Tyla adjusted the fit of her new armour once more. The newly purchased leathers had been chosen to be as close as possible to her tribe’s customary outfit. It wasn’t a copy by any means, but it had been made for someone with the same needs as her tribe.

  Those needs were to provide as much protection while restricting the movements of the wearer. The basic design was the same. A vest with flared shoulder guards, a stiff kilt to cover the upper legs, and tightly fitted bracers, vambraces and greaves to protect the limbs.

  There were differences. Her old armour had been made from deerskin, edged with the fur of smaller creatures for both comfort and silence. Her new outfit was made from something called a marluk, a terrifying creature found in the dungeon they were about to enter. The monster’s skin was both stronger and lighter than simple deerskin. It boasted large natural scales that had been softened by boiling and shaped into the stiffer parts like her greaves.

  And it was enchanted. Only the smallest of magics, but it was a revelation to her that the city could provide such things when a client requested it. Tyla had opted for a silencing enchantment. It didn’t make her silent, just the armour. There were other options, like self-cleaning or additional protection, but Tyla was bombarded with enough extraneous noise. She didn’t need it from her own equipment.

  Zaphar had opted for the self-cleaning enchantment, but his armour was all soft, flexible leather from something called a vinelurker. It left him vulnerable, but he said he was more alert when he was nervous. It was still a step up from the loose robes he’d been wearing when he wasn’t in disguise.

  He was much more enamoured of his new dagger. Larger and more vicious-looking than his previous knives, it was Tier Two and enchanted to boot. Invisibility was a choice that Tyla would not have made, but he seemed pleased with it. He’d already spent a few idle moments making the dagger and its scabbard fade from view.

  It wouldn’t be of much use against the animals in the dungeon—at least, not more than a dagger normally would be. Zaphar was excited about it because it would enable him to carry a weapon in places where that would not normally be acceptable.

  Tyla much preferred the sensible nature of the enchantment on her own weapon. Protection against damp, cold and heat seemed liked a small thing—if you had never had to care for a bow. Kelsey had been scathing of Tyla’s choice, but she hadn’t forbidden it. Tyla knew that she was always going to be more comfortable with a bow than with the deadly, loud new weapon.

  Aris’s gear was mostly unchanged. It had already been of high quality, and Kelsey insisted that it was important for maintaining Aris’s “Idiom”.

  That left Anton—Lord Nos, as Tyla resolved to think of him, even if he preferred to be addressed without a title. A great deal of his time over the last three days had been spent attending social functions with his wife. Despite that, he had managed to find time to outfit himself in a manner more suitable for his station.

  For most of the time she had known him, Lord Nos had dressed like an Elitran mercenary. Mismatched, dusty armour, with the gaps covered over by coarsely woven robes. His new gear was finely crafted chainmail, worn over an embroidered gambeson. His arms were covered by the same marluk scales that she wore, but backed with leather to provide more protection at the cost of added weight. They were also decorated with finely crafted inlays.

  His gear was still only Tier Two, but Tyla had heard that he was getting a Tier Three suit of armour commissioned. Armour of that quality had to be custom-fit, and that took time. He could have replaced his sword with one of higher Tier, but his current sword seemed to have sentimental value. Kelsey had stated that a new sword would come along when it was “Thematically appropriate”.

  Tyla wasn’t sure what the words meant, but she was pretty sure that Kelsey expected Lord Nos to pick up something suitable in the upcoming dungeon. That was what dungeons were for, after all—to reward the worthy. The only doubt in Tyla’s mind was that delving deep enough for a Tier Three weapon would be… difficult. Not for Lord Nos, of course. And it was difficult imagining a monster that Lady Aris’s firepower couldn’t overcome. It was Tyla and Zaphar that she was worried about. They were only second Tier.

  Tyla took another look at her status.

  Tyla Greenwalker of the Padascar Tribe, Dungeon Witch (Level 1)

  Overall Level: 13

  Paths: Padascar Hunter (Broken)/ Doxy (Broken)/Apprentice Dungeon Witch/Dungeon Witch

  Strength: 12

  Toughness: 8

  Agility: 11

  Dex: 18

  Perception: 20

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Will: 15

  Charisma: 10

  Traits

  Persistent Tracking

  Silent Shot

  Danger Sense

  Sense Magic

  Cast Lesser Charm (10)

  She had been practicing magic diligently since gaining her second Tier, but she was still on the first level of Dungeon Witch. Each spell she cast gave her a small amount of experience, but second-tier levels were much harder to achieve. She’d hoped for a new Trait before they delved, but it was not to be.

  Even without that trait, Tyla believed that Lord Nos could protect them, and she had faith that Kelsey would not lead them into challenges that they could not overcome. Even when Kelsey was being… whimsical.

  “Oh, this is just lovely. Nothing says ‘Welcome, brave adventurers!’ like a gaping, ominous hole in the ground. No ambiance, not even a proper threshold enchantment. Just damp rock, bad lighting, and the distinct aroma of ‘you’re probably going to die.’ Honestly, would it kill this place to invest in a foyer?”

  Lord Nos stared incredulously at Kelsey as she stood frowning with her arms crossed. “Your first level stinks of actual decomposing flesh, and you want to talk about a foyer?”

  “You’re comparing durians and ginkgo fruit,” Kelsey said smugly.

