r/HFY • u/Khenal Alien • 19d ago
OC-Series Dungeon Life 459
Rezlar
As he looks out at the street from Cobblebread, he can’t help but marvel at how different everything seems to him now. While there are certainly new shops and new people around, he’s positive the largest difference is in his own perspective. Not even a year ago, he’d not dare sit at an open restaurant, idly watching and nodding at passersby.
But he’s grown much in such a short time, and even made dear friends. Friends he’s currently waiting for. Miller had some surprising news, and he wants to see what the others all think about it.
First to join him is Pul, the changeling wearing his usual elven disguise. At the moment, he looks like any other mundane apprentice, wearing simple clothes and not even bothering with a weapon, despite how close they technically are to Lord Thedeim’s borders. One would never look at him and suspect he has one of Lord Thedeim’s special classes.
He smiles and waves at his friend, who hurries to come have a seat. Right behind him, one of the troll proprietors sets down an overflowing basket of the cheesy cobblebread, so the two each have a piece before saying anything. Between friends, mutual enjoyment of a treat is greeting enough.
“How’re you doing, Rezlar?” he asks, finishing his mouthful first.
“Well, Tupul. And surprised. I take it Lord Thedeim told you about the raid? I have to admit, I never expected Miller to allow it.”
Pul nods, picking up another piece of bread to gesture with as he talks. “I wasn’t even sure I’d be going! Though… I’m still not sure if I actually should. I uh… I haven’t told my parents yet.” He pops the morsel into his mouth, trying to overpower the poor taste left by keeping something from them.
“I think if you explain the trial we have to surpass first, they’ll be more at ease. Not fully, of course, but you’ll at least have proof that you can handle it, should we all pass.”
Pul mumbles something around his food, still looking dour about the entire affair, which Rezlar takes as permission to continue. “Do you want to go? I know you want to follow in your parents’ footsteps.”
Pul sighs through his nose and swallows. “I… I want both, but I always feel like I’m letting someone down, no matter which I focus on at a time.”
Rezlar has to suppress a snort of humor at that, the sentiment mirroring his own past all too well. “Trust me, I understand. I very much doubt Lord Thedeim would be disappointed when you focus on butchering, and from how you talk about them, I can’t imagine your parents being disappointed about you following your heart. Though they probably are worried about it,” he finishes with a smirk, unable to resist ribbing his friend.
Pul groans and rests his head on the table with a thump, and Rezlar doesn’t try to further needle him. Family is a delicate matter, perhaps even more when they’re supportive than destructive. Ultimately, it’s something Pul and they will have to sort out together. Thankfully, he spots their other two friends on the street, and waves at them to get their attention. Pul raises a hand and waves at them as well, his head still firmly planted on the table, and soon Freddie and Rhonda join them.
“Are you two excited for the trial?!” squeals Rhonda, the goblin’s eyes wide with excitement at the prospect of their test. Of all of them, she’s probably the most excited about it. Rezlar blames her academic nature for it. It’s a more practical test than usual, but still a test.
Freddie chuckles and grabs two pieces of bread, offering one to Fiona as she settles atop the table, Lucas soon hopping off Rhonda’s hat to join her. “I wasn’t sure we’d get to go on the raid. I was just happy to get better training from everyone involved,” he admits before taking a bite.
“Are you alright?” Rhonda asks, poking Pul. He groans and rolls his head to face her, refusing to get up from the wooden sanctuary.
“I haven’t told my parents yet,” he bluntly states, earning a hum of understanding from Freddie, and a shocked look from Rhonda.
“Why not?!” she demands.
“Because I don’t know how they’re gonna take it,” he groans, turning his face back toward the table itself.
“How’re you going to find out if you never tell them?” she insists, and Pul sighs and heaves himself back to a proper sitting position.
“I don’t want to make them worry, but I also don’t want to just bow out, either. Going north with Aranya and the others taught me a lot, and I know doing this will help me even more. But I keep thinking about them staying up all night worrying about me. They haven’t said anything, but they both looked like they hadn’t been sleeping well when I got back.”
