Monroe

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-four. Dark realizations.

Bob walked through the tavern, ducked behind the stairs, and knocked on Kelli's door.

"Come in," he heard Kelli's voice call from within.

Opening the door, Bob saw Kelli looking at him from over several stacks of paperwork better than a foot high.

"Looks like you're busy," Bob said as he evaluated the truly impressive towers of parchment.

"I have to read and sign for each person that takes a room at the Guild, and each delve performed by an adventurer not affiliated with the Guild here in Holmstead," Kelli said wearily.

"Each delve?" Bob asked in surprise.

Kelli nodded and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head and wincing as something in his shoulders popped.

"With Thidwell having cycled the Leaders and their freshers through in one-hour increments..." Kelli trailed off as he looked at the piles in disgust.

"Regardless, how can you help distract me from this mess?" Kelli asked.

"Just ran into some acquaintances from Harbordeep, and they told me they were waiting on a Conjuration crystal," Bob replied, "I'm delving tomorrow, so I wondered what we needed."

"About thirty more Conjuration crystals," Kelli sighed, opening a desk drawer and digging in it for a moment before pulling out yet another piece of paper.

"Thirty-four of them," Kelli finished.

"I'll see what I can pull out tomorrow," Bob said, "I'm delving in the morning, then I'll be shepherding my neglected freshers in the afternoon."

"Do you think you could get a message to them to have them meet me here for breakfast?" he asked.

Kelli nodded, reaching into another drawer for a small pad of paper.

"It'll give me a chance to get out of this office for a few minutes," he replied.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Bob smiled, "why don't you join me for lunch tomorrow, I'll wrangle up Bailli, and we can catch up."

"If only Bailli had chosen fire," Kelli lamented with a smirk, "she could have an 'accident' in here and free from the tyranny of these forms."

Bob snorted, "I'll leave you to your purgatory," he told Kelli as he backed out of the office and closed the door.

Reaching up to his shoulder, Bob scratched Monroe's ruff as he headed out of the Adventurers Guild again.

He'd finished his vacation, made arrangements for a delve and to work with his freshers. Now it was time to spend a different sort of time, in a different sort of Dungeon.

Bob fell through a portal into the Arcane Depths.

"Alright, Trebor," Bob said as he contemplated the empty space around him, "let's say I wanted this level to create a creature that could provide a Melee Affinity Crystal; how would I do that?"

'By introducing a creature into the environment that has the melee skill, and then killing it here, allowing its mana to cycle through the system,' Trebor replied.

"That's it?" Bob expressed his surprise.

'Yes,' Trebor answered, 'however, as non-sapient creatures don't possess the melee skill, you'll need to kill a sapient being with that skill in order to begin that process.'

Bob paused. "You don't mean I'd have to kill another person?"

'A sapient being. Given your affinity for humanity, I'd recommend another species entirely. Perhaps a species that isn't humanoid? Or one whose actions conform to your societal standards of 'evil'?' Trebor responded.

Bob shook his head slowly.

"Now I know why there aren't any Dungeons that provide the melee skill," he muttered.

'There are, in point of fact, several Dungeons on this planet that provide those skills, although you won't find them on this continent,' Trebor stated.

"I suppose I could summon something that is, as you said, evil and kill it; summoned creatures aren't really real," Bob said doubtfully.

'You would need to summon the being ritually,' Trebor replied, 'can I assume you'd like the same being to provide other skills reserved for sapient beings, such as Parry?'

"Yes," Bob confirmed.

'You currently only have one skill that could ritually summon a sapient being, 'Summon Amber', which I assume you won't be using as she has neither skill. You will need to advance to tier six in order to gain a skill that will allow you to ritually summon another sapient being,' Trebor advised.

"Everything comes back to tiering up," Bob said sourly before letting out an explosive sigh.

"Fine, I suppose I should also wait until I tier up to arrange the mana flows?" Bob asked.

'It would be advisable,' Trebor replied, 'you'll have much greater control, allowing the process to be accomplished more efficiently.'

