There was a moment of silence as the beings standing in the grassy meadow of the dungeon safe room looked at each other.
Jeremy motioned toward the stuff he'd piled in the meadow. “Do you want any of these? I can't use them myself. I was going to sell them to Banxi for what I'm sure is far less than they're worth.”
There was a quiet hmmph from Banxi.
“Banxi!” The eight goblins greeted the dungeon gnome merchant like he was an old friend, and maybe he was.
“You may not rob my new friend from another world,” Terod used his slight height advantage to glare down at Banxi, who didn't seem bothered.
“The price is the same for him as it is for you. I do not play favorites,” Banxi responded.
“So you were robbing him,” Terod responded. “If you sell to us, my new friend, we will pay you double what he would, which is far less than what it would cost us if we bought it from Banxi.”
The next several hours had to be the strangest of Jeremy's life. He was surrounded by goblins who questioned him about the items he was selling and offered him dungeon coin, or tried to trade him something.
“I'll give you 500 dungeon coin and a crossbow for the pack,” said the fighter Pitas.
Jeremy shook his head. “My pack still works. I'm keeping it.”
“Lard Lump has Smokissis!” another goblin shouted next to the kobold merchant's booth.
“We do not buy from thieving merchants!” Terod shouted back.
“But she has smokissis!” The two goblins continued arguing.
One goblin gave him 1000dc for his oversized charmed club, seeming quite happy with it. Another traded him a repeating crossbow with twenty poisoned crossbow bolts and two thousand dungeon coin, for his charmed broadsword, asking him why the poison hadn't worked on him. He told the goblin how he'd given himself poison resistance. The goblin ran off to get some poisoned candy and do the same. Another traded him a spirit knife, an odd-looking bone knife that was supposed to kill ghosts and spirits. Identify just gave him Charmed object. He agreed to the trade with a shrug, having no idea whether the knife worked.
They tried to purchase his charmed spear, but he refused to sell it. The spear had proven very useful, and he had a feeling he'd need it again.
“Oh,” he said, taking the white potion from earlier out of his pack. “Does anyone know what this is?”
“Ooh, blessing of the rat king,” Lard Lump said, looking it over, Banxi having vanished. “It makes you stronger, faster, your teeth grow longer, and you gain protective hair for armor. I will give you 100 dungeon coin for it, very good deal.”
“I'm surprised you didn't just drink it,” Flint said.
“As boss monster, the rat king was pathetic,” Jeremy said quietly. “Mom's going to have a hard enough time recognizing me without my being covered with rat hair.”
“Oh, I want it, I want it!” Goblins surrounded them, and Jeremy received numerous bids. Jeremy ended up selling it for 500 dungeon coin, which he suspected was the last of the goblin's money.
By nightfall, Jeremy was close to eleven thousand dungeon coin richer, had a repeating crossbow, and a second talisman that might protect him from magic. They were all sitting around an artificial campfire, asking him how his world could have only one moon. He noticed the goblins left two empty spaces, presumably for fallen comrades.
One of the goblins put something in a pipe, lit it, inhaled, and passed it around. It was a herb Jeremy couldn't identify.
“The plant doesn't do much for humans, but goblins love it,” Lard Lump said when Jeremy slipped away to ask her about smokisses.
Jeremy inhaled a small amount to be polite and burst out coughing. The goblins didn't seem to mind.
They told him sad stories of their pre-dungeon lives. For the past hundred years, Cleansing Wind had pushed the goblins out of their mines and underground homes, stealing or destroying their farmlands. Years before, there had been a desperate battle in which most of their parents had been killed, and the survivors were driven off into the wastelands, hiding and fighting to survive. The endless supply of dungeon rations would be a great help to their people.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The goblins smoked the dried plant they called smokissis until they passed out in the meadow.
***
Once the goblins were out, Jeremy repaired his pack the best he could with velociduck tape, then he met with Banxi. “There's something else I need. What kind of armor do you have that will protect me, but won't slow me down?”
Banxi seemed to think. He pulled out an outfit made from skin with green scales. “Made from green demon lizard skin by a master craftsman. Charmed for speed, to protect, and to be self-repairing, 300,000dc is a very reasonable price for this--”
“I meant to say, anything within my price range?”
