Chapter 7: A Bright First Day

Astrid woke early and got straight into her armor. She’d cleaned it last night, just to make sure there weren’t any places damaged enough that she’d need to get them repaired. Her right glove sported some wear, but it wouldn’t need any work done on it any time soon. The integrity of the leather wasn’t compromised, as it was just a small patch on the back of the hand where a fang had pierced between the rivets. On the other hand, or leg, she joked to herself, the pauldrons were fine. The iron bore some little scratches, but nothing noteworthy. As soon as she was ready, she couldn’t help but grin to herself.

A delver! She finally was! She was going to enter the Dungeon today! She schooled her face to be much calmer and put together. After all, a delver was an elite of the Duchy! She needed to act like it!

Now fully outfitted but for her helmet, Astrid walked down the stairs. Each step seemed to thunder, and she saw Mariusz sat at the bar quickly eating his breakfast. When he saw her coming down, his eyes widened and, after licking his lips nervously, he shoved the rest of his porridge into his mouth and swallowed furiously. By the gasps of pain and looking around for something to drink, Astrid could tell just how hot the meal was. Even so, he pulled a couple copper pieces out of this pocket, dropped them on the counter, grabbed his bread, and fled.

“Oh, were you in a hurry again? Make sure you didn’t leave anything behind this time?” Grom asked as he purposefully body-checked the fleeing merchant. Mariusz managed to keep his feet, but only barely. He mumbled some excuse as he scooted around Grom’s imposing frame. Then, with dozens of flinty eyes on him, he fled to the stable, where the sound of tack being placed and his mare being prepared sounded out.

A couple low chuckles filled the space, Astrid’s among them. She walked to the bar, where the innkeeper, Grom’s employee, she supposed, was ready for her.

“I’m not paying for you today, Astrid!” Grom chuckled. “It’s up to you to keep yourself fed now.”

Astrid felt blood flow to her face, though she was glad that, although she was embarrassed, nobody could see the heat fill her cheeks.

“Two bowls with bread to go with.”

“The bread comes with it, no extra fee. Total of six copper.” The keeper nodded. “After last night, I’m not sure that’ll be enough for you.”

Astrid awkwardly chuckled. “I’d just run for a couple kilometers when I got here. Didn’t have much of a lunch either, because we both wanted to get here faster. Plus, I still need to get paid to buy my food.”

“Grom’ll get you your money. He’s good for it. And how’d getting here early work out for you?” The keeper laughed.

“I…” Astrid trailed off, her own laughter becoming more genuine. Nobody here had any ill-will for her, and she could feel it. There were a couple in the back who might have some doubts about where she was from, but the moment Grom stood up for her, they listened. That was enough.

“Actually,” Astrid said as a thought occurred to her, “I’m sorry. I never learned your name.”

“Call me Stark.” He nodded. The middle-aged man didn’t appear to be a delver himself, but his shoulders and forearms showed he was no stranger to hard work.

“Thank you, Stark.” Astrid nodded. She stepped away from the bar, just in case anyone else was looking to approach it. Nobody did, and it wasn’t long before a double-sized bowl and a plate with a full loaf of hearty bread were ready for her.

“Don’t worry, we’re ready for big eaters.” Stark nodded as she took her meal. She didn’t say anything but nodded and found a table to eat at. The porridge was filled with chunks of meat and some cream and, once it and her bread were eaten, she was pretty full herself. Not nearly so full as she’d been the night before, but enough for her to easily get to lunch without her stomach growling. That would be enough. Keep her sharp and ready.

As she finished her meal, other people filtered in. Though she didn’t remember any names, she recognized every face, maybe. A couple people glanced her way, and one chuckled.

“Breakfast in armor?”

Astrid briefly revised her previous thought that there was nobody here who bore her ill will. She knew malicious intent when she heard it. She looked up at the man who’d attempted to insult her for a truly stupid reason. He was shorter, unarmored and without any weapons in his hands or on his belt. A round face, piggy eyes. Maybe a mage of some sort, given how out of shape he looked.

“I don’t have any Skills that’ll protect me. It’d be stupid not to have my armor on when I have it. I’m going to the Dungeon today, and I’d rather not lose a limb. How about you? Did you used to think your face was too pretty to protect? You still feel that way?”

The aggressive man’s jaw dropped open and one of his companions scoffed at her.

“Really?” A woman asked. Her face, unlike piggy’s, was attractive, except for the sneer and look of superiority. Dark brunette hair was pulled back in a lazy braid, and her frame was lithe and dangerous. “You’re going to talk about faces being ugly? Do you have a mirror?”

“You know, I did start that,” Astrid mused aloud, “but I didn’t think that we were on a street corner, arguing over whose doll was the prettiest. I’m done eating, so enjoy your morning.”