"What about creating some earth, adding plants and water, maybe some sunlight?" Bob looked around the empty space thoughtfully.

'You could certainly prepare the area in that fashion, although you should make sure the area is suited to whatever sapient species you intend to place here,' Trebor suggested.

"Could you suggest a species that is evil but possess melee, parry, shield usage, armor usage, and crafting skills?" Bob whispered, his voice conveying his trepidation.

'Certainly,' Trebor answered, and Bob saw an image coalesce in front of him.

It was a humanoid creature, dark red skin showing through caked dirt and grime. It wore leather armor and carried an axe at its side with a shield on its back. In its six-fingered hands, it held the severed head of another of its species, which it lifted up, and tore a chunk from with its jagged teeth, or more accurately, fangs.

Black eyes squinted out from a boney ridge that was more shelf than brow, and its ears were conk-like spirals that stuck out from its head at a right angle. Its head was covered in scales rather than hair.

'The Ghair is a murderous, cannibalistic species. They regularly kill and eat their own children, and one of the ways to become a recognized adult in their society is to kill and eat your own mother. Paternity is rarely acknowledged, as rape is the most common form of procreation,' Trebor explained.

'They are, by your societal standards, entirely without redeeming qualities,' Trebor finished.

"I'm pretty sure you meant any societal standards," Bob muttered as he looked at the long-limbed creature.

'To be fair, there are societies, much like their own, who would see nothing wrong with their practices, however from your perspective, yes.'

"I'm not sure I want those in my Dungeon," Bob said slowly.

'It would certainly increase the difficulty,' Trebor replied, 'most Dungeons are curated in such a fashion that only sentient creatures are used, which precludes species that might create traps, craft weapons, and utilize tactics when engaging.'

Bob shook his head, reaching up to pet Monroe, seeking the comfort of his buddy's presence.

"I can't summon them now, so I'll put off this decision until after I advance to tier six," Bob decided.

'Thidwell is entirely correct in stating that for your continued survival, you ought to make that action your primary focus,' Trebor advised.

"What would it require to gain the ability to switch back to my human form after I become a Yheldaar?" Bob asked.

'You would need the 'Return to the beginning' skill, which can be obtained as a divine blessing from a number of deities, or in your case, simply purchased,' Trebor stated.

"Well, at least that is easy enough," Bob said as he dropped a portal at his feet and fell through it, leaving the Arcane Depths.

Bob saw Bailli, Erick, and Kelli sitting at a table together as he walked into the tavern, his stomach grumbling after spending five hours in the Dungeon that morning.

Bailli caught sight of him, and a brilliant smile flashed across her face as she waved him over.

Approaching the table, Bob slid Monroe off his shoulders, gently depositing his imperial majesty in the center of the table.

"Afternoon Bob," Bailli greeted him, "and how is the mighty Monroe today," she cooed as she scratched the indolent fluffer under the chin for a moment.

"No doubt pleased with your devotion," Bob said drily, taking his seat and looking over the huge Maine-Coone towards Kelli, "finish that pile of paperwork?"

"Almost," Kelli replied with a theatrical groan, "I should have that particular wave cleared by tomorrow afternoon."

Bailli carefully lifted her hand from her lap, bringing a sleeping Icing Death up to the table, and carefully depositing the kitten next to Monroe, who carefully sniffed the tiny intrusion into his domain, then shifted slightly to curl up around the tiny princess.

Bob noticed that there was a familiar-looking harness around Bailli's kitten.

"I see you've embraced your duties as the personal transportation for your feline overlord," Bob intoned as he looked back to Bailli, his mouth turning up slightly as he fought to maintain the serious tone of voice.

"Gary was terribly excited when I came in for a MAKRES," Bailli responded, her smile belying the roll of her eyes, "apparently, Eddi has continued to spread the gospel according to Bob, and the MAKRES has been generating a steady profit."

Bob groaned and shook his head, "Eddi being Eddi, I suppose," he grumbled.

