room. He knew he needed to be clean before that happened.

  He’d spotted the other set of stairs on the second floor and figured those went down to the bathing rooms. When he went down, he was proven right. Four doors were marked as baths, and two had door hangers that showed them as in use. Picking one of the others, he knocked, listened, then entered.

  The room held a single tub, but it was big enough for two. The door hanger was on the inside handle, so he switched it to the outside, then shut the door and threw the latch. The tub was copper and had the runes for water, so Stern stripped down and got the tub filled with hot water.

  “Glad the baths were down a second stair,” Stern murmured. “Would have hated to go through the main room again right now.”

  He took his time, making sure he was as clean as possible and that his clothing was scrubbed, too. Once that was done, he soaked himself, letting the hot water ease his muscles, not that he needed it. They’d found that it was at daybreak when Cyra’s healing came back, so they’d taken to using her healing to ease their sore muscles before they went to bed.

  When the water finally got too cold, he got out. He cleaned up the room as much as he could, then got dressed and grabbed his drying clothes. Opening his door, he found a couple of people standing at the bottom of the stairs.

  “This one is open,” he said.

  The dwarven pair gave him a hard look, but the woman jerked when she saw his badge. “Walker?”

  “Yes,” Stern said a little stiffly.

  “But…” the man trailed off as he looked at the badge.

  “An irregular,” the woman said. “I’ve heard of them, but never thought I’d see one. Sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” Stern exhaled as their emotions relaxed. “I cleaned up as much as I could, but the staff hasn’t gone over it.”

  “Hmm... they seem busy,” the guy said. “You want to use the room, Cammie?”

  “I’d like to. Thank you…?” Cammie said questioningly, looking at Stern.

  “Stern, Pawsitively Irregular,” Stern said.

  They stared at him, then Cammie started to laugh. “Oh, goodness. At least you’re owning it.”

  “Laugh or cry,” Stern shrugged, but his lips inched upward at the corners.

  “I’m Cammie Urs, and this is my brother, Vulk Urs.”

  “A pleasure,” Vulk said, still staring at Stern with a mix of emotions.

  “Mine, too,” Stern said. “Have a good evening.”

  “Wait,” Cammie said. “The crew name and you have something in common... Is it your crew?”

  Stern blinked at her slowly. “Yes.”

  The siblings exchanged a glance. “Do you have room for more?”

  Now, Stern stared at them both for a moment. “Possibly. Our bulwark was going to look for the right people to fill the gaps tomorrow. Are you staying here?”

  “We are,” Vulk nodded.

  “I’ll let her know, if you’re interested,” Stern said, surprised at how things were going.

  “We are,” Cammie said, then elbowed her brother when he started to speak. “Aren’t we, Vulk?”

  Vulk rubbed his gut, then nodded once. “Yes.”

  Stern wasn’t sure Vulk really was, but Cammie had only curiosity and interest in her eyes. The same emotions radiating off of her, but a hint of annoyance came when she looked at her brother.

  “Tomorrow, breakfast?” Stern suggested. “Say... seven?”

  “Perfect!” Cammie said quickly. “We’ll see you in the taproom.”

  “Okay,” Stern said. “See you then.” He gave them a nod, then went up the stairs.

  Vulk’s faint voice trailed Stern, “What if he isn’t really an irregular?”

  “Idiot. If he was blighted, he wouldn’t have the badge,” Cammie sighed.

  Stern couldn’t blame Vulk— he knew a lot of people would still worry, even if they were told he wasn’t blighted. Cammie being so open and interested, then asking about the crew, had nearly broken his mind with it being so odd.

  He was lost in thought when he made it back to the suite. He stopped when he entered the main room, as Trish and Cyra were sitting on one of the sofas, chatting.

  “Good afternoon,” Stern greeted them happily.

  “Yes, it is,” Trish grinned. “Nice to see you’re all cleaned up.”

  Cyra felt a little sad, though she smiled at him. “The bath was nice.”

  “Why the sadness?” Stern asked her.

  “Because they didn’t have a room with a bed that the three of us could share,” Trish replied. “I did ask. This was the best they could do for multiple connected rooms, too. Then, I thought about us roping more people in and thought it’d be f
or the best.”

  “Probably is,” Stern agreed. He gave Cyra a soft smile. “This might not be what we’d hoped for, but it’s still okay. If we’d had a single room, I would have had trouble going to get my bath.”

  Cyra blushed. “Oh, I guess that’s true. Did you…?”

  “Heard and felt you,” Stern said, his own face heating a little, “yes, I did. And Trish had a point about when we get others. It’s good to bond with your crewmates. A shared living space will help with that.”

  “Okay,” Cyra said, but she was wistful. “I’d just hoped to slowly expand things.”

  “We still can,” Stern told her. “Let me hang my wet clothes.”

  “We’ll be right here,” Trish said as she pulled Cyra gently to her side.

  Stern didn’t dawdle, getting his clothes hung before going back to the pair on the sofa. “Oh, before I forget, we have breakfast in the taproom at seven in the morning.”

  “We do?” Trish asked.

  “I ran into a brother and sister who asked about the crew,” Stern said.