Astrid didn’t listen to the jeers whispered behind her as she gathered her bowl. When she heard the word Barbarian, she nearly threw her glove in the witch’s face, but she decided against it. If these people were at the higher level for this part of the dungeon, they could be as high as level 6. If she had her fourth Skill, to say nothing of how many more attribute points she’d have at this point, Astrid wouldn’t have a prayer in a fight.

“Here, Stark.” she nodded. Stark accepted the bowl with a pained nod.

“Of course. If Grom decides that you’ll need lunch, let me know and I’ll get something ready.”

“Thanks, again.” Astrid nodded and kept moving. It seemed like the petty posturing was over, and she didn’t mind getting out of there. After all, Grom had said he’d evaluate her today, and he was outside already. As soon as she walked through the door, the man’s voice greeted her.

“Good morning! You ready?”

Grom was there, leaning against the hitching post beside the stable. He was, instead of the worn armor from the day before, wearing comfortable clothes. His scarred and tanned face crinkled in a smile as he looked at her.

“Yes. I… are you ready?” Astrid asked, unsure of what to say to the casually dressed man asking if she wanted him to take her into the Dungeon. Grom obviously understood that and laughed as he pushed himself away from the post. Then, suddenly, he was wearing the armor he’d worn the night before. For a moment, Astrid didn’t know what he’d done, or how, but after realizing what had just happened, she knew it was the work of a Skill.

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“I’ve never heard of this specific Skill… is it something like ‘Rapid Equipping’?”

“That sounds like a waste of a Skill.” Grom scoffed as he gestured for her to follow him. “No, at Iron tier, Heavy Armor Mastery allows you to bond to a set of armor. For some mana, you can immediately equip it. It’s the advanced form of the Armored Defense Skill.”

“Yeah.” Astrid nodded. “Armored Defense at Bronze becomes Armor Mastery.”

“Indeed.” Grom appraised her. “You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this?”

“Yes.” Astrid confirmed. “I’ve wanted to be a delver and protect the Duchy since I was 9, so half my life.”

“You’re doing this for the Duchess?”

“And humanity and the Bulwark, yes.” She looked at Grom, quickly understanding what the difference was. “You’re not here for that?”

“If I was, do you think I’d be Iron sitting as the Guild’s liaison at one of the weakest Dungeon entrances in the Duchy? No.” He scoffed. “I learned pretty early on that I’m mediocre. Spent nearly a decade to hit Iron, and went to the Guild. Said I didn’t like being a Shieldmaster too much, but it was what I’d been given. They sent me here, and I replaced… what was her name? Ingrid? Anyways. I apprenticed under a different Iron that was happy to make sure that not too many of you excited young ones got themselves killed while being subsidized by the Guild. I do the same.”

Astrid’s high estimation of the man faltered and she looked at him differently. Grom shrugged with a smile.

“Most delvers start out like you, and most end up like me. Steel’s a distant dream, and Mithril? That’s legendary. People talk about Adamantium and Arcanite, but I’ve never seen anyone get there. And, frankly, thank the Great One that we don’t need them. If we did, that’d mean there were monsters over level 200 stalking around, and what could we possibly do against them?”

“My mom’s Steel.” Astrid felt childish as it came out, but she still said it. Grom raised his eyebrows at her.

“That’d explain the quality of your gear and training. I haven’t seen you fight, but I believe your story, and I can’t think of any other Bronze that can do what you did for their first real fight. Now, enough yapping.” Grom got serious as they walked towards an arch in the middle of the forest. A shimmering gate stood there, a pearlescent marker of the Dungeon. Behind it, a nondescript mound was the only other indication that the Dungeon surfaced here. “You ready?”

“Yes, sir.” Astrid replied as she pulled her arming cap then her helmet on. Already, she was getting hot, but that was just the price she’d pay to stay safe. Her shield and warhammer followed, and she nodded at Grom. His helmet appeared on his head, and he pulled a pair of bucklers from his shoulders. She hadn’t noticed them as they’d blended in with his pauldrons. They walked through the shimmering doorway, and a corkscrew of stairs led down for them.

“Don’t call me sir.” Grom laughed, his voice echoing off the walls. “Just Grom. We’re a party right now. A damned unbalanced one, but I’m so much higher level than everything in here that it doesn’t matter. I’ll bail you out if you get overwhelmed. For now, though, we’ll sit here in the stairs until we’re all set. Tell me, what are you planning on being as a Warrior? Your Class can be either a frontliner and protector, or a heavy bruiser finisher. Some try to go the way of a Ranger, but that’s stupid, and it’s obvious that’s not what you’re going for.”

“I…” Astrid hesitated.

“If you have a Skill you don’t want to tell me about, just tell me your general abilities and hope.” Grom nodded. “I’m not really one of your delving party, and I appreciate your hesitance.”

