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[John]
“No, Marcus!” John called, as his friend walked off “For God’s sake…” He muttered under his breath, as he jogged after him.
“John, its fine if you’re too scared to take this chance, you’ve always been a wimp. Too scared of mummy and daddy. Never mind that, this is our one chance to get into the life, to get out of this backwater town that’s been holding me back all my life. I’m meant for better than this!”
Fuck off, John thought to himself. Marcus was a mega prick but he was from the village, and everyone here was family, it was too small not to be. So being one of the few other boys John’s age meant they were automatically friends, and friends had each other’s backs.
“Marcus!” He shouted after him as Marcus continued to walk away. “This is madness, it’s an unknown dungeon for fuck’s sake, it could be way out of our ability. I know you’ve had a bit of training from the guardsmen but we’re not warriors, we’re farmers. You know how obsessed I am with being an adventurer but get some sense into that skull of yours. We could die, and then where will you be. I know the priestesses of Deva say there’s life beyond our eternal slumber but come on… are you willing to chance it?”
“Oh, grow up John, what’s life without a bit of risk? Besides that old codger Sigurd got in and out just fine, and with the other boys we’ll be perfectly safe. Mik is over at the blacksmith getting some scrap iron for the spears and Indry is gonna nick us a shield from the guardsmen’s backup supply. We’ll be fine, there’s riches waiting for us and I for one am not leaving without my fair share. Especially coz once the guild comes, you know we’re gonna have to go through the training. A little experience and money now is gonna go a long way to getting us back in there. Now, you coming or you gonna piss about, wetting your bed and dithering like a little girl? Are you gonna seize the day like a man. Even if you ain’t got the muscle of one.” He said laughing as he strolled off.
Oh, for fuck’s sake John thought to himself again, hurrying to catch up.
“I think this is the most stupid foolhardy thing you’ve ever done Marcus, but I’ll be damned if I leave you to die in this stupid dungeon. I’m coming,” he said reluctantly.
The stupid prick would get them all killed but he couldn’t let them do it alone. If they went and died he would feel terrible, but if they went and succeeded he would always kick himself for not joining in. Proving them right that he was a coward. He had to go.
“Ah, good, now let’s meet up with the guys.”
“What, now?” John asked, incredulously.
“Yeah, we can head up there for this evening, and be back in bed before sun-up.” Marcus replied, full of confidence.
“Well, let me tell my parents I’ll be out late with you and not to wait up. I’ll meet you guys by the exit of town.”
“Ok, but don’t chicken out my feathered friend” he said laughing as he wandered off.
“Dickhead” John muttered as he set about his business.
***One hour later***
John approached the exit of the village with nervous apprehension, yet stifled excitement. As much as he knew that this was a stupid, stupid idea, the fact that he was just a short few hours from stepping inside a dungeon filled him with excitement, heart pounding in his chest.
He approached the others, raising a hand in greeting.
“Right, everyone here then?” Marcus asked rhetorically.
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“Good, let’s go.” He continued, waving his hand forward like a general commanding his troops. They set off, John trailing the rest as the group walked into the woods that ran around the edges of the fields belonging to farmer Smythe.
The wooded outcropping marked the edges of Littlebrook and the boys and he had spent many a summer making dens and treehouses in the clustered groves of trees that grew out here. The woodland was not like a normal forest, but instead had clusters of trees here and there, that gave the woods an open feeling despite the oppressive canopy that still loomed above.
In the still midday hour, the band of would-be adventurers forged through the woods, past the little picket fence where the Jenkins girls had decided to build a playhouse. Short-lived that had been, John thought to himself, remembering their expressions as they tripped over the debris of the forest floor and muddied up their dresses. They weren’t too keen on the playhouse after that, he reminisced, laughing to myself.
Over the stream and then back over it again and on into the deeper woods that did in fact slowly become closer to a normal forest they walked.
As they wandered past a particularly familiar grove, John spotted the remnants of the den that Daniel and he had built during the Littlebrook challenger games. A few years ago now, the boys had all decided to compete in a marvellous set of games they had dreamt up and the den was the remains of those long forgotten days when they could all play around and cause untold havoc.
