I Hate Dungeon School

We made our way to the Jewelers Bower and found that Smitty and Cori were already waiting and digging into breakfast. I saw the place was pretty empty, so Manya was spending extra time with them. I wasn't surprised at the lower turnout at the inn, but it made me sad to see it. I had no idea how Manya was making ends meet.

I supposed it wasn't really any of my business, but I still felt sympathy. Eira and I entered, and Smitty waved at us, her tail wagging excitedly.

"You finally made it! Farina woke me up just after I went to sleep to give me a message that you needed us. This related to that job with the knights you told us about?" Cori asked between mouthfuls of bacon on toasted bread.

"Yes, yes, friend Alta, must know!" Smitty added, before tearing into what looked like a haunch of something.

Eira and I sat down to join the two, and just before I spoke, a bell at the door jingled, and I saw a sight I didn't expect. Mariana and Myth. Not only did I not expect them at all, but I definitely didn't expect them together.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

"I'm still technically part of the team, until my transfer goes through, I guess." Myth said with a shrug. "Besides, I have a feeling you'll need my help with this one."

"And you roped me in during that little meeting earlier, so I'm part of your squad now, too, I suppose." The blonde elf said huffily, but I could tell she was glad to be included. She was easier to read than a children's picture book sometimes.

I knew that Myth probably didn't really want to do this, but for some reason felt obligated. As for Mariana, she probably just wanted to be involved and was bored or something. I have no idea. I still can't figure out what her deal is.

We all sat together and devoured breakfast. Manya's food was so good, and there was a good amount of everything a busy dungeoneer would need.

"Oh, it's so great to see the inn so full, donchaknow!" Manya said, bringing us more food. "It's been so quiet with all the disappearances, the mages and knights being about. Now the guard station is locked down, and people have been acting mighty strange these days. It's enough to give me grey hair! Well, more grey hair!"

After she left us be, Cori piped up. "Yeah. People have been acting really weird lately. Glassy-eyed, mumbling, but really quick to anger. Especially if you get too close to the parks. It's really, really weird. Never seen anything like it."

"I have. But it should be something we'd run into here." Myth said.

"Oh?" I asked, shoving a piece of bread in my mouth.

Myth sat for a second, lost in thought as she chewed her food. She took a sip of some hot tea and then looked me in the eye. "You remember when I told you about how we used to get Dryad blooms in Middenveldt? This is pretty similar to when we get a dryad queen involved. But Revenstahd is the wrong climate for dryads. Soil is wrong too."

"Could it be something else?" Cori asked, continuing to chow down.

"I mean, maybe? I'm pretty confident, though. Confident enough, I brought some insurance." Myth said pulling out a small leather pouch. She opened it up and pulled out a series of very tiny bottles with a pearlescent purple liquid inside.

"And what pray tell is this?" Mariana snatched one and swirled it around, holding it up in the light. "Not drugs, I hope."

Myth glowered at the blonde before answering. "I only do herbs. I wouldn't touch the other stuff. This is a potion to help resist pollen."

"You have an anti-dryad potion? That's awesome! And oddly specific." Eira said, reaching for one.

"No. It's just for pollen in general. It helps with allergies. But it does help resist the effects of dryad pollen, just in case that it is what we're dealing with." She said with a shrug.

"So do we take it if we feel effects or what?" I asked, snagging one for myself.

"Oh no. No, no, no. Stuff like this doesn't work like the potions we use in dungeons and stuff. This stuff takes at least an hour or so to get to work, but it lasts for around 24 hours. We should also take it after we've eaten food. There are side effects otherwise." Myth explained quickly.

"Do I want to know what the side effects are?" I was feeling less sure about this.

"Just...don't worry about. Take the medicine and eat something to take the taste out of your mouth. It tastes really, really, really bad." She blanched as she opened her bottle.

We all copied her. Except for Smitty.

"What's wrong, Smitty?" Cori asked.

"Smell bad. Smitty no want to drink bad water." The kobold's ears flattened against her head as the smell hit her sensitive nose.

"Buddy, you gotta take it. You're going to get it the worst if we have to fight plant pollen monster things." Cori sighed.

