Dungeon Noble - Squire

They quickly made their way out of the inn and across to Ivaldi’s, eager to get started now they knew more about what they were up against.

“Jake, be welcome in my domain,” Ivaldi’s voice rumbled from the dark passageway that went off deeper into the building. A moment later, the man himself appeared, stepping out from the darkness with a stool in hand to sit down at the table where he conducted his transactions. “What can I do for you?”

“We were looking to get a new batch of equipment to train with, if that’s okay?” Jake asked, hiding his relief at Ivaldi not using his full name in front of the others.

That was a conversation he didn’t need right now.

"That is not a problem. Do you wish to keep your standard loadouts, or are you looking to try something different?” Ivaldi asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table in front of him.

“What sort of options are there?” Alan asked with interest, tearing his eyes away from their surroundings.

“I have basic options for all Classes, so you may have what you wish, within reason. Most Classers dislike mixing between classes, such as a combat Classer using a wand, but it has been known. I have swords, axes, wands of different elements and more.”

Karl perked up immediately and began to discuss his options with Ivaldi, eventually settling on a longer-handled version of what he already had.

Jake was as happy with his weapons as he was going to be, so he took the same as last time. Alan, however, asked to try out a short bow in addition to his short sword.

Sensing their curiosity, Alan tapped one finger at the corner of his eye. “My Class improves my perception, so I thought a bow or something would work with that. Ari made me think of it when he talked about ways to use my Skill that aren’t in the book. I don’t think I have the strength for a longbow, though.”

“A wise decision on your part,” Ivaldi said as he produced a pack, a short sword and a short bow with a bundle of arrows and a quiver. “My advice is to always use your Traits and Skills to the utmost. Here, I can provide twenty-five arrows as standard for you.”

“Thanks, Ivaldi,” Alan said, eagerly taking the equipment and belting on the quiver before examining the short bow with a pleased expression.

“And for you, Rhew Larian?” Ivaldi said, turning to Rhew with a single raised brow.

“Would I be able to have more than one wand?” Rhew asked.

“Only one wand would be included in your equipment. I could also add a dagger or backup weapon of some sort, but another wand would be beyond that. Alternatively, you could purchase one for a single Wyrdgeld.”

“That’s okay. Maybe another time,” Rhew said, shaking her head slightly.

“Very well, here is your equipment. Can I get anything else for any of you?” Ivaldi asked as he produced a pack and the relevant equipment for Rhew.

“I think we’re good. Thanks, Ivaldi,” Jake said, adjusting his belt so that his sword hung correctly before waving goodbye to the tall merchant.

-**-

The training field looked much the same as the last time Jake was here, though there were slightly more people present throughout the different areas.

Thankfully, there was still plenty of room for them to set up and get to work.

Rhew and Alan went to a makeshift shooting range to practice their accuracy while Karl and Jake settled into a few practice spars.

Jake hadn’t thought to get practice weapons, so their spars were done at a slow pace, more as a way to work on muscle memory than anything.

“How’re you liking it?” Jake asked after their sparring came to an end.

“The longer haft gives me more reach and doesn’t make me feel so restricted. It should help with those bugs, which is good,” Karl said, hefting his hammer in one hand thoughtfully.

“Good, what about you, Alan?” Jake turned to the Scholar as the other two rejoined them.

“A work in progress, but I like the idea.”

“Alan is overly modest. He was improving steadily,” Rhew said, shaking her head at Alan, who flushed and shrugged.

Grabbing their things, the four of them headed back to the tavern to grab some food and turn in early. Jake could see the weariness in the eyes of his companions and didn’t object when they left after they’d eaten, leaving him alone at the table.

There was still daylight left, and Jake didn’t feel especially tired, so he decided to go for another run. He couldn’t settle on what else to do, so he might as well spend the time productively.

Leaving his pack in his room, Jake went through the usual stretching routine before setting off at a steady jog along the usual route.

Jake considered doing his own version of the sprints and obstacles that Felix threw their way, but he also didn’t want to tire himself out for when they had their regular run in the morning.

Sticking to just a steady jog, Jake ran the full route and arrived back at the tavern red-faced and out of breath. He didn’t feel as tired as he did after a run with Felix, so Jake did his usual walk to cool down.

Oddly, despite the workout feeling a lot less than normal, Jake found that it took him longer to catch his breath and for his legs to stop aching. He’d been running at his own pace, so maybe he’d been going faster on average despite not doing the sprints.

Jake shook his head with a frown, not happy with that particular answer but not sure what else it could be. Shrugging it off for the moment, Jake headed back inside and got into bed with a sigh of relief. Between the two runs and the training, he was tired enough to go straight to sleep.

-**-

Jake rose with the sun the next day, moving with growing familiarity to get dressed and head over to the tavern, meeting Karl on the way as he had the day before.

“I hate mornings,” Karl rumbled with an unhappy expression.

“You and me both,” Jake said with a yawn. “Did you rank up?”

“Yeah,” Karl said with a grimace that slowly morphed into a smile. “It wasn’t pleasant, but I feel better today, stronger as well.”

“Good, might be just what we need for the Dungeon,” Jake said, trying not to feel jealous of Karl ranking up before him.

The run began in the same way as before, but the improvement in Karl’s stamina was clear from the start.

“You seem marginally less incompetent this morning, Borvon. Did you rank up?” Felix asked a few minutes into the run.

“Yes, Felix, I’m now rank two,” Karl said between breaths, his face flushed and covered in sweat.

“Good, it will refine your body over time, but you still need to work hard to get the best results,” Felix said approvingly, a rare smile touching his face for a moment before he lifted his hand and pointed to the top of a nearby hill. “Run there and back, now!”

Karl and Jake wasted no time answering and instead obeyed the order, picking up the pace and racing toward the hill. It wasn’t a particularly big hill, but the extra incline made the experience particularly unpleasant.

Gritting his teeth, Jake pushed on, doing his best to keep up with Karl as Felix pushed them hard.

“Wait, what the fuck is that?” Karl asked, skidding to a halt at the top of their latest run and pointing over to the north.

Following Karl’s finger, Jake spotted a damaged section of the forest where the trees had been torn and damaged. Oddly, it looked as though a mixed group of animals had been killed.

Jake could see wolves, deer and what looked like a bear all mixed in together.

“Must be some of those hunters who are hanging around, though I expected them to be a bit cleaner about it all than this,” Jake said, eyeing the small battlefield with an appreciative eye for the amount of power it must have taken to do that much damage to the area.

“Yeah, maybe,” Karl said as they turned around and began to run back down the hill.

“Do you think that sprints are designed for you to have a chat halfway through?” Felix asked casually as they rejoined the group, the threat in his calm words sending a shiver down Jake’s spine.

Karl hurried to shake his head, eyes wide at the mere thought of punishment. “No, Felix, it’s just that we saw the remnants of a battle with a group of dead monsters, and it caught our eye.”

Felix went still, and his eyes flicked between them as his hand dropped to the hilt of his sword. “Wait here.”

Jake barely had time to process Felix’s words before the older man was gone, racing past them and up the hill they’d struggled to climb with ease. Felix barely paused at the top before racing down the other side.

They waited for a few minutes before Felix returned, and the run carried on as though nothing had happened.

Felix and Ari left as soon as the run ended, leaving Jake and Karl to make their own way back to the tavern.

Jake wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but something about all of this struck him as wrong.