Chapter 102 - 103
"As for where it is," said Henri, straightening his cotton shirt. "It’s a couple of leagues southwest of Distan, somewhere along the Winding Road between here and Melsian County. We can’t be too specific, because if you’re anything like Zech then you’ll probably try to go there one day and we don’t want to be responsible for that."
"I paid you to be specific, though."
"That’s..."
Vaun waved off his friends. "It’s a significant walk from the main road, pretty far off from any beaten trails. We don’t know exactly where it is since we’ve never been there, but apparently we’ll find it if we head east after spending about two hours on the Winding Road on horseback."
"Is that so? Well, thank you for sharing such important information with me."
"Hey, a friend of the tavern boy is a friend of ours."
Even though the men were under the impression that they had taken advantage of Alistar by charging him for information that was well-known in certain circles, he felt that he had come out on top in their exchange. They might have viewed the dungeon’s location as simple knowledge that they had likely just learned after taking up the commission, but such information was only available to frontiersmen of a certain standard, which was an extremely limited pool of people. Secondly, with a future so uncertain as his, there was a strong chance that Alistar would have to turn to working as a frontiersman for a while in order to sustain himself after he left Distan, so it was useful to confirm that the methods of finding dungeons that he’d read about were actually true, as they had just been reiterated to him by the men of Team Tempest.
Alistar and his friends spent the rest of the afternoon at the Lawsons’ tavern with their new acquaintances, enjoying stories of the various exploits that had made them famous. Interestingly enough, Vaun, Kene and the other bald man were all brothers, Vanessa being the daughter of their deceased sister. Henri had grown up with her and had been reluctant to stay behind when the talented young arcanite had decided to follow her uncles on their adventures throughout the Holy Lucian Empire, which had eventually led them to the famous frontier that Caedmon ruled over. Not only was this area a hotbed for rare fauna and flora, but it was also near the historic site where the conclusion of the Inverted Wars had unfolded over five centuries ago, when the last of the Drunish armies were crushed in a final battle between them and the forces of man, their remnants fleeing into the Tall Mountains never to be seen again.
Although he’d only had a single glass of cider, Alistar felt a bit dizzy when he finally decided to tell the girls that it would probably be in their best interests for them to head home for supper, which the three were expected to share with the rest of the Silverkins. Hearing Anice and Lessa’s reluctant groans and seeing the way that Alistar’s shoulders dipped a bit as he made the suggestion, Vanessa surprised them by pulling out the three copper lucets from earlier and pinching each one with deliberate care before she slid them across the table with a light smile. He’d sensed small fluctuations of inner energy at the tips of her fingers and immediately noticed that her aura had been imprinted onto the smooth, worn metal.