Dungeon Noble - Squire

“Jake Khesh, be welcome in my domain,” Ivaldi said, his bass voice echoing out into the room a moment before he emerged from the darkened passageway at the rear of the room to take his usual seat, one hand pulling a second stool into sight from the darkness. “It is good to see you again. Join me as a guest”

“I’d be glad to,” Jake said, walking over to sit on the stool opposite the big shopkeeper. “A lot has happened since we last spoke. How much are you aware of?”

“Too much and yet far too little for my liking,” Ivaldi said, pulling out a wax-sealed container and two mugs. “I know that congratulations are in order, Knight Khesh.”

“Thank you,” Jake said, waiting for Ivaldi to pour out a measure of rich amber liquid into his mug before taking it and sipping on the deliciously warm drink. The drink that Gargan had shared with them earlier was nice, but it was a pale shadow of this.

“I’m glad that you decided to commit to your Patron. What convinced you?” Ivaldi asked as he sipped at his drink.

“I had some sort of vision where I connected to it,” Jake said, thinking back to the experience and what he’d seen. “It helped me realise that there is so much more going on than all of this. That perspective let me see that my problem wasn’t with the Patron but with the lack of choice.”

“That did seem to be the crux of what you disliked about it all,” Ivaldi said with a nod, motioning for Jake to continue.

“Yeah, and once I understood that, I was able to see things more clearly. I’ll never be happy with how I was thrown into everything with no warning, but I’ve always wanted the strength to make a difference, and this Class is my path to that.”

“The Dungeon Noble Class has one of the highest potentials for growth out of all of them; you simply need time and dedication to see it through. I believe you can see that already with the Boons you’ve accumulated.”

Jake nodded, thinking of the range of Abilities he could call on with his Boons. The Hidden Fang, in particular, had served him well, as had Moby, as much as Jake didn’t want to admit it.

“I have, and without all of them, I would have died rescuing Nepthys, and so would have my friends. Even so, we were lucky that we could fight the masked classers one at a time.”

“Masked classers?” Ivaldi echoed with a frown before raising a finger. “Wait, before we discuss that, I have this for you.”

Reaching just out of sight, Ivaldi produced a wand, one that looked almost identical to the one that Varin had made for him. “Here, Varin gave me this to pass on to you. Would you like to take it, or shall I hold onto it for you?”

“Oh, I’ll take it for now, thank you,” Jake said, taking the wand and slipping it into his pack. He’d forgotten that he’d commissioned a second wand, but this was good timing.

He was still experimenting with combining the sword and wand together, and while he didn’t really need the second one, he wanted to try and use two at once and see what that felt like.

There were no real limitations on what he could or couldn’t use in a Dungeon, just what he could get replaced if it was lost. With that in mind, Jake would prefer to have a varied arsenal rather than stick to just one thing.

“So, what was this about masked classers?” Ivaldi asked, bringing Jake back from a daydream of slaughtering rats with twin thorn wands.

“They attacked the outpost where they were holding Nepthys. Two of them had gotten into the prison and slaughtered most of the guards when we arrived. They had black and white masks, and when we first arrived, they asked us about fate or something.”

Ivaldi sat back with a concerned look, his gaze turning distant for a moment before he grimaced and he refocused on Jake. “Have you seen any sign of these classers since then?”

“No, I only saw the two of them and killed them both,” Jake said slowly, a knot of worry forming in his gut as Ivaldi’s concerned expression didn’t ease. “Why, who are they?”

“I know little, far too little, but I can tell you we have fragmentary reports of them being involved in the purge that happened when the Triarchy first arrived.”

“You mean they’re who killed my family?” Jake asked numbly, his heart skipping a beat as Ivaldi nodded.

“All I really know is that they were involved somehow and that they call themselves the Fatesworne. We believe they have a Patron of some kind who is obfuscating them, and while we have our suspicions, there is nothing we can do at this moment.”

“Fatesworne,” Jake said, tasting the word as he silently pledged to kill the next ones he came across. He might never have known his family, but these bastards were the ones that robbed him of that, and for that, they’d pay.

“You should tell Felix that they are involved; he might have come across the name himself.”

“I will,” Jake said, curious to see if the older classer had heard of them despite not recognising them. Felix was quite knowledgeable, after all. “Wait, you told me it was an unknown group when we first met. Why did you keep this from me?”

“You had yet to commit to your Patron,” Ivaldi said with a slight shrug, his dark eyes unreadable as he poured another measure for them both. “Besides, the name is all we have. I won’t share that with just anyone without cause.”

