Dungeon Noble - Squire

Curious, Jake stepped inside the building and eyed the interior with interest. They were all standing in the centre of a large room lined with all kinds of mundane and magical equipment, from potions and wands to swords and suits of armour.

On the opposite side to where they entered was an exit leading into a dark-shrouded hallway. A waist-high table blocked off the entrance to the hallway.

Strangely, the table sat snugly between the racks of items to either side, leaving nowhere for someone to try and pass by. Exactly how any of this worked, Jake wasn’t sure.

“Ivaldi, good to see you,” Ari called out casually as a man stepped out from the darkness of the far hallway.

Ivaldi was huge, easily seven feet tall, with broad shoulders and arms the size of Karl’s thighs. The man’s sheer presence as he stepped into the room made Jake freeze in place, eyes wide as he stared.

Ivaldi wore an outfit of a grey material that clung to him like a second skin without restricting his movement. The top left Ivaldi’s arms bare, revealing dozens of burn scars covering his flesh.

“Ari Derth,” Ivaldi said, his deep voice reverberating in Jake’s bones as he pulled a metallic chair out of the darkness behind him and seated himself behind the table. “Be welcome in my domain.”

Even sitting down, Ivaldi dominated the darkness-filled exit to the room and seemed to loom over them despite being seated on the other side of the room.

Glancing over to his companions to see how they were doing, Jake watched with disbelief as they seemed to browse the shop's wares, seemingly oblivious to Ivaldi’s domineering presence.

“Good to be here,” Ari said, idly flicking a helmet on display as he gestured to Jake and the others. “Got some new kids for you.”

“A new year, a new generation,” Ivaldi said, his gravelly voice thoughtful as he looked each of them up and down.

“Indeed, I’ve come to honour the bargain the Guild made with you at its founding,” Ari said respectfully.

“And I shall honour my part with you,” Ivaldi said as he reached down to one side and began to pull out items that he laid out on the table in four groupings.

Each pile gained two vials of reddish liquid, an oddly shaped belt, a satchel and a second weapon of the type they already carried. Two of the piles also gained a shield, at least one of which was for Karl, given the hammer it was paired with.

“Now, pay attention, you four,” Ari said as he walked over to Ivaldi. “This is the basic equipment that you can requisition from Ivaldi as needed, but don’t take the piss. This will be available to you for as long as you are at tier one. Understood?”

“What’s in those vials?” Rhew asked, peering at the vials on the table with interest.

“Minor Healing, enough to stop some bleeding,” Ivaldi said succinctly, tapping the top of a vial with one giant finger.

“So, these packs are only available to Guild members, but there are general options for the shop as well. Karl, explain how Dungeons work for me.” Ari pointed at Karl with one hand, and Jake suppressed a laugh at the panicked expression on Karl’s face.

“Erm, we go in, fight monsters and earn Wyrdgeld?” Karl said, making his words more of a question than anything.

“And when you die?” Ari asked, arching one eyebrow at Karl.

“You come back?” Karl said, reaching up to rub the back of his head.

“Anyone else?” Ari sighed, rubbing his face before looking at the rest of them.

“If you die with your soul intact, you are reborn at the start of the Dungeon, but your physicality is sapped, and you are weakened. However, if your soul is compromised, you can still die permanently.” Alan spoke up, Ari nodding along as the Scholar spoke.

“Good, now, I won’t hold your lack of knowledge against you, but you need to learn as much as you can. Your first lesson with that in mind is that if you die in there, you are brought back with nothing. Your companions will carry your loot out for you if you're lucky. If not, then you’re left with nothing.” Ari explained bitterly, grimacing in a way that spoke of past frustration.

“Which is where I come in. You may store Wyrdgeld or items here for a fee. Other places offer a similar service, but they are not the same. I will store Wyrdgeld for you at the cost of ten percent of your deposit and keep it for as long as you like. Items may be stored at one Wyrdgeld each, or five for a satchel or container that can be carried.” Ivaldi’s words seemed to echo within the building, setting up an odd reverberation that emphasised what he was saying.

