Wandering Dungeon

When the Garrett and the rest of the group walked out of the cave night had fallen. The light of two moons illuminated the world around them. "I never realized that there are two moons in the sky." Garrett commented. "Hey Blixie, what are they called?"

"I'm glad you asked." Blixie responded. "The large white one is called Nerallia. It is the realm of the goddess Neral, wife to the god of the oceans." Blixie then pointed to the smaller green one that looked to be about half the size of Nerallia. "And the green one is called Malicax. It was actually the largest magic academy for an ancient kingdom. Those that studied there were the best mages of the kingdom, but they started to convince people that magic had rules and reasons tied to nature. They called it 'science' or something and stopped giving the gods of magic any credit or praise. So, the gods of magic decided to scoop the academy, and part of the mountain it was on, right out of the ground and into the air, out of reach of anybody."

"That seems like a bit of an overreaction." Kyle said.

"The gods are known to have a bit of an ego. Well, most of them at least."

"Thanks, Blixie." Garrett said. "I always loved learning about myths and folktales, but I guess here myths and folklore are more along the lines of history since we already met a god." Garrett laughed. Since none of them needed to sleep Garrett suggested they just continue through the night until they get to the town where they are supposed to drop off the package. Everyone agreed and they headed off.

They didn't run into any other troubles during the night and by the time that the first rays of dawn were shining they crested a large hill and looked down on the town of Lakefall. It was about twice as large as Arenthia and was surrounded by a stone wall. "I'm guessing the town got its name from that?" Garrett asked as he pointed at a large lake the town was nestled against with what looked like a waterfall pouring into the middle of it. The group looked up to see what appeared to be a large island floating above the lake that the water flowed from.

"Yup." Blixie said cheerfully. "The island is the floating dungeon of Amu'dren. The town built up around it about two hundred years ago or so when the dungeon was still on the ground. Back then they just called it Drenton, but about a century later the dungeon evolved and acquired the ability to float and so the town changed its name to be more exciting."

"A real dungeon?" Kyle said excitedly. "Can we go? Please?" He pleaded.

"Maybe." Blixie replied. "It would be nice to show Garrett what a real dungeon should be."

"I feel a little insulted." Garrett said with a laugh.

"Sorry." Blixie apologized. "It wasn't meant to be an insult. It's just that you are so different from any dungeons I have heard about in my school. Dungeons don't usually get up and walk around, or swing swords."

Garrett laughed. "It's okay Blixie. I know I'm different from the usual dungeons that you have told me about. Let's go drop this package off at the guild office and maybe we could get more info about the dungeon there. I don't want to be walking in blind." The group agreed and continued on.

It took another couple of hours to reach the outer gates of Lakefall. The gates hung open with several guards on either side. A line of merchants and adventures leading in had already formed. The group watched as one guard would talk to the leader of the group at the front of the line as a pair of guards would inspect any wagons or carts. The line moved fairly quickly, and Garrett and the others only had to wait about twenty minutes before the guard approached them.

"What is your business in Lakefall today?" He asked in a bored tone.

"We are on a quest to deliver a package to the guild office here." Garrett stated excitedly and showed the guard his guild card.

"If you or anyone in your party needs any healing there is a temple just down to the right." The guards' nose wrinkled as he took a step closer to Garrett to check the card. "There is also a public bath right before it." The guard then waved them through the gates.

"That last comment seemed a little unnecessary." Garrett said once they were past the gates.

Blixie flew up to Garrett and sniffed. "Ugh. You are starting to stink." Blixie said as she quickly backed up. "Might be time to get a fresh puppet."

"Maybe, but where?" Garrett responded as he focused on his Air Shaping skill to try and bolster it to further contain the smell.

"Maybe after completing the quest, we could look at the armor shop to see if they have any cheap suits of full armor like you talked about." Blixie said as she casually floated beside him.

"That is a great idea Blixie. Let's find the guild quickly and turn in this quest." Garrett said excitedly. The group headed down the main road that the other merchants and bodyguards were walking along. Shops lined the road, some selling travel goods such as ropes and bags, others selling foods that would travel well. Within a few minutes they found the temple the guard told them about. It was the only stone building around with various symbols depicting the different gods of this world. "Is it common for a temple to cater to multiple gods Blixie?"

