Dungeon Noble - Squire

The following day, they all met outside the inn early in the morning, ready for a run. The difference this time, though, was that Rhew had finally decided to start coming with them.

Rhew had held out on the idea of additional physical training for a while, but when she realised that she was the only one not doing it, she caved and joined in.

They’d had a relaxing evening of light-hearted games the night before, and it felt right that they were then all going on this run together after that.

Thankfully, Felix and Ari had joined them on the run as well, which meant that whatever Skill or Trait Felix had went to work as soon as they stopped. It felt almost like cheating to recover so fast from exerting themselves, but Jake wasn’t exactly going to argue.

To save on travel times and on converting rewards into raw Wyrdgeld, they decided to delve a single Dungeon twice instead of doing both of them once.

There wasn’t too much of a difference between the two Dungeons, but the convenience of the rewards being mostly Wyrdgeld in the undead Dungeon and the ease with which they could take down the zombies sealed the deal.

Splitting the reward between them netted just short of seventy Wyrdgeld per person, bringing Jake to just thirty Wyrdgeld from what he needed to rank up.

Today was also a full month since their Ascension, which seemed surreal to Jake. So much had happened in the last few weeks. He’d learned much about his Class and how the world really worked.

His thoughts on his Class had changed quite a bit as well.

At first, it had felt like one more way for something else or someone else to take control of his life, to take away what few choices he had left. It had felt like he’d escaped a slow death in the city just to find a quick death at the hands of the Triarchy.

Now, though, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was the way to find out more about his family. They’d all been Dungeon Nobles, and while he could never meet them, he could at least carry on their legacy.

Jake shook his head at his own thoughts. He’d never even known his parents, and he was already willing to base his whole life on what they would have wanted for him.

“Jake, are you alright?” Alan asked with a concerned expression. “Do you need a moment to rest?”

“I’m fine, Alan. Thanks, though, I appreciate it,” Jake said softly, managing a smile for the Scholar as he fought to get his emotions back under control.

Alan clearly didn’t believe him, but neither did he push it. Instead, he gave Jake the space he needed to work things through.

Try as he might, Jake couldn’t quite shake the mood that had overtaken him as they made their way back through the town.

It was only when Jake was sitting at a table with his friends and a hot drink in hand that he began to feel a bit more like himself.

After a hard morning of zombie killing, this was just what he needed.

-**-

By unspoken agreement, they all went their separate ways after lunch. Rhew and Alan both had a brief conversation with Felix about how to train toward a Skill they were interested in before heading off with determined expressions.

While they were talking with Felix, Nepthys had set out on a patrol with Ari around the town, which would no doubt take all afternoon.

“What about you, Karl?” Jake asked, looking over with a raised brow. “Any plans for this afternoon?”

“I’m going to get some training done, I think,” Karl said, finishing his drink before getting to his feet. “I want to push myself. I keep thinking about that fight with those snakes and how long it would take to get through the floor. I’m our frontline; I need to be able to keep going for as long as we need.”

Jake nodded, remembering the dozens of monsters that had poured out of the pools. Karl definitely had a point, and Jake was tempted to ask to go with him, but his priority was finding Varin.

Jake had spoken with Nepthys about how she felt toward her Class, but he wanted to get Varin’s opinion as well.

“Yeah, I’ll probably join you next time. We all need a bit more of a workout,” Jake said as he got up as well, and the two of them headed out of the inn.

“Will do. See you later, Jake,” Karl called over as he started off toward one of the gates.

Jake gave a casual wave as he went his own way, doing his best to follow Ivaldi’s directions to where Varin was staying.

The inn wasn’t that difficult to find and was relatively close to the Rusty Duck, where Jake and the others were staying, so he found himself outside it just a few minutes later.

Unlike the Rusty Duck, this place had quite a few classers present, with a few small knots of armed people seated in the common room.

Jake drew some attention as he entered, but it quickly faded as he moved over to the bar and asked about Varin.