“And that’s the introduction to Ivaldi. Any questions?” Ari asked with a clap of his hands, waiting a few seconds before nodding and pointing to the packs on the table. “Everyone grab a pack, introduce yourself and meet me outside. Time for your first run.” Ari stepped out the door as the four of them clustered in to gather their packs from Ivaldi.

Anxious energy filled Jake as he waited his turn, his mind drifting to the upcoming venture into the Dungeon. This was it. This was his first real step on the path to glory. Absently, he heard the other three giving their names to Ivaldi as they took their packs and hurried out of the shop, leaving Jake alone with the imposing man.

“What is your name?” Ivaldi asked, beckoning Jake closer as he picked up the satchel and held it out for Jake to grab.

“Jake, I’m from Port Emerald,” Jake said, licking his dry lips as he took the satchel. Ivaldi’s dark eyes bore down on Jake as he slowly nodded.

“Very well, Jake Khesh. Come see me after you return from the Dungeon; we have much to talk about,” Ivaldi said, rising from his seat and grabbing it in one hand as he walked back into the darkness behind the table.

Jake nodded mechanically and moved swiftly for the glass door, pushing it open and stepping outside to rejoin his companions.

There was something disconcerting about Ivaldi, but Jake had felt no menace from him; it was more like the instinctual awareness that he was in the presence of someone far more powerful.

It hadn’t escaped his notice that the big man knew Jake’s surname without being told, a surname that Jake had learned had some weight to it when he received his Class.

As eager as Jake was for the Dungeon, he was just as interested in what Ivaldi might say when he returned.

-**-

“Right, okay. Any last questions before I throw you all in there?” Ari asked as he gathered the four of them outside of Ivaldi’s.

“How far do we go?” Karl asked, taking the words right out of Jake’s mouth.

“That’s easy. I expect you to carry on until you either finish the whole Dungeon or die trying,” Ari said with a slightly menacing smile. “You won’t finish it this time unless you’re a god reborn among us, so get it into your heads that you’re going to die down there.”

“Shouldn’t we only go a little bit in and practice first?” Jake asked, not entirely comfortable with going to his death, even if he knew he’d come back.

“Once you’re inside, the only way back is going through,” Ari said with a shake of his head. “There are exits at every new tier, which is no more than five floors. However, this is a tier one Dungeon, so it only has five floors.”

“We’ll do our best,” Alan said, a determined look on his face as he gave a firm nod.

“Look, I know this is scary for you,” Ari said, his voice oddly gentle as he gestured to the Dungeon. “It’s going to be dangerous in there, and even in a tier one, there’s a chance you’ll die for real, but you won’t be going that far today, so just give it your best, alright?”

“Yes, Ari,” Jake chorused with the others, his heart pounding in nervous anticipation as his eyes drifted to the towering stone entrance of the Dungeon.

Intellectually, Jake had known he would likely die in the Dungeon, but being told that he either had to defeat it as a rank one Classer or die trying made Jake sick to his stomach. He knew he wouldn’t die permanently, but it was still scary.

“Good, now drop everything but what Ivaldi gave you. No sense in wasting anything you want to keep. The Dungeon will eat anything you leave behind.” Ari instructed, the gentle tone gone once more as he motioned for them to drop off their bedrolls and packs at his feet.

Jake felt oddly reluctant to relinquish his precious few belongings, but he did so anyway, stacking them next to the others as Ari produced a small pouch and told them to hand over the Wyrdgeld they’d received.

On the one hand, it physically hurt Jake to conjure the two coins and pass them over, along with his handful of ingar, but he knew losing them to the Dungeon would be worse.

“Good,” Ari said as they finished handing over their belongings and money. “Now, I know this has been a lot to take in, and you’re still adjusting, but this is the best time to do your first Dungeon run. Guild policy means all that I can tell you is that it’s a tier one Dungeon, so five floors or less, and it focuses on beasts and insects. Now get in there, and don’t die too soon!”