“You keep saying ‘we’. Who are you including in that?” Jake asked, but Ivaldi simply laughed and shook his head.

“There are some truths you’re not ready for, Jake,” Ivaldi said, waving aside the question. “It would be best for you to focus on the things that matter right now. Getting stronger and getting out of the Triarchy.”

Jake considered arguing for a moment, but he had a strong feeling that it would get him nowhere fast. “Yeah, you’re right. It just feels endless. I get stronger, but I’m still not strong enough to make a difference.”

“A feeling that will likely persist in one form or another up until the very end,” Ivaldi said, not unkindly. “You have made great progress, but you are still at the very start of your journey. Focus on that if you must.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jake said, knocking back his drink and starting to rise before pausing. “You mentioned Varin earlier. Is he alright?”

“He’s fine, but he’s in hiding right now. Would you like me to share your location with him?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Jake said, thinking about how useful it would be to have a crafter with them. “See if you can get an idea of how long he’ll be as well. We’re waiting for Nepthys, but it won’t be forever.”

“I will do. Check in with me in a few days, and I should have some answers for you,” Ivaldi said as he put away the empty container and mugs. “It was good to see you, Jake. If you’re willing to take some advice, I’d say that you shouldn’t attempt a full tier two Dungeon until you and Alan are halfway to the third rank and have at least one active Ability to attack with each.”

“That’s actually quite helpful, thanks,” Jake said honestly as he got up. Just having some sort of mark to measure by would be incredibly useful when they tried it.

The last thing they needed was to try and fail; their deaths would no doubt be painful. Not to mention that they’d lose their gear as well, which would be all the worse.

Actually, Jake seemed to remember something about Woven items surviving when Infused ones didn’t, but the details didn’t matter right now.

Bidding Ivaldi goodbye, Jake made his way back out to the group and gathered them together for their next delve. Alan would have the requirement for tier two from this, so then all he would need is the Wyrdgeld.

Jake didn’t know how much Alan had, but it was still early afternoon, so they had time for one more after this one and still make it back for a decent hour.

“Let’s be about it then,” Jake said, shooting the others an eager grin as they reached the steps down to the first floor of the Dungeon.

-**-

“Yes!” Alan whooped in joy about halfway through the Dungeon, his cry disturbing a raptor which had been about to pounce on them.

“Was that the last one?” Gargan asked, his wand flicking out almost lazily to send a tight spiral of flames blazing over to immolate the unfortunate monster.

“Yes, I just need a bit more Wyrdgeld, and I can finally tier up,” Alan said, his gaze focusing on them as he finished checking.

“Well, in that case,” Aspen said, hefting his spear with a malicious smile. “Let’s try a change of pace.”

-**-

In the end, they finished their third delve much faster than the second as Aspen tore through each floor, butchering the raptors with comparative ease.

If the Dungeon had been designed around larger fights they would have struggled more, but as it was, Aspen was just too quick for the raptors to properly ambush them.

The Guardian floor was the only one where Aspen even bothered to set his spear aflame, and the fight was over just as quickly as last time.

Jake and Alan split the Wyrdgeld equally once again, which Alan said left him just short of what he needed.

They were all a bit tired after three delves, but Jake kept them all on task and after a short break, they were back in for the fourth.

As soon as he entered, Jake felt his mind sharpen; no, it wasn’t that. It was more like he gained a slight clarity of purpose. It was enough to help him stay on task and keep pushing forward, so it was more than welcome.

Considering it as they paused at the end of the first floor for a drink, Jake put it down to his Lesser Delver’s Will Trait. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, as the effect was barely noticeable, but now that he was tired, it was more apparent.

Regardless, it was good to get a sense of what it did, and he knew it would come in handy for any future solo delves he wanted to do.

-**-

They finished their last delve of the day with a somewhat anti-climactic fight where Jake buried his Hidden Fang into the Enhanced Raptor’s eye, effectively injecting poison directly into its brain.

It was the first time that they’d won their fight before Gargan and Allan won theirs and was a good note to end on.

“Alright, good work today, everyone,” Jake said, feeling a little awkward but wanting to express how proud he was of their group. They were new to each other, and this Dungeon, but they’d come together and worked hard.

Aspen and Gargan both seemed to be deferring to Jake, and Alan already followed his lead, so it looked like he was going to be the leader, but that was fine by Jake.

He might not have that much experience, and things like praising everyone felt stilted and awkward, but any measure of control over his life was something he could get behind.