Chapter 155: Causing a wide web of trouble

Excerpt from the book “Dungeons and Diving” By the veteran diver Duncan

Let’s talk about the Abyss… Yeah, that one. I remember it like yesterday, leaving my house. My wife was crying, “It’s too dangerous!” I heard her scream as I stepped onto my carriage. You could call me callous, but homelife isn’t in my blood. My ancestors dived the deepest dungeons, and it’s my job to one-up them.

Also, I couldn’t get the deposit back on the carriage.

I knew something sat below that deep black void. People had jumped in, and one in a thousand made it back. Only with the greatest of magical escape artifacts may you return. I brought with me 3 of them. Wishing not to gamble my life like a fool. Yeah, I have my wife a heart attack, but I am not stupid.

Standing above that crack in the unbreakable barrier, looking down at the Abyss. It looked back, sending a shiver down my spine.

Slowing my heart rate and activating all my shields, I jumped. Falling through the void is peaceful, outside of the chaotic energies eating away at my magical barriers.

The Abyss was an empty void that stretched far past where light could touch. Grey particles saturated it like snow.

Eventually, the black shifted to a subtle red. The red velvet far more terrifying than the perpetual black.

Soon after, the ground appeared. Falling like a meteorite into the muddy earth. In this chapter, I speak about the dungeons found within the unknown world under the Abyss.

Yeah, I am lost. Sighing once more as I glance at one of the many signs. “Meet us at the Red Rooster,” Jengal said. Yeah, like it is that easy to find. Resisting the urge to fly to the gate, I consider my options.

“Fine!” Walking to the nearest passerby and stopping them. “Hello, errm, do you know where the Red Rooster is.”

“No,” the stranger said, walking on.

On to the next, “Do you know where the Red Rooster….”

“No.”

“Do you know where the Red….”

“No.”

“Do you know where the….”

“No.”

Slumping against a wall in frustration. “Is this karma for cheating the guards?” I say out loud in hopes it appeases my cursed fortune.

“Cheated the Guards? How so?” A scantily dressed Razar Spine asks me.

“Did a bit of a runner before they could fix a loophole.”

The brown-haired, hazel eyes woman nods. “Ballsey, I will give ya that.” She chuckles, sending me a wink. “Red Rooster, hu?”

“Yes.”

“What you would want with that trash heap, I don’t know. But it is down that road, third left and second right.”

“Thank you, why is it trash?”

“They’d sell snow to a snow golem. Expert money maker’s I wouldn’t trust with my lodging, personally.”

“I will speak with my companions about it.”

“Companions? How boring,” she jokingly sighs. “Anyway, on your way, darling. I doubt you want to be half a road from the red light district.”

Turning a slight shade of red, rubbing my head in anxiety. “You would be right, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize; I’ve never seen someone quite as exotic looking as you. Sure you don’t want to walk with me?”

“I am sure; I have a girlfriend.”

She sighs; “What a shame. You would be able to sell services for a fortune with your exotic body.”

Slightly taken aback by her comments, I hastily leave. “Thank you for the directions.” Waving her goodbye.

“Any day,” she laughs.

Following her directions, I find the Red Rooster. It’s a stupid name, given it’s decorated with a red cow sign.

Walking inside, I see a warm, decorated bar. Smartly dressed staff flit between the many people merrily drinking, eating, and gambling. I understand; either Hanna or Jengal are stupid. “Why would you stay in this money pit?”

Walking to the front counter, “Hello, I am looking for Jengal and Hanna Mor.”

“I will inform them of your visit.” The man in a suit and tie dashes away from the oak counter. Whispering into the ear of one of the waiters. Everyone is in blacks and gold here; a strange choice. Why call your place Red Rooster without a drop of red between 20 staff.

A few moments later, Jengal walks down the stairs. Spotting me, he waltzes over in a jolly mood. “Took your time, got lost?”

“Nah, just went sightseeing.” Shamelessly lying.

“Spot anything?”

“Nah, the place is massive.”

“True. Couldn’t find a mountain here.” He chuckles.

“Wanna lead me to where we are staying?”

“Sure thing.”

Walking me up the stairs, following the golden carpet. Walls covered in murals and Glowstone, “that’s cool.”

“They know how to catch your eye.”

We walk towards the end of the corridor, entering a code-locked door on the right.

“4452,” he tells me.

“Gotcha.”

Walking inside, I see a room with 4 beds partitioned with a thin cloth. The room is tastefully decorated with a few pieces of furniture, a bright window, and some paint.

“How much does this place cost?”

“Couple silvers.”

“Seems cheap.” Rubbing my upper lip as I speak. Startling myself as I’ve forgotten I don’t have a helmet on.

“Yeah, cause they milk the rest downstairs. If you can resist the temptation, it’s a great deal.”

“Clever.”

“So… Where is your armor? They didn’t take it, did they?”

“They walked me into a room, checked my bag. It is at this point I realized I am screwed. So I pulled a little magic and stashed everything back home. Made a point to prove it was empty and did a runner.”

“Do you think they will look for you?” Hanna interjects.