“Blunt Weapons Mastery and Shield Wielding. Both at Bronze.” Astrid supplied. “My third is effectively a passive that just keeps me in the fight longer. Planning on being a more versatile frontliner protector and bruiser. Maybe a finisher, but that was what I always wanted to do because that’s what my mother was. Didn’t end up being a Spellblade, though, so I don’t know if it’s just the old dreams coming up.” Astrid felt a faint hint of melancholy wash over her as she said as much.

“Duchess’s toenails.” Grom cursed, his jaw dropping. “So Burning Brighid’s your mother?”

“I didn’t realize people knew her over here. She was a soldier, not a delver, and she’s retired, so I didn’t think there was any point mentioning her name.”

“If a soldier reaches Silver, it’s because they’re damned good at their job. And, like I said, I’m from the south. I never fought on the Bulwark itself, but I was a boy when she was making a name for herself. I almost became a soldier instead of a delver because of her. Damn. Shit. Hahaha! Wow.” Grom’s smile grew broad enough Astrid imagined she could see it through his helmet’s visor. After a moment, though, he gathered himself.

“Well, she’s not here. Two Bronze Skills means a whole lot more practicing than I expected. Ok. Yeah, you don’t need an active Skill when you’ve got that. So we’ll start with you frontlining for me. I’ll throw some rocks and pretend to be a mage or ranger or something. Don’t worry, the wargs’ll still die. Just focus on keeping me safe, and after a couple engagements, I’ll let you know what I think. The first floor is regularly cleared, so we shouldn’t ever engage with more than two of the monsters.”

“Yes, si–Grom.”

“Trained by Burning Brighid. No wonder you’re so rigid.” Grom chuckled. “Let’s go.”

Astrid led the way down the stairs, Grom grunting in approval as she pushed past him to be in the front. As she did so, she pushed out her will and internally invited Grom to her party. He didn’t hesitate to agree, and Astrid felt, for the first time, the sensation of partying with someone. There was a faint sense of where he was compared to her, but that was all she got without any leadership Skills for it. Instead, she focused on the changes in front of her as she entered the Dungeon for the first time.

She didn’t know what she was waiting for, she’d always heard the Dungeon described as another world. The few delvers she’d spoken with had merely said it was like a different world, and she’d see when she went in one. They were right. A well-lit forest spread before her, light coming from two suns overhead. Strangely, though, the forest wasn’t green. Instead, it was various hues of gray and black, and thought the leaves and branches were, in every other way, a reflection of the world above, Astrid was off-kilter the second she walked in.

Grom didn’t say anything as she held her shield aloft and looked around. She didn’t have any Skills for locating monsters in the Dungeon, and she’d never thought she’d have to. Stupid. Depending on Liesl failed her again. Why had she ever trusted her? She shook her head and spoke up.

“I don’t have any Skills to detect anything. I don’t think I’ll be able to pick a warg out of this environment from more than a couple meters.”

“Noted.” Grom replied, giving her nothing else. Astrid gritted her teeth. This was a test. She needed to succeed to make her mark and get a party. Maybe it wouldn’t be a lasting one, but she’d get several levels with them, and she needed to make a good impression.

“Stay within 3 meters.” She commanded as they walked forward. Grom didn’t answer, but she felt that he wasn’t too far behind her. As they walked, there was no sound of movement, no sign of wargs. Given how close they were to the entrance, though, it wasn’t surprising. Delvers were always passing through here. Even so, Astrid didn’t let her guard drop. There was still a lot of distance to cover, and there wasn’t any path they were sticking to. There would be something eventually—

There. Astrid pointed with her hammer in the direction of the noise she’d heard. She didn’t have time to see if Grom understood what she was trying to communicate, because she saw black flesh moving between the leaves of a bush.

She roared wordlessly as she smashed her hammer into the space where the warg waited. Unable to see her foe, her blow made glancing contact with its shoulder and it whimpered. While she was still recovering her attack, though, it lunged at her. Astrid lowered her shoulder and the pauldron knocked the beast’s attack off its mark. The last time she’d fought these beasts flicked through her mind, but her goal was different this time. Instead of pressing the attack, she swung her shield wardingly at the warg. It danced back and she settled behind her shield, waiting for it or Grom to make the next move.

It yipped in pain as a black stone smashed into its face and lodged in its eye socket.

“Finish it!” Grom commanded, and Astrid’s hammer dealt the final blow to the blinded beast.

Warg slain. 5 Experience gained, split among party.

A level 1 then. Checking her Status, she got 3 for dealing the final blow. Sweet Duchess was it easier in a party.

“You good?” She called back to Grom.

“Yeah. Let’s keep moving and see if we can find a pair while you’re still fighting as the frontliner.”

Astrid’s day was just beginning. Her smile widened under her helmet and she prepared to prove herself. It would be a good day.