Reinhardt and Magdi looked at each other. They both wanted the answer, but neither wanted to be the one to ask the question. Magdi crossed his arms and set his jaw. Reinhardt sighed, knowing he’d never outwait the taciturn block of Dwarf.

  “Fine. I know you’re dying to show us how superior your intellect is,” Reinhardt sat up. “What is the one-month plan?”

  “We haven’t really been told anything of the DungeonErz?hlung’ Dungeons

  They had learned all about the various styles of DungeonTowerVaultErz?hlungDungeonsDungeonsErz?hlungDungeon

  “The Erz?hlung DungeonSchwarzwald to reach the Castle Gardens. On the other side of the Gardens, there is a full size Gothic Castle, with the exit being located in the Castle dungeon. Outside the castle Jail there is a sizable town. No person has ventured beyond the township, as by this stage the floor is designated as

  Reinhardt was fascinated with the concept, and resolved to complete the Dungeon

  “This all be very interesting, but I hope ye isn’t suggesting we go and bag a

  “No, of course not,” Otto beamed, glad for some audience interaction, finally. “All we need do, is reach the Castle. The Castle is a

  Magdi scrunched up his face at the numbers. Mathematics was not one of his strong suits, and adding ‘percentages’ and ‘fractions’ added another layer of complexity he had often felt was unneeded and unnecessary.

  “So, wat? 11%? As in we have to do eleven runs and search the Castle each time?”

  “No, he means we get a

  “Huh,” the dwarf clapped his hands. “So that’s nine days of camping out at th’cave, fighting through th’Dungeon

  Otto grinned at him. “It is simplicity itself. I know the secret of getting past the Statues in the Garden. Then, we won’t need to face any foes inside either - we can circumvent all the populated areas and make a run through the dining hall and around to the armoury.” Otto spread his hands. “We don’t actually to get drawn into combat, nor do we need to hang about if things get hairy,” his eyes flicked down to Magdi’s chin.

  Reinhardt had heard about the Castle Garden. A large area of manicured lawns, white river pebble walkways, fountains, cultivated roses and gothic statues. Those Statues could move, however, and would chase down the Delvers until they left the garden. They were pseudo-Gargoyles, the difference being a true  any Enchanted weapon. But then, they were still

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Is that right, ye know how to defeat the statues of the Garden?” Magdi sounded profoundly sceptical.

  “I didn’t say ‘defeat,’ I said ‘get past.” Otto looked around furtively. “Do you know Joeseph’s uncle? ‘Uncle Franz?’”

  “I know ‘Uncle Franz’ the town drunk, if that’s who you mean.” Reinhardt frowned. Joseph’s uncle, Franz, was a thoroughly disreputable man, a vagrant, a drunk and frequently a menace. At least, that was what he was told, and all his encounters and observations had done little but confirm this in his mind.

  “Be that as it may, have you never thought how he does it?”

  “No, believe it or not, wondering what the local drunkard is up to has not been something I have dedicated a lot of thought to.”

  “Well, he isn’t homeless, he has a house registered with the town hall. I once checked, when I was running errands for mother.” Otto leaned forward as if sharing a secret. “And he always pays his tab, otherwise Bjorn would stop serving him. So, how does he do it?” He looked at the other two expectantly, but saw no response forthcoming. He sighed deeply. “He’s a Delver.”

  The other two looked unconvinced.

  “I know because I asked him.” Otto straightened his collar. “When he’s six pots deep, he will tell you anything you want to know for the price of a mutton pie.”

  “Alright,” Reinhardt conceded. “So he’s a Delver, and he knows enough to make it into the Castle, and he told you the secret.”

  “And how to sneak into the Armoury.” Otto grinned. “And it would get easier and easier with each run. I project that we may be able to engage the Statues on the second day, unless we get the Level on the way out on the first day.”

  Otto laid out the plan. Pack for a week camp out at the Level on the second day and possibly the last day. The cave was a simple honeycomb of galleries filled with Bats, Myconids and Envelopers that eventually led out into a thick, dense woodland. The Dark Woods had packs of Boar. Then weave through the Castle Gardens - without causing the pseudo-Gargoyles to chase them.

  “It’s easy - the Statues will chase you, but they are Statues, they can’t move as fast as we can. But, if you run, then the Angels and the Gargoyles will fly, and they can fly faster than most can run - so they’ll catch you.” Otto had explained. “So the idea is to walk briskly, but not fast enough to trigger their flight response, to the big fountain on the western side. You can walk through the basin, but the Statues will refuse to. Thus, if you lead them around to the far side and cut back through the fountain, they will be stuck walking around - giving us enough time to walk through the front door.”

  This plan had the added bonus of keeping them within sprinting distance of the Dark Woods, just in case the information bought at the cost of a mutton pie turned out to be a porkie pie. After getting inside, the

  Reinhardt looked at Magdi and saw his resolve mirrored in his Dwarf companion’s face. This was the plan Reinhardt had considered when he had gotten his , but instead of the six months or a year he envisioned, Otto had trawled through the books and scrolls, had sold his name to the Magic items, reprovision and rearm and tackle the five days to VaultJahren?chstes, then three weeks to get to the capital so Otto can go through orientation, then 28 days to do some Delving before Otto had his first monthly assessment. Reinhardt felt a determined kind of hope fill his soul.

  “Well, we’d better get ter school. Last week an all.” Magdi stood and scooped up his hammer. “And I had better find 'nother hammer. Or sommat. Da won’t forge another hammer,” Magdi was descending into a rolling grumble. “I think he thinks I won’t thinks of gowwin if he don’t.”

  Reinhardt grinned at him. “Next time you come round we’ll have to take you down the back shed. Father’s got about ten thousand pounds of old logging equipment, I’m sure there’d be something in there that’d match the heft of your hammer.”