"No. Dun wanna. Smitty no like the bad water." She stopped. "Potion. Smit- I don't want to drink the potion."

She said that very slowly. She really was trying to get better at Mortal Common. It was impressive.

"Smitty. If you drink the potion, I will buy you ten books for your collection." I promised. Smitty was easy to bribe, and it usually worked.

She whimpered for a moment, grit her teeth, and then closed her eyes, grabbed her nose and tossed the potion back. She immediately started coughing and gagging before grabbing some of the herbal tea Manya had brought her easier and drank the whole thing.

"Bad water is bad. Smitty hold you to promise." She glared daggers at me, her ears flat and a slight growl deep in her throat.

I was about to say something, but I got distracted by two figures approaching the inn. They wore cloaks, hiding their faces, but I recognised them. Noah and Adhara are approaching confidently.

"Myth. I don't know if Farina told you, but those Knights we got roped into working with are involved here, and I really want to beg you to try to keep your cool as best you can." I whispered towards her.

I saw a flash of darkness behind her eyes for the briefest of moments before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I saw her shake for a brief moment before calming down.

"She did warn me, and I will try, Alta. By all the gods above and below, I will try my damned best. You owe me, though." She said through clenched teeth.

"Deal." I nodded.

The door jingled as the pair entered, throwing their hoods off as they did so. Wordlessly, they sat and joined us at the now incredibly crowded table.

"Good morning, ladies! I see you got quite a big crew gathered together." He looked at all of us, but I noticed he stopped when he saw Myth's face, and I saw his confident smile waver for the barest of moments. I had become half convinced that was a permanent part of his face, but I guess even confident guys like him have their moments.

"As much as I'm sure you'd like to chit-chat, Noah, we want to get going on this as quickly as possible. I don't much like the idea of dungeon crawling in an unknown dungeon after dark." I said firmly.

"You wound me. No, I'm fully aware of the time constraints we're under. I may act like a foolish popinjay, but I take my job seriously. My mentor drilled me into that very thoroughly." He said, his smile dropping and his face becoming deadly serious, his eyes darting towards Myth for the barest fraction of a moment.

I may not be the smartest when it comes to interpersonal things, but something was going on there, and I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know.

Okay, that's a lie, I totally did want to know, but I also know that was the sort of thing that would need to wait.

"Ok, lay it on us, knight boy. What are we looking at?" Eira said, folding her arms and leaning back in her seat.

Adhara held up her hand and looked around first, making sure the place was empty. Manya appeared from the kitchen with more food, bless her.

"How much can we trust her?" The bastetian narrowed her eyes at the plump woman.

"Dear, I have heard more secret conversations than you could possibly imagine, and I ain't done spill no secrets yet, donchaknow. Alta here is like my daughter at this point. Well, a close cousin anyway. It wouldn't do to upset family by spilling no secrets, you betcha." She nodded as she set food down before the pair of knights.

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said to me. Alta, please translate." Adhara looked at me, utterly befuddled.

"She's trustworthy. I'd die and kill for this woman and her cooking." I said confidently.

"Good enough for me!" Noah said with a laugh. "Now, ladies, let me lay out the plan. After I eat this delicious-smelling food. Gods above, I miss proper food."

He dug right into it, as Adhara sighed deeply.

"I guess I'll explain what we've got planned. Pay attention and commit this to memory. Alta says you're all good at what you do, and while I don't know what you all do, I'm going to assume she knows what she's talking about." Adhara said with an annoyed huff.

"Thank, I guess?" I grimaced at her backhanded compliment.

"You're welcome." She rolled out a scroll on the clearest part of the table. It looked like a floor plan.

Just then, I noticed that Farina had joined us. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I noticed her.

"When the hells did you get here?" I blurted.

"Since the knights came in. I was right behind them." She shrugged and adjusted her spectacles as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

I decided to ignore that for now and focus on the explanation that Adhara was giving us.

This was much more complicated than dungeon crawl planning, but not so much that I couldn't follow it.

As the cat woman spoke, I got more and more excited for this. If I ignored all the political implications, this seemed like an interesting little quest.

Political implications could wait for the aftermath.

I was ready to get back into a dungeon. So very ready indeed!