Chapter Two Hundred and Ten - Read The Mood

The entrance to the Insmouth Dungeon that Howard brought us to wasn’t quite what I expected. It was, as he had said, in a graveyard, but one unlike any I had ever seen.

The grounds around the dungeon proper were filled with little statues, each one atop a plinth. The plinths had glass on four sides, with brass rods on the corners holding up a block of square stone.

In most of the glass boxes was an object. A knife, a reel from a fishing rod, a small toy. Sometimes it was a key, or a mug like those at the inn, or even a tiny carved boat. The older plinths had baubles that were so aged and rusted that it was hard to guess what they had once been.

The plinths were usually grouped together, some linked by iron bars, others just tightly packed.

The statues above were mostly of fish, which was interesting, but I couldn’t help but stare at all the little knickknacks inside.

“What are those things?” I asked.

Howard turned his big fishy eyes my way, and replied with quiet reverence. “When one of ours passes, we bury them here, in their best clothes and wrapped in netting cloth so that their bones and flesh might better return to dirt. And to remember them, we take a little keepsake of theirs, something they cherished, and put it in a plinth. Once there was a plinth per family, but now our little community has grown close enough that it’s a wonder if half the village isn’t the other half’s third cousin.”

“Oh,” I said. It was... actually a really nice way to remember people.

We all remained silent as Howard opened a gate in the fence that circled around the cemetery, then stood aside to let us in.

“Don’t worry everyone! I am here! There is no need to fear any sort of ghost or ghoul!”

I sighed as Emmanuel’s voice rang out across the cemetery. It was like a spell being lifted, and suddenly the solemnity that came with being in such a place was entirely gone.

“Did no one ever teach you to read the mood?” Amaryllis sniped.

“Of course! The Von Chadsbourne family is quite well off. I have been blessed with a wonderful education,” our new cervid... friend said.

I eyed him for a moment, then snapped my attention back to the little shack in the middle of the graveyard. It was a simple little building, made of stone just like the plinths and rising to be just a bit shorter than I was. That is, if you counted my ears in my height.

“It’s okay, Amaryllis,” I said as I turned towards Emmanuel. “I think this is where we’ll be parting ways. It was nice meeting you, and I’d love to be friends one day, really, but we need to jump in the dungeon and fix it up as quick as we can.”

I felt my Friendmaking skill activating, and eagerly read what it revealed.

Emmanuel Aldelain Von Chadsbourne

Desired Quality: Someone who admires his valour and chivalry

Dream: To be a hero of legends

That... was kind of sad, actually. It looked like Emmanuel wanted admirers more than he wanted friends. But wanting to be a hero was pretty cool.

“Pardon?” Emmanuel asked. He chuckled. “No worries, I won’t let you slow me down once we’re in the dungeon.”

“Huh?”

I heard Amaryllis’ talons smacking her in the face. “He’s an idiot.”

“Dear young miss, I am no such thing. I am merely expressing my concern for your well-being. Accompanied as you are by two men, it doesn’t mean that there’s no danger to be had within a dungeon,” Emmanuel said.

I blinked. “Wait, is that just... casual misogyny? But like, really, really obvious?”

“I suspect anything more subtle than a sledge-hammer to the head is beyond him,” Amaryllis said.

“Hmph,” Emmanuel said. “I can tell when I am being insulted. Very well, it is somewhat understandable. Perhaps you are acting on prejudice, perhaps you merely doubt my abilities.”

The cervid pranced past us on his way to the mausoleum in the grave’s centre.

“In that case, I shall prove my ability!”

“Uh,” I said. “We... should probably go after him?”

By the time we started to move, the cervid had torn the door to the mausoleum open and was stomping on in.

“Hey! Wait!” I called after him.

Our whole group, Howard included, squeezed through the doorway into what looked like a rather tiny building on the outside, but the moment we were within, we were all able to stand up straight. The ceiling was even arched enough in the middle that my ears didn’t rub against it.

You are Entering the Depths of Insmouth

Dungeon Level 8-10

Your entire party has entered the Dungeon

Seal Dungeon until exit?

Amaryllis grumbled something. “I’m going to create an instance for us. Including that moron out ahead. We don’t want any more people interfering if we can avoid it.”

“You’re including him?” I asked.

“You’d whine if we didn’t save his foolish behind,” Amaryllis said.

“Folk in town ought to know better than to come in here without me or one of the others used to running the dungeon,” Howard said. “And the other divers know that we’re moving in as a group today, they’ll keep an eye on things.”

“That’s wonderful, thanks,” I said to Howard. I hadn’t really considered all of that. What if a child chose to sneak into the dungeon today and we ended up breaking the core later? That would be... really awful.

I took a moment to gather myself and make sure everything was as ready as it could be. We had packed light. I had a sling bag over one shoulder--courtesy of Amaryllis who was very good at adventure-chique--and within that I had some necessities for a nice adventure.

