CHAPTER 55 A Walking Glow-in-the-Dark Mage

Henrietta

The morning was bright and beautiful and green. Actually, the arm and leg thrown over me were green.

Lady Amy had tossed and turned all night. At some point, she'd kicked off her blanket and was sprawled out in her breast band and bunched-up leaf skirt, hair in a braided state of disarray.

I left her lightly snoring in our bed and slipped on my clothes before popping out to the bathroom.

Between staying up late chatting with the elf, being woken up multiple times from her tossing and turning, and my excitement of going dungeon delving today with Keith, I might not have slept very well.

I wandered downstairs in search of strong tea.

To my surprise, Keith sat at a table nursing his own cup of tea and reading. He looked as tired as I felt, but he also had an air of frustration about him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, slipping into a chair at his table.

Keith put down the report. "Gimtak dropped off two reports. Ria, do you have a habit of hiding things in your sock drawer?"

"I do … but how do you know that?" Keith was here, not rifling through my drawers, so there must have been a story behind his question.

"We've found some spies in your closet back home." He waved a hand over the papers. "I got a report letting me know another was found today. They also managed to kill one of our own before they were captured."

My heart dropped out of my chest. The thought of one of my new friends not being there when I got back hit me hard. My voice wavered a bit as I asked, "Who?"

Keith double-checked the report. "Chikli. He got stabbed a few times."

"Oh no!" I couldn't believe it. Chikli was one of the first people I'd met at the castle. "How is Tulith?"

"She's fine, why?" Keith cocked his head to the side, giving me a confused look.

"Aren't they married?"

"Yes?" He was still confused.

We stared at each other in some obvious form of miscommunication long enough for me to just break down and ask, "Wouldn't she be upset if her husband is dead?"

Keith realized and laughed. "He's not dead. He just died. Chloe probably sorted it out after they found his body. Considering it was day of? He's probably been [Resurrected] or [Revived], depending on how much mana Chloe had left after showering Julia with affection. Worst case I left a few revival potions."

"I can't believe I forgot you do that for staff. My father never found the expense worth it." I dropped my face into my hands. "I need tea."

Keith waved over a girl in an apron who was waiting tables. Olen and Penelope were nowhere to be seen yet. I ordered a sweet tea and raspberry muffin.

"So?" Keith prompted after I'd been poured a giant mug of black tea and sugar and honey with some specialty in-house hazelnut syrup. Lavender wasn't there to magic up fun drinks, but I would accept any hot, sweet, morning wake up in a cup.

"Not that I should be telling you, and I'll have to find a new spot now … but whenever I take off my grandfather's heirloom jewelry, I always stuff them in my socks. This grants a +2 modifier to Constitution." I held up my pinkie to show Keith a small black ring. Then I lifted my poofy shoulder-length hair and revealed one earring with a mithril chain linked with emeralds draped over the ear. "And this grants a +4 modifier to Charisma."

"A plus four?" Keith leaned across the table to look closer at my ear. "Who made it?"

I could understand his interest; anything over a plus three was legendary. Literally. It had the [Legendary] tag. "My great-great-grandfather dabbled in jewelcraft."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "More than dabbled, I'd say."

"I probably wasn't supposed to take it, but I needed everything in my arsenal to take you on." I sipped my tea with a contented sigh. "Too bad I didn't take the whole royal set."

"Then I'm assuming the spies your father sent are after your earring." Keith finished his own tea and watched me patiently finish the rest of mine. "We'll plan for that when we get home."

"What was the other report?" I asked. He'd said there were two.

He pushed up his glasses and tapped the second page on the table. "There was another Madame Potts's Cast while we were traveling yesterday."

"Really?"

He pushed over the piece of paper.

Hello, this is Madame Potts.

This week's events are in!

One month until Grand Duchess Calisto's Spring Ball! Debutantes from around the continent are gearing up to make the trip. By air, by land, and sea … those sailing off the western coast should considernotgoing by sea, as there's a 50% increase of tentacle encounters in the area from now until May 1st.

Servalt authorities found a group of catkin children in Westhills, and three Peldeep human youth in Colwood. This madame thinks it would be wise to look at repeat known offenders.

The war between Nilheim and Drendil is coming up, and commerce is booming! If you're in Gren's Keep or Kith Bog, you can expect a 10% discount on most trade goods until the Great Road clears and normal traffic resumes.

The Emerald Caves Dungeon of Baldorin is about to experience a Monster Surge. Gem-cutter ants and razor-teeth worms averaging level four are spawning at an increased rate.

The village of Bryn in Peldeep will be celebrating their 75 Year Celebration next week. Everyone visiting the celebration will be granted +1 Favorability with Peldeep.

Pirate Abra and her band of Misfit Undead were seen off the Sunshine Coast of Sumbria. Batten down the hatches and send out the navy because Abra is known to attack coastal villages. For someone who lives in the water, she has a strange love for setting everything on fire. Recommended: outfits that are flame resistant.

If everyone thought the Goose Incident of last fall was bad, then I have troubling news for you: A golden goose was spotted flying over Sumbria yesterday. The bird's whereabouts are currently unknown, but this madame is certain it won't stay hidden for long.

This is Madame Potts, signing off.

I handed the paper back to Keith. "It's going to be a busy month for everyone."

"So it would seem." He folded the reports and tucked them into a vest pocket. "For now, would you like to go explore a dungeon with me?"

I stood up, ready. "I thought you'd never ask."

There were four different types of dungeons in Valaria.

First, there were tower dungeons, great buildings that stretched to the sky, and each floor brought you closer to the top. Tower dungeons could go up into the sky, like Green Oak, or down into the earth, like the Depths of Despair. These were the most common and stable.

Second, there were labyrinth dungeons, elaborate mazes that expanded outward. These were important to defeat quickly, as they continued expanding until the dungeon was completed.

Third, there were monster dungeons. They served as home to a growing race of monsters who would pour out as a stampede when the dungeon could no longer contain them. They were the most dangerous for obvious reason.

And lastly, there were portal dungeons, seemingly small dungeons from the outside, but inside housing whole, unique ecosystems on every floor, and the only way to get to the next level was through a dungeon portal. They were accessed through a portal platform or gate.

Keith had let me know that Deep Shoals was an underwater labyrinth dungeon that stretched under the lake just south of Gren's Keep. He'd assured me that pockets of aerated land popped up all over the maze.

The thought of being trapped in a tight space underwater while man-eating fish tried to eat me gave me a cold sweat. It did not sound very fun—even if I did have a walking glow-in-the-dark mage and unlimited air.

As such, and after very little debate, Keith and I headed west to the Hollow Gorge.

I couldn't wait to check it out, especially after I learned that the Hollow Gorge was a portal dungeon. A portal dungeon. They were very rare, and an adventurer's dream because of the ecological diversity and the variety of monsters. It made for a great challenge.

This was going to be so much fun!