“Borgar, give me your helmet!” Ikarius hissed urgently.

“My helmet? What for?” Borgar asked, confused, and handed over his skull-cap. “Are you going to start wea-… oh no, you won’t!”

Borgar’s face turned red in outrage when he noticed that Ikarius used the helmet to cover himself where it was needed the most.

“What the heck happened?” Gamul asked, mostly ignoring the embarrassing interplay. He looked around the marketplace and took in the crowd that stood there gawking at them.

“Didn’t we just fight some kobolds? I remember bashi-… by Gallamutra’s tits, where is my hammer?”

“Who cares about your hammer, Gamul, I am freaking naked!” Ikarius whispered in a heated voice. His usually pale skin was uncharacteristically red.

“Well, what you do is your decision,” Gamul whispered back harshly, “but my Minnie and I have a history!”

“Really? What kind of history?” Borgar asked, smirking. “Do tell us more about that. So that is why you rejected that comely Dwarven girl in the Tavern two nights ago… you already had a date with Minnie!”

“What?” Gamul hollered. “That comely girl you are talking about was twice my age!”

“So you like them young?” Borgar asked innocently.

“You… I… why...?” Gamul stuttered, outraged.

“Guys, shouldn’t we, you know, like… go somewhere?” Catlyn said urgently.

“That is a great idea, actually,” Ikarius agreed. “I am all for it. Like right now! Uhm, does anyone even know where we are?”

“I have been here before,” Borgar responded after looking around for a moment. “This is one of the marketplaces in Gyssal. How did we g-”

Catlyn cut him off. “Not now, Borgar, I will explain once we are alone. Let’s get going.”

“Not so fast, young lady!” A voice commanded. A strapping young man in the uniform of the city guard approached them in clipped and precise steps. “First, you need to answer a few questions!”

Catlyn blinked at him a few times and smiled prettily. “Aww, officer, is that really necessary?”

The guard looked at Catlyn with a stony expression. “Indeed!”

Gamul stepped forward and pushed Catlyn slightly to the side. “We will be happy to answer any questions you may have, but we would appreciate if we could get to it quickly. We had an exhausting couple of days.”

The guard looked dubiously at the lack of weapons and the state of undress of Ikarius. “Hmpf, I see.”

After a moment, he continued. “Well, so, how did you enter the city? I was told that you appeared out of nowhere…”

By then, Ikarius had regained his composure and took it on him to respond. “That is correct. We teleported.”

“Teleported? To a marketplace in Gyssal?” The guard asked incredulously. “Why would you go here? Isn’t the mage guild the place to teleport to? And why are you naked?”

“Well, so,” Ikarius drew a face when he realized that he had to offer a few more details. “You know that there is the old Gistan Academy underneath the city, right?”

“The what?”

“The Gistan Academy.”

“I heard you, I just never heard of it,” the young man said in an annoyed tone.

“Well, anyway, it is not that relevant,” Ikarius said calmly. “The important part is that it is classified as a dungeon, beginner level, even though few know about it. And w-”

“Beginner level! Hah, that is such a sick joke, right guys?” Borgar guffawed. “We faced at least six monsters of level twenty or higher, an-“

“Shhhh, Borgar, shut up!” Ikarius hissed.

But it was too late. At first, the skeleton had kept the people in the marketplace further away, equal parts fear and disgust of the vile creature, but curiosity had gotten the better of them – the skeleton was just standing there, after all, unmoving, apart from the head that was swiveling around at every tiny noise. A few, more adventurous souls had gotten close enough during the brief interrogation to be able to hear the responses of the weird group that had appeared out of thin air at one of the busier marketplaces in town.

With great excitement, they relayed what Borgar had said, causing a murmur to go through the crowd. Immediately, a few people started running away, while others began to snatch the price tags, if they had any, from their wares.

“That, uh, is… I have to,… I need to report this,” the young guardsman stated, clearly flustered. “You…, stay here, and… wait for me, yes, wait here!”

“You seriously expect us to sit around here and wait until you return? We did not do anything wrong,” Ikarius protested. “Or did we break any law?”

“So, technically, I mean,… fine, I… just go ahead and,… don’t stir up any trouble, yes. That. And unsummon that skeleton there. We don’t allow the undead in town. That is a violation of the city code.”

The guard shouted the last words over his shoulder while rushing away in a much less dignified way than he had come.

Catlyn snapped her head around, visibly panicked, searching for Marrow.