1 - Pack of hardtack

1 - Can of beans

1 - Knife and other utensils

1 - Kettle

1 - Blanket

1 - Bandages and a small first-aid kit

1 - Book about plants

And out of the bag I had more things. A couple of health potions, a stamina potion and a mana potion. A nice knife for chopping things, and of course my warspade and trusty turtle-shell hat. My gambeson and armoured skirt were all nice and clean, and I’d even used some extra Cleaning magic on my breastplate and armoured bits.

My friends were equally well-prepared. Awen in her big blue coat over some respectable adventuring gear, her big repeating crossbow slung over her back and her hammer being fiddled with in hand.

Bastion had his whole paladin set-up, with light armour and his fancy sword by his hip. He definitely looked like the tankiest of us all.

Then there was Amaryllis in her leather coat and her strange harpy pants. She only had her strange wand-knife on her and her magic goggles around her neck.

I was a little concerned about my friends’ lack of armour. Amaryllis and Awen both preferred fighting from afar, when they had to fight at all, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t afford to wear a bit more.

Probably a concern for later though. I could picture Awen doing all sorts of neat things with her Mechanics and Glass Cannon class. Maybe a teeny tiny mecha suit? No, that was just silly. Cool, but silly. Amaryllis could definitely use more armour though. She was a bird-person, and birds had lots of fragile little bones.

I set that aside.

“Okay. Our first goal is to find Emmanuel. He can’t have gone far. Then we suggest that he leaves. After that, it’s down to the fourth floor as quickly as we can. We need to clear out any Evil Roots that are mucking about around the core,” I said.

“Sounds good to me,” Amaryllis said. “I wouldn’t mind being the one to drag that cervid idiot out of here. I need to practice my Puppeteering some more, and his unusual body shape would certainly give me plenty of experience.”

“Just don’t hurt him,” I said. “He seems to mean well.”

The opening corridor of the dungeon had bricks along the walls and ceiling, there were even a couple of lit sconces on the walls but only for a few paces. After that, they gave way to rocky walls and a floor glistening with moisture. The air smelled a bit like fresh mud and rotting seaweed, and it was surprisingly loud. Lots of pitter-pattering drops of water and the gurgle of what sounded like a stream. The sound echoes a little, making it sound as if the tunnel went on forever.

We turned a slight corner and the light dimmed a bit. Moss on the sides seemed to glow very faintly, so faintly that I wasn’t entirely sure that they did glow. There were also lots of fireflies buzzing around, casting globes of yellowish light.

And, right there ahead of us, was Emmanuel. The cervid had stopped for a moment, and was fixing a glowing lantern to a hook on the side of his saddle. Was it a saddle? Saddles were for riding, and his armour didn’t look like it would be comfortable to sit on.

“Emmanuel!” I called out.

“Ah, you’ve decided to join me after all,” he said. “Fear not, I was just about to enter this here grotto. I suspect that it’s the first floor. Or, perhaps, a shortcut!”

The cervid pointed to a thin crack in the wall, one that looked like it was just barely wider than my shoulders in its middle.

“That is the first floor,” Howard said. He gestured past the cervid. “If you continue down that way, you can skip it entirely, but it’s mighty treacherous.”

“Ah, a bit of treachery never scared me!” Emmanuel said.

“No,” I replied. “We, and by we I mean my friends and I, are taking the safer route. We might want to finish this quickly, but we also mean to finish it safely. But you, mister Emmanuel, I think that you ought to return to the surface now.”

The cervid blinked at me. “Forgive me, but are you suggesting that I leave you alone down here?”

“She’s not so much suggesting it, as she is ordering you to leave,” Amaryllis said. “Please, do refuse. I would find it a lot more amusing to kick you out.”

“Amaryllis, there’s no need to be rude.”

“I’m aware that I don’t need to be rude, I’m doing it purely for my own entertainment.”

“Amaryllis,” I chided. With a sigh, I turned back to Emmanuel and tried to think of what to say. I really didn’t want him to get into trouble because of us, and I was a little afraid that he might get in the way. At the same time, he did seem prepared. He had his little lamp, and a decent amount of weapons and good armour. His level was high enough that I imagined he’s been on a couple of adventures too. “Okay, hear me out,” I said.

“Oh no,” Amaryllis muttered. Awen patted her on the back.

“Mister Emmanuel,” I began.

“Emmanuel Aldelain Von Chadsbourne,” Emmanuel corrected gently.

“Uh, sure,” I said. “Here’s the deal. We’re not really allowed to tell you to leave.” I shot Amaryllis a look before she said something rude again. “It’s not our dungeon. But, this is our party. So if you want to accompany us, then you need to follow our rules.”

The cervid hesitated, then nodded. “I can accept that. What are your rules?”

“Uh,” I said. Did... we have rules? “Mostly it’s unwritten... unspoken common-sense sort of stuff. We watch out for each other, we listen to those that know best about something, and we do our best to make sure that all of our friends have a good, safe time, no matter how dangerous the stuff we might be dealing with is.”

“I suppose I can abide by that, though those rules are a little loose.”

“Well, loose rules are good, right?” I asked. “Strict isn’t any fun.”

Emmanuel gestured to the crevice in the wall. “Then shall we continue here, or will we be taking the more expedient route?”

***