Banxi looked evasive. “Nothing better than what you have now. To provide more protection, you need charmed items made by skilled craftsmen from hard-to-obtain materials. Both are expensive.”
“Indeed,” Jeremy said.
“I feel I should tell you that most adventurers run through the next floor of the dungeon as quickly as they can, in many cases while screaming. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Run through it quickly?” Jeremy asked. “Why?”
“For reasons that will be clear once you arrive.”
“I don't think I need to explain why we are not taking Terod's mother's charm with us,” Flint said after Banxi stepped away.
Jeremy laughed. “Are you afraid of Terod's mother?”
“Terod's mother's spirit is stronger than me,” Flint said. “You are lucky Arkys protected you from her. If not, she could have damaged your soul, which would have been very bad for my—I mean our—sacred mission to save the universe.”
“I see.”
Jeremy turned to Banxi. “Uh, Banxi? When Terod wakes up, could you tell him I spoke to the ghost of his mother, and she said that she's proud to have such a kind, generous son, but her charm belongs with him.”
“I'll do that, Jeremy,” Banxi said. “Best of luck on the third floor of the dungeon. You will need it.”
Jeremy returned the charm to the unconscious goblin, then found Lard Lump and told her about the secret entrance, how to get inside, and what lay beyond.
Lard Lump handed him a large, great-smelling package. “I made what you call donuts for the next floor of the dungeon. Two thousand dungeon coin. Very good deal.”
From the weight of the package, there must be dozens of donuts. By her standards, she was being generous.
Jeremy gave her two thousand dungeon coin. “I will miss you.”
“You need not worry. I will keep your secrets.”
Jeremy wasn't sure how to respond. She believed he was a girl, and he wasn't sure how to disprove her belief, so he put a finger to his lips, trying not to laugh. “Secret.”
He left quickly. Despite their many differences, she and the other kobolds had been good friends to him, and he would miss them.
It was a short walk to the end of the red path and the entrance to the third floor of the dungeon. He had five more floors to go.
He took a final look at his stat sheet.
Name: Jeremy Wilkins
Race: Human
Sex: Boy
Age: 11
Character Class: Child-Rogue
Level: 17
Health: 14
Mana: 9 (+20 rapid recovery) (Charmed Object)
Attributes:
Strength: 14
Endurance: 7
Vitality: 6 (+1 rat pendant)
Dexterity: 21
Agility: 22
Perception: 28
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 6 (+1 ring of wisdom)
Will Power: 5
Charisma: 4 (+1 clown nose)
Extra point:
Active Skills:
Identify: 5
Sneak: 8 (+2 magic shoes) (+1 camouflage ring)
Detect Traps: 9
Charmed Object Activation: 3
Passive Skills:
Enhanced Physical: 3
Poison Resistance: 8 (+1 rat pendant)
Mental Fortitude: 4
Pain Tolerance: 5
Physical Shock Resistance: 1
Skills:
Melee Weapons: 5
Archery: 4
Knife Throwing: 3
Spells:
Crude Light Spell
Dungeon Account:
9,345dc
Titles:
Slayer of Kritchek the Mighty Rat King!
Big Slayer
Friend of the Community!
Marks:
Bank-robber!
Politician Hater!
Gifts and Blessings:
Blessing of the Spider Queen.
The god Arkys blesses your quest for vengeance.
***
Jeremy had made progress on the second floor, but not as much as he'd have liked.
“I'm afraid I know little of the third floor of the dungeon,” Flint said as they faced the exit to the second floor and the entrance to the third. “Only that it is a very unpleasant place.”
“Well. There's only one way to find out.” Jeremy stepped forward, and they entered the third floor of the dungeon.
***
After Jeremy left, Bogan appeared next to Banxi, and the two stood together in the background of the safe room. “What do you think? Considering how poorly prepared he was when he entered the dungeon, his progress has been phenomenal.”
“It's too early to tell, but I think the boy shows promise,” Banxi responded.
“I agree. But his actions on the third floor will show us what he's made of.”
“Indeed.”
End of Book Two
