Dungeon Noble - Squire

Ari was still lingering in the taproom when Jake returned, though this time, the Classer had a mug of ale in front of him and was idly chatting to a grizzled-looking older man with a number of scars and a missing left hand.

Jake cautiously approached the pair, not wanting to interrupt them, and caught Ari’s eye with a questioning gesture.

“Jake, come on over; this is Felix Drusus, an old friend of mine. Felix, this is Jake Chant, a freshly initiated Classer.” Ari introduced the two of them as Jake came over and took a seat at the table.

"Good to meet you,” Jake said, wondering how the other man had come by his scars and missing hand.

“And you, I hope that Ari is teaching you well?” Felix said crisply, each word enunciated clearly and concisely.

“They went through the Dungeon for the first time yesterday, so the true training will begin tomorrow. Jake here has bounced back from the sickness with impressive speed, though,” Ari said, taking a sip of his drink as he leaned back in his chair.

“Impressive recovery, unless you’d been in a Dungeon before?” Felix asked, turning to Jake with an interested look in his eyes.

“No, that was my first time,” Jake said, shifting in his seat under the weight of Felix’s gaze.

“Interesting,” Felix said, his gaze resting on Jake for another moment before glancing at Ari and getting to his feet. “I’ll get us some fresh drinks.”

“So, you look all but recovered now. How do you feel?”Ari asked as Felix headed over to the bar.

“Pretty much back to normal,” Jake said absently, his mind still on the revelations that Ivaldi had dropped onto him.

“Good, we can start your training today then,” Ari said with a malicious smile. “You should be rewarded for your quick recovery, after all.”

Jake was starting to feel a touch worried about what he was signing up for, but given the situation he was in, tough training was probably a good idea.

“I know that look anywhere,” Felix said, coming back to the table and nodding toward Ari. “What has he bullied you into?”

“He said we could start training today as I’m already recovered,” Jake said, hurrying to continue as he saw Felix frown and start to turn to Ari. “That’s good, though. I want more training, and I want to push myself.”

“Why?” Felix asked, his attention focusing on Jake once more.

“I want to have the power to make my own decisions, to do what I want and not be worried about other people. I want to be the one in control of my life, not other people.” Jake could see that his sincerity had gotten through to the two Classers, and Felix had a considering look on his face.

“Tell you what, I’m here for a little while to catch up with Ari, and I’ve forgotten more about training people than he’ll ever know. Impress me, and I’ll show you a few things.”

“You won’t regret this,” Jake declared firmly, which made both Ari and Felix laugh and shake their heads.

“Trust me, Jake. It’s you who’ll be regretting it when Felix is done with you,” Ari said, grinning at the older man. “Old Felix here was actually my teacher back in the day.”

“Right, we’ll start with a daily run around the Dungeon, then,” Felix said, his tone abruptly serious as he gave both of them a stern look. “Both of you will meet me here each morning at first light, revival sickness or no. Afterwards, we have a short break, then combat training for a few hours, and then you run the Dungeon. No shirking, no excuses, understood?”

“Wait, why am I getting roped into this?” Ari protested though Jake could see his shoulders slumping in defeat already.

“You’re out of practice, and going through a tier one will do nothing for you, so I’m going to put you to work.”

“Damn it,” Ari muttered, leaning back in his chair and sighing heavily. “I was looking forward to a relaxing holiday.”

“You’ll never tier up with that attitude,” Felix said with a disapproving frown.

Ari grumbled a bit more but clearly knew he was beaten and quickly changed the subject by producing a leather card holder and placing a pack of playing cards on the table.

“I’m not starting any training until we’ve checked in with the rest, so fancy a few hands?”

Felix and Jake both agreed, and Ari grinned before reaching into a pocket and drawing out a pouch of wooden tokens for them to gamble with. Jake got the sense that the other two normally gambled for at least ingar, maybe even full Wyrdgeld, but it wasn’t like Jake could participate in that.

Sipping the ale that Felix had bought him, Jake couldn’t help but find it weak and flavourless compared to the drink that Ivaldi had served him. Still, it was good enough to drink while they waited.

-**-

“Ah, the dead rise again,” Ari joked an hour or two later as Jake’s companions eventually joined them. “How are you feeling?”

“Rough,” Karl said, taking a seat at the table with a groan.

