Chapter 9:

  The Exodus Part 3

  The following morning, everyone's had a good night's rest, with Jade patrolling a 3 meter radius around Allura and having a 3 meter radius detection range after that, the entire campsite was monitored without difficulty.

  System Notice: [Rubber] research complete. New blueprint [Rubber Tire] available.

  “Oho! All that research finally unlocked an advanced blueprint! NICE! Tires imply an eventual upgrade to a carriage or vehicle of some sort! Sure, why not. Research [Rubber Tire] please!”

  System Notice: [Rubber Tire] research started. Estimated research time 15 minutes, 10.5 seconds.

  “Alright, everyone! Time to wake up and get ready to move! We may have managed to get away last night, but the Deokk army's bound to start searching the surrounding area soon, and we want to be long gone by then. We'll have a quick breakfast and then leave the area.”-Allura.

  “Leave it to me. I've got plenty of materials to make a light yet filling breakfast here. Let's see [Bread], [Cheese], various [Meats], and [Water] for everyone to drink, and there's plenty of [Rock] around that we can use to make plates and cups with. So let's get to it!”

  Over the next 15 minutes, Jade turns the rocks of the cave in the area into enough plates and cups for everyone, fills all the cups with water, but about half way through serving some make-shift sandwiches gets the notification.

  System Notice: [Rubber Tire] research completed.

  “No new blueprints for that? Hmm. Oh well, might as well research [Stove] so we can make better lunches and dinners, right?”

  System Notice: [Stove] research started. Estimated research time 3 hours, 20.5 seconds.

  Everyone's face lights up at the simple meal, as those sandwiches are far better than the miserable gruel everyone was previously fed by their slave masters. Even the catatonic slaves start showing some reaction.

  “I can't believe a simple meal of meat and cheese wedged between to slices of bread could be so good!”

  “Just wait until we can actually cook and make it warm and toasty!”

  “You can do that?!”

  “Yep. And that's just the start! I'm researching [Stove] right now where we, or rather you, can cook with firewood, as I talk you through it. Seeing as I have no hands and can only copy something I've already used [Analysis] on.”

  “Haha! I can't wait to see it!”

  After everyone's had their fill, the plates and cups are gathered around and disassembled to be placed back in Jade's materials storage.

  “The best part of being your Dungeon Boss is that clean up is always a breeze! Literally in some cases!”

  “Not going to argue that. Let's try to get some distance into the mountains today. See if we can make some significant progress to the border before our pursuers get wise.”

  Once again, the rag-tag group proceeds with their exodus, but this time, with a bit more spring to their steps, as they finally have hope of regaining their freedom and casting off their cruel chains.

  Meanwhile, at the ruins that was once the Deokk duchy's most profitable mine, one of the nameless soldiers cries out “We have a survivor!”

  “Finally! Maybe we can finally get some real answers! Who is it?!”-Deokk

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “It's the hired sorceress, Lady Selene, Sir!”

  “HEALERS!! TEND TO LADY SELENE! I'LL BE THERE SHORTLY!”-Deokk

  “Ughh!! What time is it?! What DAY is it?! That gods damned fool! Had to go and piss off a Traveler, of all things!”- Selene

  “Wait... Did you say 'Traveler' Lady Selene?”-Deokk

  “Ye think I'm daft do ye?! I said what I said! That daft walrus-man, Baron Royce, all but laid out the 'Welcome' mat for beast-kin commandos by beating the stuffing out of a rabbit-kin child, 'to make an example of her' he says, but more likely just for kicks. Sure enough, during the night, a highly talented rabbit-kin woman with bat wings to boot, probably the child's mother, showed up, went through our men, and me, like a laxative, and I'm not sure what happened after that, but I didn't see the girl among the slave pens, so she's likely dead and 'disposed of.' The beast-kin didn't bother to hide the fact that she's got a Traveler as an ally, and the bloke himself said a few words over some hidden communication device... What in blazes happened to this place while I was out? Were we hit with some kind of siege weapon?!"-Selene

  "That blasted idiot! So all his gibberish about a Traveler is at least partly true! DAMN IT! What I can tell you, my dear Lady Selene, is that we chanced upon the fool blowing up the mine himself with explosives and bragging of accepting a Quest for it, trying to blame a Traveler and a Dungeon Boss for making him do it. He is currently being.. questioned.. by my best information officers.”-Deokk

