Chapter 8

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

I created a simple tunnel to get out of the mountain. My hunger was growing. I needed to eat something. From the throne room, I imagined a tunnel that ran out about ten feet then went south until it cleared my throne room. I turned it west towards the nearest side of the mountain.

“Make a little cave. Something natural” whispered Souleen as I did. She floated on the Void Crystal before me as I worked. “Then deploy your will o’ wisps to guard your dungeon while you’re gone.”

I nodded and made a cave that broached the side of the mountain. The irregular terrain swept back about thirty feet then butted into a door. A stout one, made of metal that was locked. Only I had the key. Behind it, I formed a guard room. I pictured Sviesos and her sister will o’ wisps stationed there, ready to fight and protect my dungeon.

The black energy rippled out from me. It spilled through the air and shaped reality. I clutched tight to the crystal as it happened. I felt it burning bright. I smiled at that. I was so glad to shape things. To mold my dungeon and extend its reach even further.

“Oh, my, they’re gone,” Lana Fulmine gasped. “Sviesos? Zaibas.”

“They’re fine,” I said, my stomach rumbling. “Right, Souleen?”

“Of course, they’re fine,” she said. She giggled. “You wouldn’t hurt them. They are where you positioned them, ready to fight and protect your dungeon.”

“Okay.” I glanced at Lana. “We need clothing.”

I clutched at the Void Crystal. It could make all manner of things. I pictured a heavy robe made of gray for Lana to hide her outlandish appearance. Mostly. She would stand out in it, but she might not be seen as inhuman. She could fold her wings and, hopefully, not stand out. For myself, I went with a pair of heavy boots, wool pants, a shirt, and a vest. It all flashed into appearance on the floor at our feet.

Lana picked hers up, this look crossing her face. “This is for me to wear?” Disapproval dripped from her lips.

“Sorry,” I said, grabbing my new pants and pulling them on. They felt so different from modern clothing. The stitching was thick and it had no zipper or fastener, just lacings that I had to knot up. “I need to hide you. Unless you want to stay here.”

“What, no!” she gasped. “Who’s going to watch out for you?”

“I thought so,” I said. I knew I wanted the company. I had this magic, but this was a new world. It would be strange. Unusual. I wasn’t quite sure I knew where to go.

I laced up the pants and then pulled on the shirt. It felt baggy and had a V-neckline, the collar dangling loose. Over that, I pulled on the vest. The socks were knitted wool that stretched around my feet. They were thicker than I was used to wearing. I shoved my feet into the leather boots and laced them up. They felt comfortable. Like they were meant to fit my feet.

Well, I did make them for me.

Lana, still grimacing, pulled on her robe. Her wings folded around her body. It fit her thought was bulky, hiding her curves and her silver skin. She pulled up the hood, looking almost like a friar. But her face and hands were still so obvious.

“Try to keep your hands tucked into the sleeves of your robe,” I said. “And keep that hood drawn. Maybe no one will realize you have silver skin.”

“I could just embrace being a monster girl,” she said. “Strut in a stylish Loro Piana maxi dress.”

“Or a pair of booty shorts like Jane Dangerous wears?” I asked.

“I know you would love to see me in that,” Lana purred. “Mmm, my number-one fan would jizz all over those booty shorts before peeling them off my ass and sodomizing me hard and fast. Then I would cum so hard.”

My dick throbbed. It was so tempting, but my stomach growled.

“Maybe later,” I said, wanting to see her in the outfit of her most iconic role before I did just what she said. God, I could jerk off onto that peachy butt, coating those khaki booty shorts in my jizz before ripping them off and going to town on her ass. But I was getting hungrier by the minute.

I found the gold coins in my loot chest and tucked them into the vest’s inner pocket. It was why I went with it. I had heard that about visiting cities, especially as a tourist. Never keep your wallet in a back pocket of your pants. Make it somewhere hard to get at.

I liked the idea.