Alas, things changed, and he grew up, responsibilities took hold. Daniel had had to move away with his pa after the merchant family his father had worked as a guard for had moved their headquarters to the other side of the world. Better trades apparently, but he wouldn’t know about such things. It was beyond him, and John didn’t particularly care to learn.
He sighed as he remembered the familiar sights of his youth.
“Catch up John, you’re falling behind, didn’t think you were this weak” one of the younger lads Marcus had recruited shouted at him. One of the twins, though John never could tell which was which.
John hurried along, not wanting to give them any more ammunition to mock him with. Truth be told, he had felt the boys all pulling away a bit, or perhaps they were growing apart as real life took hold.
He was more interested in helping Pa on the fields and looking after Ma than hanging out with them anymore, and he liked listening and talking with Sigurd when he had free time.
Perhaps when the adventurers arrived in droves for this new dungeon, they would all be pulled in more and more different directions until they lost touch with each other. Sad, but he also strangely found himself looking forward to it. Perhaps it was time to give up trying to maintain his friendship with the group. He didn’t seem to get much out of it. Dismissing the thought, he caught up and tried to engage in the conversation.
Slowly an hour passed as he continued to think deeply, and the plodding of his feet carried him onwards. He had once more given up on joining the conversation and listened in instead, though he made sure not to tarry any longer by accident, for fear of giving the boys another in. The terrain took on a decidedly more uphill nature and they slowed naturally, focused on the walking.
The sight of his first dungeon should have filled John with awe and excitement, yet neither was there. Fear of the unknown and a hope for the riches that undoubtedly lay inside were not there either.
Instead, it was the feeling of helplessness that gripped John’s heart. Not in a bad way, but rather in that his path was already set. The hands of fate had passed the hour, the arm had thrown the stone and there was nothing he could do to reverse it.
Time could not wind back the clock and the stone would never return to the hand that was yet to toss. So too, John was confident, would it be that he would never step back out of this dungeon as he had been before. What he came out as though. He didn’t know, he just hoped he would like what that was.
For better or worse everything was about to change. Either way, his path lay before him and he would willingly take those few steps that led to his future.
But first? Food. Braving the unknown took a hearty constitution and food was the first step.
They set packs down in front of the entrance and pulled out some food. John had brought some of Ma’s delicious cheese sandwiches. The cheese, a product from the beast kin territory to whom they lived quite close, the sauce made from the dried crushed root of the rajka plant that grew in the heartlands that surrounded the capital, and the bread fresh from her ovens. Delightful.
Deep in musing, John looked around, observed his surroundings, taking everything in. The dungeon entrance sat peacefully off to the right, the path that wound up the steep cliffs and bluffs that took him here fell away to the left and the jagged outcroppings of rock that formed the rest of the mountain towered away straight in front of him.
Off to the side of those rocky formations, where it met the entrance and tucked behind one of the outcroppings, he saw a small pile of items, studying them a second longer he determined they were the things the adventurers that Sigurd had brought back to document the dungeon had left behind.
He looked away quickly, determined not to let the others know, he wouldn’t put it past them to have a gander at the pile. This plan was foolish enough without pissing off the strongest, most useful people for miles around.
Shortly they all finished eating and packed everything up. Staring down at the entrance made it all seem real and he noticed he wasn’t the only one with misgivings, thoughts that this might not go well. The dungeon gave off a foreboding air and it was a lot more intimidating than he had expected. Perhaps it was putting off the others.
“Here we are lads.” Marcus started. This sounded like the beginnings of a speech and as he started to drone on John began to switch off.
“We’re here, ready to take the world by storm, we are owed what is inside we are… ours to take… fight…t…l…z…g…a…” John zoned out pretty quickly, it was an easy skill to master when Marcus was your friend. Self preservation, he thought.
About five minutes later John noticed the tell-tale signs that Marcus was finishing up and he snapped out of the trance he was in. This was it.
John was about to live the dream, entering his first dungeon. He should have been excited, but he wasn’t. He was scared, terrified even. The apathy from earlier had disappeared, replaced by the fear of the dungeon, its imposing black gate of mist and rough shod arch, that marked the entrance and the portal through which his life would change.
He couldn’t help but feel they were woefully unprepared.
“Here we go boys, it’s time!” Marcus bellowed as they walked forwards.
“Oh God” he muttered as he took the first steps into the swirling black of the entrance.