Bailli's smile widened, and she leaned over towards Bob and lowered her voice, "Did you hear what Eddi did when Thidwell brought him up in front of all the other Guild Leaders to demonstrate the Endless Swarm path?" she asked.

Bob shook his head, both before and after Bailli's delighted description of Eddi's debut.

"Well, at least he's happy with his path," Bob said after a few moments of contemplation.

"That he is," Kelli confirmed, "and there is no denying that Rexy is impressive," he noted.

Bailli nodded her agreement, both hands engaged in scratching Monroe's ruff, "So Kelli said you're finally going to finish shepherding your freshers?"

"Yeah," Bob sighed, "I've left them to the tender mercies of Harv and Elli for long enough; it's time to make sure they haven't forgotten the rules while I've been busy."

At that moment, Icing Death awoke, likely from Monroe's increasing purrs, and began to carefully climb up Monroe's difficult eastern face before arranging herself primly atop the much larger feline.

The three humans watched the spectacle silently before releasing a collective 'Awwww' as the cuteness of the scene overwhelmed them.

A quiet squeal of delight alerted Bob to the arrival of his freshers, and he turned to see Wayna looking over his shoulders, hands clasped over her mouth.

"So cute," she whispered as she stared at the two feline overlords.

"And that's my cue to start whipping my freshers back into shape," Bob said, shooting a grin to Kelli and Bailli in turn.

Standing up, he looked down at Monroe, "You want to stay here for a while, buddy?"

Monroe idly licked his paw, tail swishing slightly.

"He's going to wait for lunch," Bob said, "I'll grab something from the kitchen and eat in the Dungeon."

"So, you've all taken your paths, and you've capped your skills," Bob bellowed at his freshers as they shifted on the hot sand.

"Now it's time to face off against monsters that are slightly less pathetic," he yelled as he gestured behind him, away from the gateway.

"Who remembered rule four?" Bob shouted, "who knows what you'll be facing today?"

"Scorpions, Shepherd!" all four of his freshers bellowed back.

"Then step up and start PUTTING IN THE WORK!"

As one, Nora, Orson, Charn, and Wayna stepped forward and started pulling pavilions out of their backpacks.

They arranged them in a line and then worked as a group to carefully move them forward until ripples in the sand started moving quickly towards them, signaling that they were close enough to attract the attention of the monsters.

Sand scattered and swirled in the brutal heat that shimmered in waves off the ground as the scorpions attacked the freshers, and combat ensued.

Nora panted as she blasted another scorpion into chunks of chitin.

She knew it would be hot on the tenth floor, but she'd never experienced anything like this. The sweat just seemed to boil off of her, and her mouth was so dry she had a hard time swallowing.

Lifting her canteen to her mouth, she gulped down as much water as she could, once again grateful for the fourth rule.

Seeing another ripple heading towards her, she flipped the cap closed, allowing the canteen to fall to her waist.

She'd figured out that keeping it on a loop around her neck was the easiest and most convenient way to ensure it was not only easy to access but also easy to release when she needed both hands on her staff.

Nora focused on the mana flowing through her hands and rushing through the channels in the staff as she unleashed a crackling bolt of lightning that caused the attacking scorpion to explode.

She turned to assist Charn and Orson, lightning lancing into the scorpion that Orson had pinned to the ground with his spear as Wayna's poison blast decayed the flesh of the scorpion that Charn had engaged.

They'd been fighting for hours, and the crystals had been piling up.

Catching a look from Wayna, she nodded and then called out, "Fallback!"

The group started to move back towards the Gateway, dragging their pavilions with them.

Bob sat in the shade of his own pavilion as he watched them reach the safety of the Gateway.

"Why did you stop fighting?" Bob asked loudly.

"Rule two," Charn replied, "We're getting tired and starting to make mistakes."

Nora could feel Bob looking them over.

"Good work," he boomed, "this environment, even though you came prepared, is much more demanding."

"Let's head back up and grab some dinner at the tavern," Bob said as he folded up his chair and started taking down his pavilion.

"I need to find my cat," Nora heard him mutter as they walked through the Gateway.