Katrina’s nerves were on high alert for the entire train ride. She’d only needed to ride it a handful of times in the last few years, but this was her second trip in less than a week, and the strain was wearing her down quickly. It didn’t help that Alicia seemed equally stressed; being separated from her Heart Tree clearly wasn’t good for her.
After they left the train, figured out a plan, and waited for the Dryad’s Stamina to start to level off, the two girls started walking towards the Dungeon Camp. Alicia needed quite a bit of assistance, and Katrina swore she saw the color fading from her skin as they traveled. Still, despite her exhaustion, Alicia seemed oddly enthusiastic about their surroundings. Her eyes were wide as she looked around, darting from shop to shop, looking at all the valuable wares on display in the windows.
At first, Katrina found it difficult to share in the excitement. Every moment they lingered was another potential moment of weakness, and her body tingled with anticipation as she fought against the urge to feel skin breaking beneath her teeth.
As they walked, however, a strange thing happened. Every time Katrina would find herself drawn to a passing stranger, Alicia would stumble, or ask a question about a business they were passing. Katrina found herself focusing more and more of her energy on the Dryad, on keeping her safe, and soon she even found herself smiling as she explained various bits and pieces of Delving culture.
Even aspects of the community that had long ago become routine for Katrina now seemed exciting again. She couldn’t help but remember that, up until this week, Alicia hadn’t seen another living person in years. Against all odds, this trip that she’d been dreading ever since leaving the Dungeon with Alicia had suddenly become surprisingly tolerable, perhaps even enjoyable.
Soon enough, both girls found themselves staring down the entrance to the Camp. A collection of dirt paths weaved through Millennium Park, weaving between dozens of makeshift buildings and tents. The Change had dramatically altered the topography of the park, as had the many battles necessary for reclaiming it. The main entrance to the Dungeon was further in, but thankfully they would be avoiding it tonight. After all her years of distant fangirling, Katrina knew the layout of the Camp by heart, and quickly led the way.
As they began walking through the park, Katrina heard Alicia sigh with relief. After a minute, the Dryad even pulled away and started walking on her own, which caught Katrina by surprise. She’d gotten used to supporting Alicia, and had even kind of enjoyed it. It was nice to feel needed, and it didn’t hurt that Alicia was so easy on the eyes.
As the Dryad wandered off, peeking into the different shops and stalls, Katrina kept her eyes trained on Alicia. The clothes she’d grown for herself fit very nicely, and certainly covered more than her previous outfit, but her lithe form was still quite visible. Her rich, green skin seemed so delicate in the moonlight, and Katrina wondered what the rest of Alicia might feel like. She began daydreaming, imagining her lips on Alicia’s neck, but for the first time in years, her teeth weren’t part of the fantasy. She imagined something softer, something much more intimate, and she felt a strange anticipation building in her core.
Katrina! Stay on task!
She shook her head, trying to refocus her thoughts, just as she saw Alicia running towards her again. “Katrina! They’ve got a potion shop!” The Dryad grabbed Katrina’s hand and pulled her along, dragging her to a nearby stall. An Owl Beastkin stood waiting for them, no doubt intrigued by Alicia’s excitement. His feathers were a mix of brown and tan, and his eyebrows were so incredibly thick Katrina thought they seemed ready to jump from his forehead.
“Good evenin’ ladies! Looking for a pick-me-up tonight?” the Owlkin asked.
“Yes!” Alicia said. “I need a Stamina potion!”
Once Katrina had reached the counter, she saw that all the display products were only for show, and seemed to be filled with dyed water rather than actual potion. The shopkeeper turned around and began rummaging through some boxes, and as he did so, his head swiveled 180 degrees until he was looking at them again.
“You two Delvers? I must say, I haven’t seen you around before.”
“We’re… weighing our options, but that’s our tentative plan,” Katrina said.
“Newbies, eh? Well, we’re happy to have you! I always say you can never have enough Delvers, though I’m fairly sure some of the Guilds disagree with me on that.” The Beastkin’s body turned to join his head, and he placed a small box on the table in front of him. “So, Stamina potions. Got a couple different sizes, but the base versions aren’t gonna do anything about the taste. If yer squeamish, I’ve got a few specialty brews that go down easy, but they ain’t cheap.”