“Where is Marrow? I totally forgot about him. Guys, I have t-”

She never got further, because that is when she noticed Marrow standing right next to her, only a couple of inches away. She shrieked in panic and made I giant leap away from him.

Rather than getting the others scared, they started laughing loudly, their tension finally releasing.

“Catlyn, that was hilarious,” Borgar sniffed a little bit and wiped away a tear. “I needed that. You should have seen your face. You looked absolutely scared of Marrow. I mean, Marrow of all people, uhm, skeletons! Right?”

“Stop talking, we need to go,” Catlyn whispered urgently to the others. “You don’t know what I know about Marrow.”

“Oh? And what is that? Has he confided in you about his past?” Ikarius teasingly said. “Any dark secrets, dead bodies, and… bones?”

Borgar laughed out loud. “Good one, Ikarius.”

Catlyn was not laughing. Or even smiling. And the others picked up on that as well. She beckoned them closer and whispered: “Marrow is a [Lich].”

The others looked skeptically at her.

“Marrow? A [Lich]?” Gamul asked disbelievingly.

“I am telling you. He confirmed it himself!”

“Marrow, is that true? Are you a [Lich]? Ikarius asked Marrow, who had also joined the huddle, right next to Catlyn.

Catlyn jumped back with a yelp when she noticed his face right next to hers. “Marrow! Can you give us some privacy?”

“Yes?”

Marrow was standing there, looking at Catlyn with a stoic expression. His only expression, really.

“Like right now?”

“Yes?”

“Marrow, can you perhaps just… step back… and, I don’t know, do something!”

That was a command that Marrow had heard before. A long time ago. Like the first command ever. And it still resonated with him. Not that he felt magically compelled to follow the order. But doing something was good. And there were so many things here to find out and learn about.

The first few moments when Marrow had suddenly appeared in this wide-open space, with the oddly blue colored ceiling and so many of these people around, he had felt overwhelmed. On top of it all, there was so much noise around, orders of magnitude more than he was used to. And the smells! He had only started smelling things a few hours ago, for the first time in his long life. And suddenly, there were a plethora of smells assaulting his senses from everywhere.

And he was sure there was something there… an almost irresistible aroma. Right there… Marrow slowly walked across the marketplace toward the fountain. It was… it was unlike anything he had ever sensed. But it struck a chord within him. He… he had to have it.

And there it was. A small piece of a slightly purple something. It seemed a bit squished, but Marrow did not mind. It smelled delicious.

Marrow bent down, picked up the slightly rotten and squished fruit and, following his instinct, started chewing. Contrary to his expectations, there was no further satisfaction from that process, even though, instinctively he had been sure that there should have been. Thoughtfully, Marrow kept on chewing, trying to analyze what had attracted him to the squishy squirty thing in the first place and why chewing did not do anything in addition to him.

Meanwhile, Catlyn told the others how she had found out that Marrow was a [Lich] and the evidence she had seen. Ikarius, Borgar, and Gamul listened to her, without interrupting, occasionally glancing at the skeleton.

“Alright, Catlyn, so Marrow is a [Lich]. So what?” Ikarius finally asked.

“What do you mean, ‘so what’?” Catlyn almost shrieked before remembering that they were not alone - lots of people stood uncomfortably close to them, trying to overhear more details about the dungeon, all the while feigning disinterest.

“Well, look at him,” Ikarius motioned at Marrow. “Even if he is a [Lich] he is still like a two-year-old in an adult body. Perhaps slightly more dangerous than before… but a class does not make a person.”

“But… he is a [Lich]!” Catlyn stuttered, unable to comprehend why the others did not get scared by Marrow.

“Catlyn, I am an [Assassin], right? Am I scary to you?” Ikarius calmly asked her.

“Well, no, but I have known you like forever!” Catlyn protested.

“I agree that we have not known Marrow for all that long, but he did not even have a class when we met him… so it is not as if he changed all of a sudden, just because he has a class, right?”

“I… I suppose. Maybe I was a bit hasty in my fear.”

Catlyn shot a look at Marrow chewing on that disgusting fruit, juices dripping slowly from his jaws down to his ribcage.

“I guess he does not look all that scary, right?”

“He does not, lass,” Gamul agreed.

“Time to move it, everyone. I really want to get to our tavern and get some of my spare clothes,” Ikarius stated forcefully.

Borgar could not help it, he had to know. “So, Catlyn, how come Ikarius is all naked?”

