Dungeon Annihilation 2 - 6

Louella

Ezal and I stared at the pile of gold for a few long seconds before we finally managed to move. I took out my space bag, one of the few things I’d bought before coming to the valley given how much they could hold and how easy they were to hide in emergency. We began to scoop the pile inside it.

“I feel like we just sold our souls,” Ezal commented once it was all out of sight.

“I won’t deny that I feel the same way,” I replied. I may have been carried away by my emotions which I was sure was why the host approached me when he did. I just heaved a deep breath and decided to deal with whatever might happen. At least the request wasn’t too hard, I just needed to attract more people to the dungeon. Easier now that I had a decent nest egg to pull from.

After that we made our way back to the town. The others had waited for us at the entrance with concerned expressions. I smiled and waved them off. “Don’t worry. The lady just wanted to burn a few goblins,” Ezal said to cut the tension.

We split up once we reached the town. I put together a report for Cassie once we returned to the manor then had one of the guards run it and the sword over to her. I told her to make the sword a reward for getting to the next level of the dungeon. Hopefully, it would spur a bit of courage on the adventurers’ part.

I was thoroughly exhausted by the time night rolled around. I didn’t even care when I learned that Earle had already submitted a report that coincided with mine. I was just ready to hit my bed. The tournament was set to start in a few days which meant even more adventurers would be coming to the valley. More than a few of them bringing a headache along with them, I was sure. 

I downed a pot of tea with relaxing herbs and laid in bed. At least I drifted off to sleep quickly enough. Tomorrow, I would need to think up ways to attract even more of the said adventurers to my little town. 

~~

I woke with a start as I dreamt that shadowy tendrils had been wrapping around me. Breathing rapidly, I tried to slow my heart from the stampede it was in the middle of having. Maybe accepting that offer wasn’t such a good idea after all. Rubbing my face as I got up, I scoffed at the thought. What’s done was done.

Getting dressed for the day, I thought about what was on my agenda. I needed to meet with Marquis Valamar then check with Cassie. After that was talking to Thrad about future development of the town. Now that I had the funds, I could make some changes to the planned expansions.

There was a knock as I was getting ready and Ezal entered. She had dark circles under her eyes. “I see you had trouble sleeping as well,” I said as I handed her some make-up that would help cover it.

“Yes… I was plagued with nightmares all night,” she replied quickly applying the concealer.

“Let’s just do our best to make sure the money is used appropriately.”

“That’s the best we can do, I suppose.” 

An hour later, we found ourselves under the Marquis’s airship. A tent was set up and he was reading a parchment as we approached. The guards blocked us until he was done reading and he gestured for us. Ezal went to stand to the side, while I took a seat across the table from him. 

“A lovely day don’t you think?”

“Yes, my lord.” The weather in the valley was some of the best on the continent, with summers never getting to hot, while the winters, while still rough weren’t as deadly as some areas. 

“Now that I’ve been here for a few weeks, I find that it is disappointing that the Kingdom never developed this area before now.”

“This will eventually be more than a small diplomatic problem,” I commented. Given its access to the Lecazar Empire, the more it develops the more they will take notice.

“That’s why you’re prefect for the job. An ex-Lecazar noble! Both of best worlds. We just need to keep any unwanted daggers from finding your back as their sheathes.”

“Thank you for that wonderful image, my lord,” I said trying not to shudder. I would need to talk to Commander Yin about increasing my guards.

“All to get the point across. Now that you are a countess, you’re welcome, you can have a standing army. I believe the number was…”

“Fifteen hundred, my lord,” the knight in red armor said.

“Yes, thank you, Avina. Fifteen hundred. Not that large a number, but not something to scoff at either.”

“I’m not even sure how to go about assembling an army.” I rubbed my forehead at the thought of commanding ten people let alone fifteen hundred.

“It can be a challenge. I plan to stay here until you have some semblance of control in the area. A few adventurers that follow you into the dungeon isn’t enough.”

A servant came forward with some snacks and a pot of tea. I realized I hadn’t eaten this morning due to how I’d woken up. It was finger food, so not very filling, but it did the job for the moment. When I finished about three of the tiny sandwiches, I looked back to the Marquis. “I guess my main problem is that I have no one to actually do the leading part. I might be a countess, but most of my learning involved state governing. Ezal trained at the royal academy as a bodyguard which included an in-depth course for such things, but she has had no practical experience. Plus, I wouldn’t have a bodyguard.”

“So you either need to find and recruit one, or you need to train one. I’ve heard that the royal academy of Lecazar has put out quite a number of good leaders in its history.” Marquis Valamar took a sip of his tea as I pondered the task. “It is easier to find a new bodyguard then to train a competent leader.”

“Either way, I’m not sure who to trust at the moment, given my… status.”

“Well… You’re not wrong,” he said with a chuckle. He could joke about my situation. I wasn’t sure there was an assassin in the kingdom or Empire that could hope to get near him. Even if you excluded the four or five dozen guards that surrounded him, there was his adventuring slash elite bodyguard group that was never further than a few paces from him.

“I’ll figure out a solution to the problem, don’t worry. I’ll try my best not to disappoint you,” I said finally.

One of his guards tapped him on the shoulder and he nodded. “It would appear our time is up and I’m sure you have your own tasks to attend to,” Marquis Valamar said as he rose and held out a hand to me. 