I felt the coins as I held out my arm to my robed Lana Fulmine. She took it with grace and we walked out of the Vault and through my bedroom. We passed into the empty living room, the hallway to the throne room, then the even longer hallway out to the surface. I had a great deal of space to play with.

To built a proper dungeon.

In my mind, I already was laying it out. Ideas popped into my mind about dead ends. Traps. Even baited treasure. Maybe put something nice for the heroes to find to think they had cleared it and leave without finding the heart of my dungeon. I pictured what video game makers did in RPGs.

Soon, we reached the guard room and the heavy door that led out. Sviesos and her fellow will o’ wisp sisters stood alert. They were naked, but they weren’t posing sexy. They took their role seriously. Their faces hard.

“They won’t get past us, Lord Leo,” Sviesos said with triumph ringing in her voice. Her bluish body glowed bright for a moment.

Zaibas, Kibir, and Svyte all nodded their agreement. They were ready to fight for me. I smiled at them, encouraged by their fervor. I drew out the key from around my neck. It was on a long chain of gold. It was a gleaming skeleton key. I thrust it into the metal door’s lock and twisted it. I pulled it inward, the hinges hardly even creaking.

Daylight spilled in from the mouth of the cave. Greenery beckoned beyond, the bright colors contrasting with the grays of the cave. The floor was uneven. Stalactites reared down from the ceiling, dripping with water. A pool lay in the corner, the water so clear it was almost invisible. After locking the door, Lana and I crossed the cave and stepped out into the daylight.

A grove of trees grew before us, half-screening the entrance to the cave. Thick brush grew around it, helping to disguise it more. We pushed through it and found a meadow that stretched down the slope. A valley lay beyond, the land cultivated. I could see farms growing crops in rows. Smoke rose from the center. That must be the village.

It didn’t look far. I was wrong.

It took a few hours to walk there. My stomach grew emptier and emptier as we descended the mountainside. At the far end of the meadow we found a trail, perhaps a woodcutter’s trail, that led down the mountain. Lana and I descended it, the sun rising. It looked like we’d set out in mid-morning. Nine or ten o’clock. The path wound us down the forested slopes for an hour, a gleam of sweat crossing my face.

Then it widened out into the farmland, and we found a proper road. It was made of dirt and rutted by wagon tracks, but it led us towards that village we spotted. We passed farms, the men working the fields in dirt smeared clothing. They were ripping up weeds, throwing them on squares of burlap with handles on opposite corners. They glanced at us, giving us suspicious looks, before they returned to their weeding. Livestock was penned around the farmsteads, often built on little rises. Buildings made of wooden frames with white painted walls stood in between, the roofs covered in golden straw. When I saw a woman, she was around the farmhouse, wearing a dress with a kerchief over her head.

I thought the farmlands meant we were close to the village, which I learned from a passing farmer was called Astovin, but it was still past noon before we arrived. My feet ached already and sweat gleamed on my brow. The day was warm.

The farmland gave way to more crowded buildings. They were larger here, with second floors a foot or two wider than their first ones. They were built with the same frames of wooden beam style construction with something like adobe making up the walls in between. They had windows, but no glass in them, just open curtains and storm shutters on the outside. The people wore clothing not dissimilar to mine. They glanced at us as we entered. Women in yards looked up from hanging laundry. Men lugging heavy sacks through the street frowned at us.

In the center of the village was a large field that had a collection of grown cows and cheep grazing on it. There were a few men watching over them. Ringing it where buildings. I hoped one of them would sell food.

Just as I was about to ask one of the people, a slender man in finer clothing than the others stepped up onto a stump. He stood before the largest building, a sign with a loaf of bread and a mug of beer over the door. An inn or tavern, I supposed. The man wore black clothing with a bit of lace at the cuff and neck. His pants were tighter and the tips of his shoes curled upward into points.

“The diviners of Lord Shorvin have felt a disturbance in the River of Mana,” the man declared. “This morning, a Dungeon has appeared in the district.”

Gaps echoed from the people around us. Men shook their heads and glowered. Women looked about to faint, pulling small children to them and hugging them tight. Whispers echoed around the townspeople.