“That is something I would like to know as well,” Catlyn responded with a giggle. “It happened when the mind-leech attacked all of you.”

“I REALLY want to go now,” Ikarius said even more forcefully.

“You know, it is kind of nice here,” Borgar said with a straight face. “Maybe we should stick around and eat some food first? Two hands in the air, if you want to leave!”

“You!” Ikarius snorted but had to chuckle about his misfortune as well.

--------------------------------------------

As the five hastened through the streets, people gawked openly at them, laughed loudly, or ran away, screaming, depending on their respective mental disposition.

“This does not work,” Borgar grumbled. “We are attracting too much attention.”

“You always wanted to get famous, now you are!” Gamul quipped.

“Right, famous for all the wrong reasons…,” Borgar muttered, looking at Ikarius’ bare butt and Marrow’s bony self.

“Ok, stop here,” Catlyn suddenly commanded. “There is a cloth-merchant, let’s get some stuff for Marrow and Ikarius. I know that Ikarius has clothes in the tavern, but I think it is well worth the few silver coins to buy a coat right now.”

“Why are you so worried about it?” Gamul asked with a frown. “The tavern is only a few more blocks away from here.”

“Think for once, Gamul! We don’t want people to know where we live. And right now we stick out like a sore thumb. Also, you heard the guard about Marrow… let’s not give anyone an excuse to fine us or put us in jail.” Ikarius impatiently explained.

A few minutes later, they had purchased two coats, long enough to completely cover Ikarius, and, in Marrow’s case, with a big enough hood to mostly disguise his true nature to the casual observer. Gloves, boots and a mask completed Marrow’s outfit, making him unrecognizable, apart from the oddly jerking gait typical to a skeleton - but given the strangeness of the rest of his outfit that would not attract undue scrutiny.

At least that was the hope of the four – Marrow had no opinion one way or another. They explained to him why this was necessary, and he had figured out that it had something to do with people getting scared of him. Why they would be scared, he was not sure, but apparently being in clothes helped against that.

The only annoying thing about the hood was that he could not any longer swivel his head by more than 90 degrees… and given all the sights and impressions he was trying to take in, that was a real impediment.

Finally, the adventurers arrived at their rundown tavern in one of the more suspect parts of town. Like most of Gyssal, the inn was built out of wooden planks, some of which showed visible signs of rot. As they approached, the solid oak door flung open with a bang, and a couple of rough-looking warriors tumbled out into the street.

“Get lost, you miserable fliptweebs!” A massive bear of a man shouted at them. “If I see your faces again, I will crack your skulls, you hear me?”

“What is a fliptweeb?”Catlyn whispered to Ikarius, while trying to avoid attracting the attention of the fuming innkeeper.

“I have no idea,” Ikarius hissed back. “But you know Gunther, he always comes up with new words.”

In a more normal voice, he continued. “A good morning to you, Gunther. Having some trouble with unruly patrons?”

“Hmph, no trouble. At least nothing I could not handle. Those two twertips just would not keep their mouth shut about the new dungeon…”

Gunther focused his piercing eyes on the group in front of him. “Are you going to make trouble about that dungeon as well? And who is that fellow there with you? If you want to have another person stay in your room, it is an extra silver each night!”

Catlyn raised her hands and said in a calming voice: “No worries, Gunther. For now, we are going straight to our rooms, and we will get you that silver in a little while.”

Somewhat mollified, Gunther stepped back into the tavern and allowed the group to enter after him.

The barroom was jam-packed despite the morning hour, and the crowd was clearly agitated. And it was quite obvious what had everyone so riled up – the dungeon. Pushing their way through the throng, Catlyn at the others heard people shouting about the high-level creatures in the dungeon, up to level 30, no 40 or even 50, and the treasures that were to be found everywhere. Some talked about the strapping heroes that had discovered the dungeon, whereas others had heard about a group of losers and fools that had made it out of there by the skin of their teeth.

Borgar was ready to explode when he heard some of the more disparaging rumors, but Gamul had an iron grip on his arm. At least, people were busy talking, sharing all the facts that they knew about with everyone around them, so no one paid much attention to the group of adventurers coming through to the wobbly staircase at the back of the room. Only Marrow attracted some attention because it was summer, and the temperatures did not lend themselves to wearing that much clothing and a mask. But there were all kinds of people out there with weird preferences and various afflictions and ailments, so no one even thought about probing deeper.

Finally, they reached the staircase and started going up the creaky steps.