  “I have no idea what either of those two are,” Lord Nos countered. Kelsey waved him away.

  “I make an effort to discourage visitors,” she said smugly. “This one is supposed to be all lovey-dovey with wizards and adventurers and so on. It should be welcoming! Instead, it’s just… meh.”

  Lord Nos sighed. “If we establish contact, then I guess you can exchange design tips all you like,” he said. “Is everybody ready?”

  They all indicated that they were. Lord Nos nodded.

  “Very well then, you know the formation, lets go.”

  Tyla was first into the cavern. Both she and Zaphar were acting as scouts. Both of them could see in the dark, but she had the better perception. Not that the cavern was completely dark. The cavern walls were slick with moisture, which made an excellent growing environment for lichen and fungi. Some of the varied species scattered across the walls glowed just enough for her eyes to see.

  Everyone in the party, except for Aris, could see quite well in the dark. There had been talk of getting potions for her and doing the delve entirely in darkness, but they already had light sources. Tyla and Zaphar could range far enough ahead to stay out of the area lit by the glowstone, and Kelsey promised to light up any targets for Aris with her torch. Blinding their enemies seemed like a better option than engaging them on equal terms.

  It wasn’t long before Tyla came across the first trap, a snare fashioned out of roots. Concealed as well as it was, Tyla would need to stay back and point it out to the others as they approached. Or she could trigger it safely and leave the way clear.

  However, according to the briefing she’d received from Lord Nos, that would alert the sliggs and provoke an attack. It posed a tricky dilemma, or at least it would have if any of them had been in their first Tier. As it was, she just had to signal to Zaphar, a few yards back, that the fight was starting. Notching an arrow to her bow accomplished this well enough.

  He nodded and drew his dagger. This shouldn’t take more than the two of them.

  Tyla concentrated on the trap in front of her. Her mind gathered the energy from the core strapped to the small of her back. Mages customarily wore it around their necks, but that made Tyla look like she had three breasts. Men stared enough.

  Lord Nos had told her of fire spells he’d seen, that unleashed a pillar of fire reaching as far as twenty yards away and two feet thick. Tyla couldn’t manage that. Instead, a thin tendril of fire lashed out and laid waste to the triggering loop of the snare.

  With a thwipp-crack!, the rest of the root trap disappeared into a crack in the walls. If Tyla had been standing in the loop, she would have been pinned, unable to respond.

  She took a step back.

  The sliggs boiled out of more cracks in the walls ahead of her. They were small, humanoid creatures between three and four feet high. Their dark grey skins blended in with the rock walls, even to the extent of dripping slickly with water. These ones were only armed with their claws, but that would change.

  Tyla loosed an arrow and took a step back as she drew another one. The shaft sunk directly into a charging sligg, sending it flying back and causing the others to chitter in fear or anger. Despite their loss, they kept coming, and Tyla kept firing.

  She had downed two more before she drew level with Zaphar, who was ready to engage them in hand-to-hand. Their slick, leathery skins were tough but no match for his dagger. It was only a moment later before all seven of the creatures were dead.

  “Easy,” Zaphar said, taking deep, shuddering breaths. “That—that was easy.”

  A patch of bright light announced the main group’s arrival.

  “I should hope so; they were just Level Two,” Kelsey said.

  Zaphar glared disrespectfully at the Numina. “I’ve never had to fight monsters that came down from the ceiling,” he objected. “It’s creepy.”

  Tyla wasn’t sure that he’d ever fought any kind of monsters. In the forest, creatures attacked from the canopy all the time, so she hadn’t been greatly perturbed by it.

  “Are the corpses of any value?” she asked.

  “People buy the skins and claws, but they’re just first Tier,” Lord Nos replied. “Even if we were here for that, it wouldn’t be worth the time for us to collect them.”

  “I’ll take ‘em!” Kelsey declared. “Always got a use for fresh meat!”

  “Um… should you?” Lord Nos asked. “Don’t you prefer it when delvers leave the corpses?”

  “It’s not a big deal, but it does save on costs if I can recycle,” Kelsey agreed. “Oh, wait, are you saying this is an etiquette thing? Like, dungeons shouldn’t take other dungeon’s stuff?”

  “Should they?”

  “I… dunno,” Kelsey admitted. “Mel thinks… Mel won’t say. She says that dungeons don’t talk to each other because none of them ever took Avatars, which I know isn’t true. Oh, and now she’s refusing to talk to me. Very mature.”

  Everyone stared at Kelsey, but no one said anything, allowing Kelsey to ramble on, apparently having a conversation with herself.

  “Yes, I am telling everyone that. Yes, including Suliel. The next time she sees you, she’s going to know what a brat you are!”

  “Um, Kelsey? The etiquette?” Lord Nos asked.

  “Oh.” Kelsey made a face. “Tell you what, I’ll take them, but I won’t process them. That way, I can give them back if Deppy objects.”

  “Deppy?”

  “That’s another thing they can object to if they bother to make contact,” Kelsey said. “Honestly, what’s taking them so long?”

  “I don’t know,” Lord Nos said. “We’ll just have to go deeper.”

  can put them anywhere, but if the mana density is too low, you get crippling upkeep costs. Bosses are an exception, up to three levels higher than you could normally manage.