  “A dungeon he says, hah!... Wait.. On second thought, that makes sense given what I saw before everything went FUBAR. We had patrols going missing, not just Hit and Run tactics with bodies being hidden out of sight, but gone entirely, almost without a trace, men disappearing from their beds, nothing more than water on their pillows with salt-peter in it as the presumed murder instrument, and I personally witnessed a legion of men mowed down by a stalactite wave that I thought was just a spell through a magic tool, but now I'm not so sure. And the rabbit-kin woman just walked right through my magic like it was nothing. If we're dealing with a dungeon, it all makes sense! Dungeons can, and will, devour any corpses and loose items in them and can make 'rules' that if not followed can make their monsters able to just outright ignore anything you do to them!"-Selene

  “That's crazy! Dungeons are static entities you can't reason with! They're either monster generators that just spew out beasts without end until someone comes along and smashes the core to pieces or they're trap filled labyrinths! And if you're really unlucky, you get both!"-Deokk

  “That's not all of it, Lad. There's a third, rare type that is mobile, and they pretty much make up whatever rules they like, and you have to play by 'em. This wouldn't be the first time a Traveler became a dungeon. Fun fact, long, long ago, while you were nothing more than a twinkle in yer great-great-grandfather's eye, there was a Traveler who was indeed a dungeon core and went on adventures with a party, disguised as their wagon/luggage. We know the rest of the party as 'The Seven Great Heroes' who took down a demon lord at the cost of their lives.”-Selene

  “Wait. THOSE international heroes were nothing more than window dressing for a fucking dungeon?!”Deokk cries in outrage “And how do you know this?! More importantly, why are you telling me?!”

  “Because you need to be prepared when we talk to the king. Just knowing there's a Traveler involved is something the king needs to be told, but the mere thought that a dungeon has decided to mess in this world's affairs? As for how I know about it? ONE!”Selene holds up her index finger “I was a court mage before being sent to this mine because His Majesty decided, on a whim, that Humans are inherently superior, giving our nation the flimsiest of all pretexts to go after Furcadia's resources, and that includes its population, and I, in my role, advised against it. TWO!” She holds up her index and middle fingers. “It's a tale passed down among the top valedictorians graduating from the international mage academy to not let ourselves be swallowed up by our arrogance/hubris and think we know everything. There's more to the story I'm not allowed to share right now.”

  “Well, that's just great. So you're telling me that oaf's maybe not so crazy after all?”-Deokk

  “Yeah. We shouldn't dismiss what he says out of hand, but we should take it with a grain of salt, and we'd better go inform the king before we do anything else.”-Selene.

  “What a headache that bloated ass dropped on my head with his oafish antics. RUNNER!”-Deokk

  “Yes, Sire!”

  Deokk takes an enchanted parchment and focuses on the message he wants written, making several corrections until he makes it look as urgent and diplomatic as he can, then rolls it up and seals it with wax and the ducal seal. “Take this to the royal capital and make sure to give it to the king, personally, not the Prime Minister, not His Majesty's steward, not his wife, concubine, or even the crown prince! What's inside is very, very sensitive information that we can't let any other faction get their hands on, understood?!”

  “Sir, yes, sir! But what if His Majesty rejects the delivery, even with your seal, sire. What should I do? His Majesty does tend to be... easily distracted and highly dismissive.”

  “That's a good point! I'll make it a bit easier for you to explain to him.”-Deokk

  Quest

  Deliver urgent message to King Arthorious Sydonia III and nobody else.

  Completion Reward: Increased Standing with Deokk Duchy faction.

  Failure Penalty: Decreased Standing with Deokk Duchy faction. Penalty negated if the king rejects the package. Penalty greatly increased if package is intentionally or negligently delivered to another party.

  Do you accept?: Yes/No

  Quest accepted.

  The rider salutes the duke one last time before taking the letter sealed in wax, mounting the nearest horse and making top speed to the capital.

  “Now that that's settled. We need to find this alleged Dungeon Boss and Dungeon Traveler before they grow too strong to deal with and try to come to some kind of peaceful solution, or failing that, neutralize them. Our kingdom's fate is on the line.”-Deokk

  “And here we go again. Guess I don't have much of a choice, do I? Well, might as well head on with your army, Your Excellency. Do you have an idea of where to search, at least?”-Selene

  “I was thinking of going to the forest to the east, but I doubt they'd be going that way. With a crew of slaves who are going to be a burden, and that's putting it mildly, our targets would never outrun us on horseback. The most obvious direction would be south, back to Furcadia and beast-kin territory, but a large band of slaves going south, led by a beast-kin? Border fortresses would likely shoot at them on sight, and forget about going north! It's likely they've taken to the mountains, hoping to sneak past the border into the Holy Kingdom. And then maybe going to Furcadia from there. If we don't stop them from getting across the border, this problem just became international.”-Deokk