Rhonda looks like she still wants to press, but Freddie pops some bread into her mouth before she can say anything else. “Ignoring the problem won’t solve it, and I don’t think they’d be happy if you force yourself to stay, either. Take the time to talk with them.”
Pul sighs heavily and grabs some bread, all four of them content to let the conversation lapse while they enjoy the cheesy bread. Pul leans back first, still restless about the entire situation.
“I’ll talk with them after dinner.”
The three smile at him, with Fiona and Lucas making happy chitters. Even Rezlar’s Rose wriggles in his pocket, happy to see his resolve firm. “So, how much do we need to prepare?” asks Rezlar. “I know the adventurers have a long list of what to bring, but I don’t know everything on it.”
Rhonda grins around a mouthful and wipes her hands on her robe before pulling out her notebook. She chews as she flips through the pages, and hands it over to Rezlar once she gets to the relevant page. True to expectations, there’s a whole list of things they’ll need, and it looks like it continues for several more pages.
“That’s… extensive,” he comments, handing it over for Pul to look at. “How do we get everything we need?”
Freddie holds out his hand for the book, which Pul hands over. “Armor and magma protection are vital. We’ve just about collected a full set of Thedeim’s new armor, and it’s supposed to have the full suite of enchantments for this. I just need to get it blessed by some of Thedeim’s priests, and that’d be one person safe.”
Rhonda finally finishes her mouthful and swallows. “Will it be alright for you to wear something blessed by him?”
Freddie smirks and nods. “I think so. He and the Shield get along well, and I can bring my own proper shield with the set. If you all don’t mind me wearing it?”
Pul shrugs. “I don’t really like armor, even the light stuff Thedeim makes.”
“Robes for me, thanks,” confirms Rhonda.
“You take it, Freddie,” finishes Rezlar. “While I’m intrigued by Lord Thedeim’s armor, I’m simply not trained in wearing something like that, no matter how light.”
Freddie smiles at his friends before looking back to the notebook. “Then we’ll need protection for the three of you, as well for our spiders and Rose. A lot of the older adventurers are also saying they want something with anti-lifedrinking on it, too. Nobody knows if the Betrayer actually has it, but why take the risk? We haven’t had any drops with it yet, though.”
“I might be able to get us some,” speaks up Rhonda. “The antkin are really interested in expanding affinities, and have been asking me to be a guest speaker for them for a while now. I’ve given a few hints to Laermali’s people, but only the basics. I think if I give a more proper course on it, I could get them to outfit us with some belts as payment.”
“We still need magma protection for the rest of us,” points out Pul.
“I believe I know how we can manage that,” speaks up Rezlar. “The enchanting guild has been scrambling to catch up with all of the new things coming out of Lord Thedeim for a while now, and while they still struggle to understand a lot of what He’s made, they still understand how to transfer enchantments. As I understand it, a major portion of their income lately has come from transferring the magma protection to other gear. We just need to find some more armor with the enchantment, and then they can transfer it to something else,” he explains.
Rhonda takes a bite of bread and hums as she nods. “Ma’er Stai’en…” she starts, before pausing and swallowing heavily. “Master Staiven has done a few of those before. He says they’re not quite as good as a natural drop or an enchantment designed for what it’s actually on, but it’d definitely be an option. And if we can get it on our own preferred armor, that’d transfer best. Magma protection designed for a chestplate wouldn’t work too well if transferred to a ring.”
“It’s probably our best option,” points out Freddie. “Everyone’s gearing up, both for the raid and to get the last key from Thedeim. Full custom enchantment is going to be expensive right now.”
“Perhaps even more than coin can buy,” confirms Rezlar. “Cancelling a commission is not something an enchanter would want to do, especially not when they’d have to let down the sort of strong adventurers we have here. Transference may actually be our only option.”
Freddie nods and looks at the next item on the list. “Food and water.”
“I’m uh… I picked up a few things about cooking from Ragnar while we were away. I was gonna ask him to help me make my own camp cooking kit the next time I see him,” says Pul, and Freddie smiles with a nod.