“Yes. Busy is my middle name for the foreseeable future,” I replied taking the offered hand and letting him pull me up. “Do you plan to dive the dungeon again?”

“Yes. Knowing that we barely conquered the first set of floors makes my blood boil just a bit.”

“I see. I’m sure you don’t need to hear these word from me, but please be careful. If anything were to happen to you, I doubt it would be long before my head was on a pike somewhere.”

The Marquis laughed before patting my shoulder like an old friend. “Don’t worry! I can take care of myself.”

~~

Looking around at all the sleeping bodies around the tavern, I couldn’t help but shrunch up my nose at the smell. It looked like there had been one hell of a party in the Adventurer’s Guild Tavern last night. I was just glad that there weren’t any bodies in questionable state of dress. I could do without seeing any of the men’s privates today.

“Sorry for the mess, Countess Louella. A man was here last night that was generous with his coin.”

I just gave the attendant a nod. They had rules, but as a new adventurer guild branch, they likely didn’t have the manpower or the strength to enforce them yet. “I don’t mind. Where is Guildmaster Cassandra?”

“In her office. She doesn’t have any pressing business at the moment so please head on up.” 

“Thank you.” 

Ezal and I stepped through the snoring bodies and finally managed to reach the stairs. From there it was clear, the host of the party likely staying in the Tavern where the alchocal was. I knocked on Cassie’s door and waited for a response. There was a bang as something hit the floor then a cough. 

“Enter!” I gave Ezal a look of concern, but pushed the door open. There was a plume of smoke from the ground next to Cassie’s desk. The smell was overpowering, but I thought I could detect something else hidden by it. “Sorry. I accidently knocked a smoke bomb off the desk. They are rather easy to trigger.” She had the window open and was letting the smoke out.

“That’s quite alright,” I replied looking her over. She had dark circles under her eyes, but the rest of her seemed flushed. Her ears were twitching rapidly and her tail flicked back and forth. “Are you alright?”

“Huh?! Oh, Sorry. The party kept me up all night. This is my office, but the room next to it is my home.” She pointed to her ears. “They look like cat ears, and they are just as sensitive. You try sleeping when there are fifty plus drunk adventurers that could easily level a building directly under you.”

I felt she was telling the truth, but was also hiding something. I just wasn’t sure what. Either way, as long as it didn’t impact my position or life, I didn’t intend to pry. “My condolences. We can come back later, if you like?”

“No. I’m just a little short on sleep. Please take a seat.”

I nodded and took the offered seat in front of her desk. Clearing my throat, I got right into it. “I know the number of people being drawn to the area is down due to the death toll of the dungeon. I can get the number of non-adventurers up, but I need your help getting adventurers here. What do you recommend?”

Cassie reached behind her desk and pulled out the sword I’d given her from the Dungeon host. “This. This thing is a masterpiece. I had our people go over it. Its worth at least fifteen gold and they say that is shooting low. If we can get to the section that you managed to acquire this, then I could get any number of adventurers here.”

“Like I said in my report. I acquired it by chance, I’m not sure how high you actually have to go. All I know for sure is that a mine is the next thing after the Gothic City.” I wanted to tell her about the host, but that could go over well, or it could blow up in my face. The last thing I want was an inquisition from the church to show up at my door.

“I understand. Which is another point we can raise. That things can be acquired entirely at random. I know that a few of the parties that are working the Gothic City had gotten ahold of some nice weapons and armor, but I think part of the deal is that they have to keep their mouths shut about it.”

“A magical contract?” They weren’t rare, but they were uncommon. Mainly because the wrong wording could cause one of the parties to explode.

“Like I said, they are mum on the topic.”

“What else can we do?”

“If I could get an adventuring party that was decently powerful here to enforce the others. Newcomers would feel safer. As I’m sure you’re aware bullying among the ranks is always a problem not matter what section of life you’re looking at.”

“Let me guess, they are expensive.”

“Frighteningly so. In the same vein, missions that offer a hefty gold reward can be a strong draw for mid-level adventurers.”

I leaned back in the chair as I thought over the options. Each had their appeal, but all of them required money. I glanced at Ezal who flashed five fingers. I nodded then looked back to Cassie. “Five thousand gold. Do whatever is necessary to bring more adventurers to the dungeon. That’s your spending limit of the next… four months.”

“Five… Five… Five thousand! Where did you acquire five thousand gold?!” Cassie cried, jumping to her feet. When she did so a piece of cloth was flung from under her desk. 

“Trade secret but I have my ways.” I reached down to pick it up and realized it was a pair of lingerie. “Um, I think you dropped something,” I said handing it to her doing my best to keep my voice even. She blushed deep red as her whiskers stood on end as she shot forward and grabbed it. 

“Pretend you didn’t see that.”

I coughed and nodded. Well, that explained the smell I was detecting under the remnants of the smoke. She was an adult, as well as, pretty attractive, so it was only right that people would try to woe her. What surprised me was that the garment belonged to a woman. They were too big to be hers, after all. I knew a few people that swung that way back in the capital. She didn’t have to try so hard to hide it.

“You got it. My lips are sealed. Just maybe not use your workplace next time,” I said standing up to leave. Cassie had turned so crimson by this point that most of her face had changed color as she hid it behind her hands. Ezal and I quickly left so as not to cause the poor woman any more embarrassment. 

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