“I doubt even the fancy potions would taste good…” Alicia mumbled. The shopkeep clearly took offense to that, and she immediately began clarifying. “Wait, not like that! I meant that, in the Change, my taste buds got all scrambled! I don’t need to eat anymore, so everything tastes kinda bad.”
“Ahh, I see what you mean. You gave me a good scare, that’s for sure. If you don’t mind me sayin’, I ain’t never seen a Dryad ‘fore today. Is it safe to be delving? I can’t imagine yer Heart Tree is very close.”
Alicia started to respond, but Katrina quickly cut her off. “It’s… a bit complicated. We’d rather keep that close to the vest, if you don’t mind.”
“Aw shoot, there I go getting too excited to talk up the fresh blood. Forgive me, ladies, I’m just happy to see new faces. How about we get back to business, eh? The smallest potion, this one here, is gonna cost you thirty silver.”
“Silver?” Alicia asked. “Right, Dungeon coins. Well, we don’t have anything like that, do you take US dollars? I can pay on my phone.”Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“Sure, I could do that, but there’s gonna be an upcharge,” the Owlkin said. “You wanna pay in USD, that’ll be three hundred an’ fifty.”
“Three fifty?!” Alicia gasped. “But… it’s such a small vial!”
Katrina grabbed the Dryad’s arm and leaned in to whisper. “Potions aren’t easy to make, Alicia, it’s actually pretty lucky he has any to spare for us. Plus, I’m willing to bet he’s actually giving us a pretty generous deal.”
“I see one of you knows the lay o’ the land already.” The shopkeep smirked, at least as much as his beak would allow. “Yer right, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for new delvers. Plus, these tiny vials? Got a couple nearing their expiration date anyways, and I’d rather see them go to use.”
Alicia looked between Katrina and the shopkeep, then sighed. “Well, it’s not like I have much of a choice. I need the Stamina.” After a few taps on her phone, the Dryad had transferred the necessary money, and was soon pocketing her very first potion.
As the transaction finished, Katrina looked around the area before leaning in. “Look, you’ve got no reason to be this nice to us, but… thanks. What’s your name, friend?”
“Name’s Kevin! How ‘bout yerself?”
“I’m Katrina, and this is Alicia. If we’re ever in the area again, we’ll try to send some coin your way.”
Before Katrina knew what was happening, Kevin had reached out and grabbed her hand, vigorously imposing a rather aggressive handshake on her. “Hope to see you around!”
Soon enough, Katrina had regained ownership of her hand, and eagerly pulled away. The girls smiled at the friendly shopkeep as they started towards their next destination, at which time Alicia spoke up. “He was so nice! I hope everyone is just like him!”
“I wouldn’t get used to that,” Katrina said. “It’s not uncommon for Delvers to be pretty rude to newcomers, a lot of them view delving as a zero-sum game. Granted, it can depend on which Guild you’re working with; you already know which one we want to avoid.” The Dryad shivered, and Katrina suspected it wasn’t from the night breeze.
“So, where to next?” Alicia asked.
“We’ve got to officially report our findings. After that, we need to grab the necessary paperwork so we can register as Delvers, and once that’s finished we’ll need to pass the certification test. That last bit won’t be tonight, though, we’ve already got too much going on.”
“Is the test hard? What kind of questions do they ask?”
“Most of them are focused on the Dungeon itself, and the basics of delving. They want to be sure you know what dangers are down there, and it’s much easier than trying to craft individual exams for every Class.”
“Well, I know just the person to help me study!” Alicia said. The girls looked at each other, and Katrina couldn’t help but smile at the idea. She quickly turned away when she felt herself blushing, but before she could think of something else to say, Alicia was already changing the topic. “Whoa! Is that the Bean?!”
Looking ahead, Katrina saw the center of the Camp. It was a large circle the held the biggest structures in the whole park. Most of them served as informal Guild Halls, but there were still a few shops mixed in. In the center of this encampment sat the remains of the Bean. It was mostly a large frame, though small sections of the reflective outer surface had already been restored.