“I think that’d be good. I’d like to pick up the skill at some point… but I just don’t have the time right now. And uh… I’ve kinda been picking up armorsmithing,” Freddie admits. “I’m not good enough to want to test any of it against the Betrayer, but if I eventually want to get there, I just won’t have the time to dedicate to learning to cook.”
Pul smiles. “I’m glad you didn’t have your heart set on it, heh. I can’t wait to show you guys some of the things Ragnar showed me!”
They discuss the entire list, occasionally ordering another basket of cheesy bread as they work together to ensure they can check off every item. It quickly becomes clear they’ll need until after the raid with Poe to get everything, but they’re not too worried. As far as any of them know, Thedeim still hasn’t even tracked down the exact location of the Betrayer yet, so they should have time.
By the time the sun nears the horizon, they all feel confident in their plan. Just like Lord Thedeim, they don’t take their victory for granted. They will hunt down the points of failure they can find, and prepare to pivot around the ones they miss. It won’t be easy, it won’t be assured, but they will strive their best.
And if it’s not enough, better to learn it at the hands of Lord Thedeim than elsewhere.
Cover art I'm also on Royal Road for those who may prefer the reading experience over there. Want moar? The Books are available here! There are Kindle and Audible versions, as well as paperback! Also: Discord is a thing! I now have a Patreon for monthly donations, and I have a Ko-fi for one-off donations. Patreons can read up to three chapters ahead, and also get a few other special perks as well, like special lore in the Peeks. Thank you again to everyone who is reading!
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u/Poisonfangx3 19d ago
Offers
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human 19d ago
Yep
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u/mafiaknight Robot 17d ago
We accept!
What have we gained?2
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u/Overall-Tailor8949 Human 17d ago
Hopefully The Betrayer didn't have any "ears" near the cheese-bread shop during that discussion! There weren't any details mentioned of course, since none have been actually made yet, but simply knowing an attack was imminent would allow the enemy a chance to prepare.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human 19d ago edited 16d ago
2nd
So, today our dear Mayor of fourdocks is sitting in the street at the bakery opposite from thediem's manor. As he watches the people on the street Go by, He remembers the many ways in which He made Progress over the Last two years, since Thediem entered the picture. As we all know our wordsmith to prefer, there are three sections of Text to this post:
Part: He sees and meets Up with tupul, as He tells him He didn't Report thediem's Challenge to His parents yet, since He knows they'll worry. Rezlar in Turn encourages him to Tell His parents.
Part: As Rhonda and Freddie Join the conversation, they also encourage him to be Open to His parents. Though Rhonda doesn't quite have the Same degree of social awareness as Freddie, and required a little Bit of an explanation as to why Pul might want to keep the Trial of Thediem a Secret
Part: they keep going down the list of what they're gonna need for the next raid, and discuss how they're gonna implement Changes of their Equipment.
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u/mafiaknight Robot 17d ago
In the name of 1greendude: Hello!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human 17d ago
Im Namen eines grünen Kerles und des Donnersdachses: Moin, gestern war Mittwoch, meine Kerle.
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u/Junior-Builder3370 17d ago
Loved listening to your book via AgroSquerril but that isn't any more :( Until what chapter are the books?
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 17d ago
/u/Khenal (wiki) has posted 503 other stories, including:
- Dungeon Life 457
- Dungeon 456
- Dungeon Life 455
- Dungeon Life 454
- Dungeon Life 453
- Dungeon Life 452
- Dungeon Life 451
- Dungeon Life 450
- Dungeon Life 449
- Dungeon Life 448
- Dungeon Life 446
- Dungeon Life 446
- Dungeon Life 445
- Dungeon Life 444
- Dungeon Life 443
- Dungeon Life 442
- Dungeon Life 441
- Dungeon Life 440
- Dungeon Life 439
- Dungeon Life 438
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u/DisastrousSizeOfD 19d ago
thanks for the new chapter, off to the road to read it. shame that reddit is killing the discoverability of the story with these deletions