“Likely, but they don’t really have a leg to stand on. What am I in trouble for? I have nothing dangerous after all.” Winking at them.

“Let’s hope they agree,” Jengal adds solemnly.

“Don’t be such a worry wart. I can always do a runner.” Faking running on the spot for comedic value.

“Being wanted by such powerful guards is not something to take lightly.” Hanna says.

“It is hard to kill me. I will keep my guard up,” looking around, seeing if they spotted my pun. Several deadpan faces disappoint me. “I won’t take it lightly. Happy?”

Hanna nods.

“Yeah, keep that attitude,” Jengal says, fist-bumping my chest.

“So, what’s the plan? Now we are here; what are we gonna do?”

Jengal nods, “Good question.” Causing me to lightly facepalm.

“So, you traveled all this way without a plan?”

“It’s not like we have easy access to information on what the place currently has. It’s a great city, so we went there. It’s up to us to figure out where we want to go.”

“Well, let’s start distributing phones,” I say with a smile, pushing for that internet.

“Not like I have anything planned.”

“How long are you guys staying?”

“About 2 weeks. How long are you staying?”

“You forget I can go home and come back on a dime.”

“Whats a dime?” Jengal enquiries with a head tilt.

“It just means I can do it easily.” Cursing my use of earthen slang.

“Got it, let’s go.” And he just walks out the door.

Shocked slightly, before quickly following after. We descend the stairs into the main area, still as lively. Maybe a few more people drink than earlier.

We sneak around the waiters' tempting people with food and drink as we leave through the front door.

“So, do you know your way around?” I ask Jengal.

“Not at all!” He says proudly.

Rubbing my brows once more, we walk in a random direction. “Don’t worry about getting lost. I marked the room as a teleport point.”

“Great idea, we can now adventure.” Walking in a random direction before pausing. Turning to me, “that ability to mark locations and return to them is crazy. You could rob banks, people, houses, and even the royal family.”

Walking past him, “you assume I would need it to do so.” Winking at him.

He mumbles, “rich bastard.” Causing me to smile.

Walking in a random direction, we come to a small market area. Most of it is food stocks being sold. The only odd thing is the giant statue in the middle. Oddly enough, portraying a game-style model. Something that shouldn’t exist here. Putting the strangeness out of my mind, I unceremoniously pour a pile of phones on the floor.

This quickly gathers attention, many merchants and poor-looking customers turn my way.

With all the force of a war cry, I shout. “Free eyephones! Newest hit product, come get them for free!”

This divides the public into two halves. On one side, we have people rushing over at the word free. On the other? People with caution, they are looking, questioning, letting the dumbasses go first.

Once the first few get taken and turned on, it quickly becomes a mad rush. A few cheeky people went to take a second, forcing me to slap their hands away. “One each!”

Once the pile has disappeared, Jengal explains its functions. While he does so, I pour out a large quantity of chargers. Intentionally more than the phones. I am glad I chose solar power. Without an empire-wide power grid, it would be bothersome. I guess I could create self-sufficient charging places in every town, but that is boring.

“This is the video that will run you through how to use your phone. This same place has a lot of videos for new users. Subscribing to this channel will allow you easy access to other videos that are released. If you wish to do so, press this button.”

Causing my phone to light up with subscription notifications. A smile forms on my face as I remember my dreams of being a YouTuber.

With that done, we walk to another random location. Finding markets like this every few miles. We repeat the process over and over. By the 5th market, people were waiting for us. By the 7th, people were fighting to get close to us. By the 9th, a large carriage road towards us.

Out stepped a man in golden robes, a 5 o'clock shadow, and a mean look. Walking towards me, the other people ran away with haste. “So…” He lets his words linger. His gravelly voice like salt on a wound; “You are the one who has caused my territory such trouble.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He frowns at my words.

“You sold items without renting out a market area.”

“I haven’t sold anything.” I haven’t sold a single item.

“Do not lie to me!” He threatens.

“We did not sell a single thing. Everything was given away for free.”

“No one is that generous!”

“You may believe that if you wish. I have things to do, so goodbye.”

Heading to walk away, he steps forward aggressively. “Stop! You have caused a lot of issues. You shall pay a fine for disrupting the markets!”

At this point, I splash my time in a bottle on me and Jengal. His face goes wide as he waves his arm. “We are super fast!” He jumps in excitement.

“Yeah, yeah, let's go to the next market.”

“Are you sure that Is a good idea?”

“I don’t give a crap about a loser like this.”

“He is noble.”

“And?”

Jengal looks stumped.

Walking towards the next market, we do our normal process. This time, we use the time in a bottle to move between each market like lightning.

After the twentieth, slowly moving further into the town, we found the markets had increased in size and quality. The people were better dressed and looked healthier. We continue this, moving further and further. Depositing phones in over 50 markets, half having given up stopping people from taking more than one.

“That’s enough,” I say to Jengal. Who immediately slumps to the floor.

“About time,” he says exhausted.

“What do we do now?”

“Go to bed, it must be night….” He looks up, seeing the sun still high in the sky.

“We sped up our time, remember?”

“Shit.” Is all he said.