“Yup, that’s the Bean. When the Change hit, the Dungeon opened directly underneath it, and the whole thing shattered into thousands of pieces. For some reason, those pieces now sometimes drop as loot, and the Guilds collectively decided they need to rebuild it. As you can see, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
“Wow, now I’m regretting that I never saw the Bean in person. Where do we put our piece? How do we know where it goes?”
“See that small building over there?” Katrina pointed to a simple, wooden structure tucked in between two large Guild Halls. “That’s the closest thing the Camp has to a guest services building. It’s not run by any Guilds, and the people that work it are also the ones trying to piece the Bean back together. From what I’ve heard, it’s a collection of Shapers and Architects, but they have a small staff dedicated to helping people with some of the more mundane aspects of delving. That’s also where we can pick up paperwork for our licenses.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Alicia grabbed Katrina’s hand again, and the Vampire happily let herself be pulled along for the ride.
Now that the girls had reached the center of camp, there was a healthy amount of activity. While it was certainly busier during the day, many of the Guilds had small collections of nocturnal Races that preferred delving at night. Guild regulations also mandated that official delves be scheduled far in advance, and the hours were heavily staggered to avoid different teams stepping on each other’s toes.
Officially, the reason for the schedule was to avoid congestion, but everyone knew the main reason was Ashes to Ashes. As the biggest Guild, and the most destructive, there had been a few casualties in the early years when smaller delving teams had gotten caught in the crossfire. Ashes to Ashes also never delved at night, as their membership was heavily biased towards humans, so these late hours were often considered safer. Katrina could tell that a Guild was preparing to send another delving team down, as there was a fair amount of commotion.
Alicia continued to pull the nervous Vampire along, and Katrina’s grip tightened as they started pushing through different groups of people. She could smell the excitement in the air; adrenaline always made people’s blood much more fragrant, but also gave it a delicious flavor that she never quite got with donated blood. With Alicia leading the way, Katrina closed her eyes tight and tried to focus on the soft hand guiding them through the crowds.
It felt like an eternity, but eventually they made it to the small services building. Katrina grabbed the wooden counter in front of her, squeezing hard as she tried to fight off her intrusive thoughts.
“Katrina? Hey, you alright?” Alicia asked, suddenly much closer.
“It’s… very crowded, and everyone’s excited, which makes it worse…” Katrina whispered, her breathing heavy.
“What if I put up a barrier? Would that help?”
“I… don’t know, but we definitely shouldn’t try. Not supposed to use Class Abilities in Camp, especially in our case.”
When Katrina finally opened her eyes, she could see Alicia looking at her with concern, but she also saw another set of eyes. They were bright, pale green irises with slit pupils, and they were faintly glowing due to the ambient moonlight. They belonged to a Panther Beastkin that appeared to be running this particular building, and he was looking at the girls expectantly.
“Can I help you? This isn’t a medical station, you know,” the panther said.
“Sorry, we’re just… new here, and I don’t get out much.” Katrina said. “We’ve got some findings to report.”
“Oh? Color me intrigued, especially since you’re both new faces. What could you possibly have for us tonight?” There was a hint of playfulness in the Beastkin’s voice, and he leaned closer.
Now that they were further from the crowds, Katrina’s breathing started to ease up, and she reached into her purse to grab their shard of the Bean. When she placed it on the counter, the panther’s eyes lit up even more, and a smile grew on his face.
“Another shard! Oh, this is incredible!” The panther picked it up, spinning it around carefully as he inspected it. “It’s a fairly sizable piece, too. Where on Earth did you find this?”
“We… found the site of the next key, this dropped from one of the monsters.” Katrina said quietly, hoping no one but the Beastkin would hear.
“Well, it’s about time! This one’s been driving everyone mad!” Katrina’s hopes were immediately dashed when the Beastkin reached up to a large bell hanging from the corner of the stall. He grabbed the rope hanging from it and began to ring the bell as loud as he could.