The innkeeper gave Jake a surprised look before directing him to a small annexe behind the inn, saying that Varin had hired it out while he was in town.

Jake thanked the innkeeper and headed out to the back of the building, where he found a small loading area and what looked like an old converted stable.

“Varin?” Jake called out, knocking lightly on the large doors of the annexe.

A few beats of silence passed before the door creaked open, revealing a somewhat surprised-looking Varin. “Jake, it’s good to see you, but how did you find me?”

“Ivaldi told me where you were staying,” Jake said with a slight shrug, peering past the gaunt Classer into the interior of the small building.

Any doubt that this was a converted stable vanished as Jake saw that parts of the stalls were still in place, though Varin seemed to be using them to segregate the space.

“I see. Well, what can I help you with?” Varin asked, cocking his head to one side slightly. “Your second wand isn’t quite ready yet.”

“That’s fine. I actually wanted to talk to you about your Class,” Jake said before glancing around and shaking his head slightly. “Is there somewhere more private we can talk?”

“My Class?” Varin echoed thoughtfully before nodding. “I know just the place. Come with me.”

To Jake’s surprise, Varin simply shut the door behind him and set off, seemingly unconcerned with anything he might be leaving behind.

The tall crafter said little as he led Jake down the side alleys of Casthorpe, but it didn’t take long for Jake to figure out where they were heading. There was only one landmark in this direction, the fire Dungeon.

“Why here?” Jake asked as they reached the Dungeon.

“I find it relaxing, and I like to study the designs,” Varin said with a slight shrug as he walked over to one of the benches near the Dungeon and took a seat. “Besides, most delves are in the morning, so there won’t be many people around.”

“True enough,” Jake said, looking around at the mostly empty area. There were a few other people scattered around, but they were keeping to themselves for the most part. “So, what do you mean about studying designs? What are you looking at?”

“The Dungeon and Ivaldi’s store, of course,” Varin said, giving Jake a confused look before motioning to the Dungeon’s entrance. “It fades away from our perception quickly, but if you focus, you can feel it again.”

Jake hesitated a moment before shrugging and doing as Varin asked, looking over to the Dungeon entrance. Like the others he’d seen, it was a stone entryway built into a hillock of stone and earth that stood around fifteen feet tall and had thick, imposing stone doors.

Jake found himself frowning as he remembered the first time he saw the Dungeon. What he was seeing now didn’t line up with the feeling he’d gotten back then.

As though that doubt was all that was needed, Jake found himself tracing the outline of the countless intricate designs etched onto the stone. Each looping design seemed more and more detailed the longer Jake looked at them. Even the shapes that formed them were different with each blink.

The longer he stared, the more Jake felt his mind strain to comprehend what he was looking at. A dull ache began to build behind his eyes, throbbing in time with his heartbeat.

The runes at the top of the door were filled with meaning, but it was just out of his reach. Straining to understand them, Jake could almost feel the shape of the words on the tip of his tongue as the throbbing behind his eyes intensified.

Biting down on that shape somehow, Jake found the words slipping from his mouth. “Lognir Infernis.”

As abruptly as he was caught up in it all, Jake tore his gaze away from the entrance, swaying in place slightly as he clutched his head and endured the pounding headache that had built.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to read it,” Varin said with a mixture of surprise and respect. “I can feel that there are words in there, but not what they are.”

“Lucky you,” Jake said, groaning a little as he rubbed at his temples. The headache was already starting to fade, which was something at least. “What do they even mean?”

“I have no idea,” Varin said cheerfully, his broad smile looking almost odd on his sallow features.

“Great, all that for something I don’t even understand,” Jake said, sighing a little as he worked his fingers into the bridge of his nose.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Varin said with a slight shrug before turning back to the Dungeon. “There is beauty in it, for all that it hurts me to look for too long.”

“Should you really be doing that?” Jake asked, carefully not looking in that direction.

“Probably not.” Varin shrugged and turned back to Jake. “Enough of that, though, you wanted to talk about my Class?”