"In the smaller towns like Lakefall it is," Blixie replied. "But usually there are separate temples for each god."

"Good to know. We will have to see if we can find one dedicated to George in a larger town." Garrett commented. "Now we just have to find the guild office." Garrett looked around hoping to maybe find someone that looked like an adventurer, but he spotted a green tentacle wave in his view. He looked down at Kyle and saw him point across the road.

He saw the Stylized 'A' of the Adventurers Guild above a door on a building that looked like it was shoved between two shops. It was just wide enough to have a door. Garrett looked at Kyle. "Thanks. Are all the guild branches going to be like this?" He sighed.

"I couldn't tell you Garrett." Blixie responded. "I haven't gotten to see much of the world outside of the school before being assigned to your dungeon."

Garrett looked at Blixie confused before he just burst into laughter. "Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. There is a kind of custom in the stories of our world about buildings, or the people working in them, looking the exact same. So, I don't know why I didn't expect that here."

When the group entered the guild office Garrett half expected another Grandma Jenny to be sitting on a stool behind the counter. Instead, there was a large, green-skinned man whose shoulders almost brushed against the walls as he stood there. He had short black hair, a small scar across his forehead, and two small tusks sticking up from his lower lip. "Welcome to the adventurers guild. What can I do for you sir?" He said in a surprisingly refined voice.

"Um, I'm here to drop off a package for a quest." Garrett said as he pulled out the small box from behind him and placed it on the counter.

The large man inspected the box and gave a small smirk. "Do you have your guild card?" Garrett pulled out his card and handed it over to him. He took the card and placed it inside a small slot in a crystal ball that he had pulled out from under the counter. a small blue screen popped up above the crystal.

Name Garrett

Rank F

Active Quests None

"Looks like Old Jenny is up to her tricks again." The large green man said with a chuckle. Garrett looked at him confused. "Oh, pardon. I haven't even introduced myself. I am Gelbore." He said with a slight bow. "People just call me Gel."

"Nice to meet you Gel. I'm Garrett. My pixie companion here is named Blixie, and this is my pet slime, Squishy." Garrett replied with a small flourish. "What did you mean about Old Jenny up to her tricks?"

"Go ahead and open it to see for yourself." Gelbore motioned to the box. Garrett peeled off the paper sealing the box and lifted the top to reveal an assortment of bread, cheeses, and dried meats, along with a fruit pie. "Grandma Jenny likes to help out new recruits, so she sends them out on an unofficial quest to deliver a box, but since there is no actual quest there are two choices. Either return the box to her or keep the box for yourself. Most just keep it."

"Why wouldn't she just tell me it was to help me out?"

"What did you do when she offered you some silver?" Gel said with a smirk.

"I tried to turn her down and return it."

"Exactly. Most new guild recruits are out to prove themselves and would turn down the offer of help. So, by the time they find out about Jenny's little trick they are too far away to turn her down."

"I see. Well, I will have to thank her if I ever see her again. Do you have any official quests I can take? Maybe for something inside the Dungeon?" Garrett asked hopefully.

"Whoa. Slow down son. Only adventurers of 'C' rank and above are allowed to go into the dungeon. I do have a quest to go hunt some horned rabbits in the forest out east though that I think would work for you. Otherwise, there are a few quests inside the town that could be done, like finding and returning Ms. Abertas' cat."

"I'll take the quest for rabbits." Garrett replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry son. Just keep working on the smaller quests and building your skills and you will be up to rank 'C' in no time." Gelbore said as he pulled a small slip of paper from under the counter and pushed it into the blue screen that still hovered over the crystal. He pulled out Garret's card and handed it back. "There you go. Your first official quest. Just kill ten horned rabbits. The magic in your guild card will absorb a trace amount of the rabbit's mana and record the number of kills for you so you don't have to worry about bringing any proof back with you."

"Great. Do you have any suggestions for a good inn to stay at while we are here?"

"Of course. I would recommend the Plucked Hen. It's not the fanciest but they do serve the best mead marinated chicken in town. Just take a left out of the office and head down a few streets, turn left at Franks Fineries and go down until you see it on the right."

"Thanks Gel. I guess we will be heading out." The group left the shop and headed out to explore the town with a little less enthusiasm at knowing they wouldn't get to go inside the dungeon.