“Where is Marrow?” Catlyn suddenly hissed.

“Right behind me, lass,” Gamul responded in a calming voice. “He h-… where is he?”

Frantically, they looked around, trying to spot their bony companion. And there he was, in the middle of the crowd, talking to an animated skinny fellow.

In fact, Marrow was not really talking. The person he was facing was doing most of that. Marrow had been following the others through the press of bodies looking around curiously at all the strange sights. There were tall people, small people, thin people, and fat people, some with weapons, some without, all of them wearing clothes of different colors. And most of them were holding a tiny barrel-type thing in their hand and seemed very protective about it. Even more curious, they frequently lifted that barrel to their lips and poured a liquid into their body. Of course, Marrow had observed Catlyn, and the others do the same thing, but only occasionally and not from these mini-barrels.

While looking around in bewilderment, he had run into some tall fellow who had not taken too kindly to someone bumping into his back right the moment when he had lifted his tankard of ale to drink. So he had shoved Marrow away from him with an annoyed grunt, slightly surprised how light the person was - and what was supposed to be a slight push, almost catapulted Marrow several yards away.

And there, it happened that he was coming face to face with a skinny man with intense eyes that immediately started talking to Marrow.

“Have you heard about the dungeon, my friend? It is big. Not the dungeon, we don’t now that yet, but the news is big! This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to Gyssal! We are not going to be a provincial backwater any longer. Money will flow into this town. Rivers of money! An ocean of money! And you know the best thing about this, my friend?”

He looked expectantly at Marrow.

“Yes!?”

“Well, the best thing is that we, that means you and I, and Fredon over there, and even Elise, the barmaid, she is cute, right?”

“Yes!?”

“Right, so, where was I? Yes, so we will all be able to benefit from this. For example, you, what do you do?”

“What?”

“What do you do, my friend? Don’t be shy. I am a cobbler by trade but have been trying to become a merchant as of late. You know, these little bags that everyone needs. And I mean it, everyone. Do you have one of these bags? No? Well, here, you see, this bag is one that can be closed with a string on top and then attached to the belt, very convenient, right? The problem is that any thief can just cut the string. So here, this is a patented new, revolutionary idea – a chain!”

Triumphantly, the skinny man held up a little bag with a chain dangling from it in front of Marrow’s face.

Was he supposed to take the bag? Or bite it? Or something different? Marrow felt utterly out of his depth.

Luckily, an almost obese man, dressed in a formerly luxurious robe approached the skinny man at that very moment. “Gobbel, your bags are shit! Look, a thief got the bag and guess what I am left with? Hmm? Can you see it?”

Furiously, the man was shoving a piece of chain into Gobbel’s face.

But Marrow was not paying attention any longer. He had noticed a little creature that was sitting on the shoulder of the man in the robes. He had never seen such a creature before. It was dark green, about the size of a small head, and with large yellow eyes on top. And it stared at Marrow with unblinking eyes. Suddenly, it opened its mouth really white and… croaked. A strange noise indeed, and one that Marrow certainly had never heard before.

Marrow decided to inspect that creature more closely and put his head right next to it, causing the beast to squirm in discomfort. And then it happened. A long tongue shot out of the mouth of the creature and slapped against Marrow’s mask.

An attack.

Marrow immediately responded by punching the creature with a [Forceful Punch] that catapulted it off the robed man’s shoulder and splattered it against the wall.

Instantly, the blood drained out of the fat man’s face, and he stumbled forward, right into the skinny man, who tried but failed to keep them from falling down. The big man landed on Gobbel and immediately rolled to the side, trying to get up with tears running down his face.

Once back on his feet, his face suddenly changed into a mask of hatred and fury.

“Who killed my familiar?” He shrieked while searching with his eyes the people around him. His gaze locked in on a reedy looking fellow right next to him. “You, what did you see? Who was it? Was it you?”

“Who? What? What are you talking about, mister?”

“Bah, useless.” The fat man, punched the reedy man in the face, causing him to drop like a sack of potatoes.

“Hey, you cannot do that, you fat bastard!” A young, solidly built guy shouted.

“Says who?” the robed man screamed right back. And this time, rather than physically punch the guy, a swirl of grew brown energy shot down the portly man’s arms and a stone fist the size of a cat slammed down on his newest adversary.

“Who else wants to get some?” The stout man shouted. “Now. Who. Has. Killed. My. Familiar?”

Marrow saw his opening.

“What is a familiar?”