“How are you okay so quickly?” Alan asked, looking from Jake to Ari. “Is there something we can take to get better faster?”

“Nope, time, rest and good food are the best cures,” Ari said cheerfully, dropping his cards on the table and looking mournfully at his empty cup. “Some people just bounce back faster than others. Sadly for you lot, Jake’s one of them.”

“Lucky,” Rhew said, giving Jake a half-hearted glare.

“Now, all that aside, this is Felix Drusus, an old friend of mine. Felix, this is Karl Borvon, Rhew Larian and Alan Teller,” Ari said, introducing each of them in turn.

“Borvon?” Felix asked, his gaze focusing as he looked over to Karl.

“Yes,” Karl said quietly, not meeting Felix’s gaze as he looked away from them.

“Hmm, you’ll be joining Jake and starting your training from tomorrow, understood?” Felix waited until Karl reluctantly nodded before looking at Alan and Rhew. “You are welcome to come as well, and I would recommend you do so, but it is not mandatory.”

“I think I’ll give it a miss,” Rhew said, looking a little green around the edges at the thought of a morning run.

“Hold fire there for a moment,” Ari said, holding a hand up to draw attention back to him. “Before we get into who’s doing what, you all need to answer my question from yesterday. Do any of you want to swap over and learn how to be a hunter or something else?”

There was silence across the table in the wake of Ari’s question, and Jake looked over at his companions, noting the determined look on each of their faces. None of them was going to back down from this.

“Alright then, I’ll take your silence as confirmation you’re staying,” Ari said, flashing them a grin. “Feel free to change your minds and come speak to me privately, though. For now, however, rest up for the rest of the day and get ready for your next delve tomorrow. We’ll have the run with Felix in the morning and then head in an hour or two afterwards once the combat practice is over.”

Jake nodded, eager to get started with the true training for how to delve. Yesterday had been eye-opening, and he was looking forward to tomorrow.

“Alright, you lot clear off. I need to talk with Ari,” Felix said, his tone brooking no argument as he waved them on their way and moved his chair closer to Ari’s. “Oh, Jake, meet us at the southern training fields in half an hour.”

Jake nodded and slid his cards over to Ari before grabbing what was left of his drink and starting to get up.

“Oh, identify yourselves to the innkeeper and order some food. You get two meals a day on the Guild.” Ari called out as they walked away, making Karl perk up immediately.

“Jake, you were here before us. What do you know about this Felix guy?” Rhew asked as they made their way over to the innkeeper.

“He used to be Ari’s teacher, apparently, and he said he’d help train us if we could impress him,” Jake said, catching them up on what they’d missed. “He’s quite intense.”

“Huh, what about you, Karl?” Rhew asked, turning to Karl with a questioning look. “He seemed to recognise your surname from somewhere.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Karl said quietly, not looking them in the eye as he shifted uncomfortably.

“Oh, okay,” Rhew said, eyes widening as she glanced between Alan and Jake, but they knew nothing more than she did.

That wasn’t entirely true, though. Jake recognised the look on Karl’s face from the abortive conversation they’d had on the way to the Dungeon. This was definitely something to do with his parents, but that wasn’t something Jake felt comfortable sharing.

“Let’s worry about that tomorrow. It sounds like Karl and I are going to be doing the morning runs with them. I think the two of you should also come,” Jake said, turning to Alan and Rhew as he spoke.

“What, why?” Rhew asked, frowning a little at Jake’s statement.

“We need to improve, and quickly, so the best way to do it as a group is to all train together.”

“Did Ari say we were on a time limit of some sort?” Alan asked, looking a little concerned about potential time pressure.

“Not as such,” Jake said reluctantly. He didn’t want to lie to them, but he also didn’t want to tell the truth about Ivaldi’s warnings.

“I mean, I understand it for fighters like the two of you, and maybe even Alan,” Rhew said after a few moments of thought. “But I’m a pure caster. Why do I need to be able to rush around like that?”

“I don’t know, but then, we don’t really have a lot of experience down there. Why not ask Ari and see what he thinks?”

“Maybe, I’ll think about it,” Rhew said, taking a sip of her drink with a thoughtful expression.

Seeing that he’d made as much progress as he could, Jake left them to get some food and headed off to find the training grounds that Felix had mentioned.