  “Really?” Cyra asked with wide eyes.

  “Yes, but we don’t know what they can do,” Stern said. “I said Trish would need to talk with them. Cammie, the sister, was curious and open. Her brother Vulk, though... he still felt a bit worried and afraid. They were dwarves, and young, like us. Their badges were filled with the lead dungeons, so they haven’t cleared a tin one, yet.”

  “Hmm... interesting,” Trish mused. “This might go a lot faster than we thought. How did all the selling go?”

  “Fine in both places,” Stern said. “Did you want your cash?”

  “Add it to the party fund for now,” Trish said. “This place is a small silver a night, with two meals per person, moderate drinks, and baths. Even if we had six people, the price wouldn’t go up.”

  “Okay. We don’t want to stay the week, then,” Stern said. “We can easily manage a couple of days, though. Kuster was happy to pay for the tails. I hope the dwarves are perked well. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “Yes, we will,” Trish murmured, then glanced at the window. “We have at least an hour before dinner arrives. Cyra, are you sure?”

  “I’d like to try.”

  Stern went still, feeling the lust from the pair, along with Cyra’s worry. “Try?”

  “I’m going to have some fun with you and, if you’re okay with it, Cyra will watch. She wants to see you, and it’ll help her know you aren’t a ravenous beast who will hurt her.”

  Stern swallowed as the idea sunk in. “Oh, uh… I mean… sure?”

  Trish giggled and Cyra blushed a deep red.

  “Okay. We’ll go slow. If needed, Cyra will leave. That also applies if you feel uncomfortable, Stern,” Trish said as she kissed Cyra’s cheek. “We understand if the idea of her watching is uncomfortable.”

  “Okay,” Stern nearly croaked. “I’ll let you know.”

  Cyra felt joy in her heart, and her worry ebbed some. If she could take this step, then maybe it wouldn’t be that long until she could do more with Stern herself.

  Chapter Six

  Taking seats at a table in the taproom, Stern motioned at the girl with a tray. “Miss?”

  She turned his way with a smile, though that faltered the moment she saw him. Swallowing her fear, she came up to their table. “How can I help you?”

  “Breakfast for the three of us,” Stern said, then looked at the women with him. “Black tea?”

  “Black tea is fine,” Trish nodded.

  “Yes, please,” Cyra added.

  “And black tea for all of us, please,” Stern told the serving girl. “Room C-4.”

  Her fear had faded, and the girl stared at him for a long moment. She jerked back a step when Pawly meowed. “A cat?”

  “My summons,” Stern said. “Pawly.”

  “A summons?” The serving girl smiled. “I wish I had a cat summons. I’ll bring your meal right out.”

  “Cute girl,” Cyra smiled. “She was nice.”

  “Fearful to start, but she got over it,” Stern said softly. “Glad it’s not busy in here.”

  “Those needing a crew are at the dungeon asking around, or in the Walkers’ hall doing the same,” Trish said. “I’d have waited a couple of hours, then started asking among those who’d failed to find a group.”

  “Hmm, a good plan,” Stern said.

  A minute later, the serving girl came back with a kettle and cups. “The tea. Breakfast will be out shortly.”

  “Excuse us,” Cammie said, coming up to the table. “Breakfast?”

  “We just ordered,” Stern told her.

  “Oh, good. May we join?” Cammie asked, looking at Cyra and Trish.

  They gave Cammie and Vulk an appraising glance before Trish nodded. “Of course. We have black tea, unless you want something else.”

  “Dark ale,” Vulk grunted, taking a seat. “Breakfast.”

  “Tea is fine, but I also need a breakfast, please.”

  “Of course,” the serving girl smiled before leaving them.

  “Trish, Cyra, these are Vulk and Cammie Urs,” Stern said, doing introductions.

  “A pleasure,” Cammie smiled, but Vulk just stared at Stern.

  “Stern said you were looking to join the crew,” Trish said. “Is that right?”

  “We’ve been asking around the last couple of days, but haven’t had anyone take us on,” Cammie said.

  “Should keep looking,” Vulk said tightly, eyes still on Stern. He grunted, clearly in pain for a moment.

  “Excuse him, please,” Cammie sighed, shifting in her seat. “One of the reasons we’ve had a hard time getting invited is because my brother doesn’t know how to be civil.”

  “Ah, and since Stern is with us, you think we might understand having someone who doesn’t get along with others,” Trish asked politely.

  Cammie’s jaw sagged a moment before she coughed. “A bit more blunt than I would have put it, but broadly. That, and I’ve heard of irregulars before. I know they aren’t blighted or cursed, no matter what some say.” Her elbow slammed into Vulk’s side just as he opened his mouth. “We’re fine with Stern.”

  “You are,” Stern said tightly. “Your brother hates me.”

  Cammie jerked and looked at Stern while Vulk nodded. “Cursed,” Vulk said before he winced again. “Stop kicking,” he complained to his sister.

  “Then stop being an ass!” Cammie snapped. “We’ve been here for days! Our money is running out, and we’ll have to do more quests before we even get a single tin dungeon done!”