Chapter 21

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[John]

“No, Marcus!” I called, as he walked off “For god’s sake…” I whispered to myself as I jogged after him.

“John, its fine if you’re too scared to take this chance, you’ve always been a wimp. Too scared of mummy and daddy. Never mind, this is our one chance to get into the life, to get out of this backwater town that’s been holding me back all my life. I’m meant for better than this”

Fuck off I thought to myself. He’s a mega prick but he was from the village. And everyone here was family, it was too small not to be. So being one of the few other boys my age meant we were automatically friends. And friends had each other’s backs.

“Marcus!” I shouted after him as he continued to walk away. “This is madness, its an unknown dungeon for Christ sake, it could be way out of our abilities. I know you’ve had a bit of training from the guardsmen but we’re not warriors, we’re farmers. You know how obsessed I am with being an adventurer but get some sense into that skull of yours. We could die, and then where will you be. I know the priestesses of Deva say there’s life beyond our eternal slumber but come on… are you willing to chance it?”

“Oh, grow up John, what’s life without a bit of risk, besides that old codger Sigurd got in and out alive, and with the other boys we’ll be perfectly safe. Mik is over at the blacksmith getting some scrap iron for the spears and Indry is gonna nick us a shield from the guardsmen’s backup supply. We’ll be fine, there’s riches waiting for us and I for one am not leaving without my fair share. Especially as once the guild comes, you know we’re gonna have to go through the training. A little experience and moneys gonna go a long way to getting us back in there. Now you coming or you gonna piss about, wetting your bed and dithering like a little girl? Or you gonna seize the day like a man. Even if you ain’t got the muscle for one.” He said laughing as he strolled off.

Oh, for fucks sake I thought to myself, hurrying to catch up again.

“I think this is the most stupid foolhardy thing you’ve ever done Marcus, but I’ll be damned if I leave you to die in this stupid dungeon. I’m coming”

“Ah, good, now let’s meet up with the guys.”

“What now?”

“Yeah, we can head up there for this evening, eat outside and be back in bed before sun-up.”

“Well, let me tell my parents ill be out late with you and not to wait up. I’ll meet you guys by the exit of town.”

“Ok, don’t chicken out my feathered friend he said laughing as he wandered off.

“Dickhead” I muttered under my breath as I set about my business.

***1 hr later***

I approached the gate with nervous apprehension, yet stifled excitement. As much as I knew that this was a stupid stupid idea, the fact that I was just a short few hours from stepping inside a dungeon filled me with excitement, my heart pounding in my chest.

I approached the others, raising my hand in greeting.

“Right, everyone here then?” Marcus asked rhetorically. “Good, let’s go.” He continued waving his hand forward as a general commands his troops. We set off, myself trailing the rest as we walked into the woods that ran around the edges of the fields belonging to farmer Smythe. The wooded outcropping marked the edges of Littlebrook and the boys and I had spent many a summer making dens and treehouses in the clustered groves of trees that grew out here. Not spread apart like the forests of old but clusters here and there of densely packed trees gave the woods an open feeling despite the oppressive canopy that loomed above us. Yet in the still midday hour our band of would be adventurers forged through the woods, past the little picket fence where the Jenkins girls had decided to build a playhouse. Shortly lived that had been I thought to myself remembering their expressions as they tripped over the debris of the forest floor and muddied up their dresses. They weren’t too keen after that, I reminisced laughing to myself.

As we wandered past a particularly familiar grove, I spotted the remnants of the den that Daniel and I had built during the Littlebrook challenger games. A few years ago now, the boys had all decided to compete in a marvellous set of games we had dreamt up and the den was the remains of those long forgotten days when we could play around and cause untold havoc.

Alas, things changed, and we grew up, responsibilities took hold and Daniel had had to move away with his pa after the merchant family his father had worked as a guard for moved their headquarters to the other side of the world. Better trades apparently but I wouldn’t know about such things. It was beyond me and I didn’t particularly care to learn about it. Merchanting was not for me.

I sighed as I remembered the familiar sights of my youth.

“Catch up John, you’re falling behind, didn’t think you were this weak” one of the younger lads Marcus had recruited shouted at me. One of the twins though I never could tell which.

I hurried along, not wanting to give them any more ammunition to mock me with. Truth be told I had felt the boys all pulling away from me a bit, or perhaps we were growing apart as our lives took hold, I was more interested in helping pa on the fields and looking after ma than hanging out with them and I liked listening and talking with Sigurd when I had free time. Perhaps when the adventurers arrived in droves for this new dungeon, we would all be pulled in more and more directions until we lost touch with each other. Sad, but I found myself looking forward to it.

Slowly the hours passed as I continued to think deeply, and the plodding of my feet carried me onwards, though I didn’t tarry any longer for fear of giving the boys another in. And as the terrain took a decidedly more uphill nature we slowed naturally.

The sight of my first dungeon should have filled me with awe and excitement yet neither was there. Fear of the unknown and hope for the riches that lay inside were not there either. Instead it was the feeling of helplessness that gripped my heart. Not in a bad way but rather in that my path was set. The hands of fate had passed the hour, the arm had thrown the stone and there was nothing I could do to reverse it. Time could not wind back the clock and the stone would never return to the hand that was yet to toss. So too, would it be that I would never step back out of this dungeon as I was. For better or worse I knew not and strangely the knowledge that everything was about to change was decidedly unimpressive and underwhelming. Just as there and as unnoteworthy as the next heartbeat. And perhaps just as important as said heartbeat but just as unnoticed as well. Either way my path lay before me and I would willingly take the steps that led to my future, whatever that may be. But first? Food. Braving the unknown took a hearty constitution and food was the first step.

We set our packs down in front of the entrance and pulled out some food. I had brought some of ma’s delicious cheese sandwiches. The cheese, a product from the beastkin territory to who we lived quite close, the sauce made from the dried crushed root of the racka plant that grew in the heartlands that surrounded the capital, the bread fresh from her ovens. Delightful, and certainly filling enough to take on the world, or at least the world under the ground that sat before us.

Deep in my musings I looked around observed my surroundings, taking everything in. The dungeon entrance sat peacefully off to my right, the path that wound up the steep cliffs and bluffs that took us here fell away to my left and the jagged outcroppings of rock straight in front of me. Off to the side of those rocky formations I saw a small pile of items, studying them closer I determined they were the things the adventurers that Sigurd had brought back had left behind, not too useful in a delve I guess.

I refrained from telling the others what I had seen as I wouldn’t put it past them to have a gander at the pile. This plan was silly enough without pissing off the strongest most useful people for miles around.

Shortly we all finished eating and packed everything up. Staring down at the entrance made it all seem real and I noticed I wasn’t the only one with misgivings, this might not go well.

“Here we are lads.” Marcus started. This sounded like the beginnings of a speech and as he started to drone on I began to switch off.

“We’re here, ready to take the world by storm, we are owed what is inside we are… ours to take… fight…t…l…z…g…a…” I zoned out pretty quickly, it was an easy skill to master when Marcus was your best friend.

About five minutes later I saw the tell-tale signs he was finishing up and snapped out of the trance I was in. This was it. I was about to live the dream, entering my first dungeon. I should have been excited but I wasn’t. I was scared terrified even. The apathy from earlier had disappeared, replaced by the fear of the dungeon, its imposing black gate of mist and rough shod arch that marked the entrance and the portal through which my life would change.

“Here we go boys, its time!” Marcus bellowed as we walked forwards.

“Oh god” I muttered as I took my first steps into the swirling black of the entrance.