“Adventures are needed to scout the area,” he declared. “Lord Shorvin’s Bounty is offered again. Perhaps this Dungeon can be successfully dealt with before the power grows too great.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. If people started glancing at us and Lana’s outlandish garb.

“You, good adventurer!” the carrier said, pointing out in our direction.

My skin prickled. I looked around, fearing the adventurer was right behind me. But I just saw townsfolk staring at not me but Lana. Then I realized what was going on. They thought she was some sort of adventurer.

“A priestess, yes?” the crier gasped. “I hope that you quickly form your party and dispatch the villains who lurk in the vicinity. The Dungeon and its foul Builder must fall before they spread darkness through the District.”

People nodded. They shook heads and cheered on the priestess. Lana, the consummate actress, drank it in. She kept her mysterious hood drawn low and her hands folded in her robe. I was all but ignored by her.

“You’re going to stop the evil dungeon builder?” a woman called.

Lana glanced at me for a moment. I nodded, not sure what to do.

“Of course,” she said. “I have been called here by Lord Enlil and Lady Uttu.”

My heart lurched. Those were who I called upon to use my magic. Was that bad? Were the Lord and Lady of Lightning respected here. My heart pulsed with the words. I could start casting magic if I had to. I didn’t want to. I was so hungry.

But the townsfolk seemed even more impressed by that.

This was my chance to buy supplies while she had everyone distracted. I could tell she was loving it. Nearly every actor and actress was an attention whore. Sure there were probably exceptions, but for the most part they were people who had grown accustomed to have an audience that reveled in them. That showered them in love and praise.

Lana Fulmine was definitely not an exception to that.

“Is that why your skin is silver?” I heard a woman ask. “Did Lady Uttu bless you.”

“Of course,” Lana said. “How else can I defend myself against the dark machinations of the evil builder. He must be a knave. The sort of man who wants to jerk off on the ass of a woman in booty shorts.”

“Booty shorts,” a woman gasped. “How horrible. Is that a torture device?”

“Sometimes,” Lana said, amusement in her voice.

I left her to her fun and started poking around. I found not one store that sold items, but various farmers set up on the far end of the village green. They sold a variety of products. I needed a way to get my supplies back to the dungeon, so I purchased a donkey and a cart. For meat, my choices were salted beef and salted pork. There was none being sold fresh, not that I knew how I would keep it cool if they did. Nor was I used to having meat come in huge hunks, the sides of the animals just sold. Not cut into parts.

I packed them into the cart. From another farmer, I bought a bushel of apples, a barrel full of the light red fruit. They were smaller. From other farmers, I brought carrots and potatoes. Good root vegetables that could keep for a bit. I stacked them into the cart. Spices were lacking. They had salt and garlic cloves. That was it.

Last, I brought sacks of grain. I didn’t know what I could make with the grain, bread I supposed, but they were better than nothing. I stacked it all on the cart. From one farmer, I did buy a meat pie. It was like a stew backed in a loaf of bread.

I devoured it.

“My thanks,” I groaned.

“Sure, sure,” he said, staring at me. “You from around here.”

“Passing through,” I said. “I have business at Lord Shorvin and then I’m off.”

“To Myrecilla?” the man asked.

“Right. Myrecilla,” I said. “That’s where my business will take me. Need to eat.”

“That’s quite a bit of food.” He glanced at the cart.

“Oh, well, I have companions. They’re waiting for me to gather the supplies, you know.”

“Be careful.” The man looked around. “There’s a dungeon off towards Myrecilla. A terrible man occupies it. He’s got Life and Water magic, and he uses it in terrible ways. None of the adventurers have cracked it. Not that many come out here. Too far from Myrecilla.” He stared at me. “You tell ‘em in Myrecilla we got two dungeons out here now. Two. That’ll be bad. We can’t have that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. Another dungeon around here? Did I need to worry about it? “You know anything about this new dungeon?”

“New one?” the man asked.

“Yeah, the crier said a dungeon opened this morning.”