This Used To Be About Dungeons полностью

“Fifth,” said Alfric. “I tried recruiting younger, in Junior Adventurers’ League, and that fell apart too. I tried recruiting older, and got a few people, but not what I considered enough, not to justify the money we’d need to get to a good starting place in terms of geography, training, and equipment. It was me and two others for a bit, and we talked about taking the dungeons as a team of three, but a team of three trying to rise up through the ranks… Well, it was a lot of risk without a healer, and three is more dangerous than I wanted to deal with.” And there had been other complications, which he was still hoping he could hold off mentioning.

“So what was the first time?” asked Mizuki.

“Ah,” said Alfric, swallowing. “Probably a story for another day.”

“You got them all killed, didn’t you?” asked Mizuki. It sounded like a joke, but it was far too serious for that.

“What?” asked Alfric. “No, they’re all very much alive.”

He was saved further questions by the end of their trip, which brought them into the back of the house. There, Hannah and Verity were standing around Isra, who was speaking to an assembled group of woodland animals.

“What the gates is this?” asked Mizuki, who was moving slowly.

There was a lot of variety among the animals, though Alfric didn’t know all their names, since many of them were likely native to the region. Squirrels he recognized, though they were larger than he was used to, and there was something like a squirrel, with a much smaller tail. There were mice, rats, and something similar to a rat with different, elongated paws. There were a huge number of birds, and Alfric noticed more in the trees, sitting on every branch. And beyond that, there were lizards, snakes, turtles, and frogs. A few of them were probably dungeon varieties, released into the world long ago, but it was hard to say which ones. The long-legged skinks and three-eyed birds were likely candidates, and Alfric had always felt that there was something suspect about turtles.

“Hannah said there wasn’t much wildlife about,” said Isra. “I had only wanted to prove her wrong.” To the animals assembled before her, she spoke. “You may go. Sorry if I wasted your time.”

Almost all at once, the animals dispersed back into the woods, going their separate ways. The birds were the loudest of them, with the flapping of their wings, but it wasn’t long before it was just people standing around again. Alfric approached cautiously.

“They just kept coming,” said Verity, who seemed stunned. “How were there so many of them?”

“They avoid people,” said Isra. “They hide away.”

“Very impressive, it was,” said Hannah, nodding. “And I’ll readily admit to bein’ wrong. Makes you think, I suppose, about the woods and what’s in them.”

“We were unlucky not to get a bear,” said Isra. “They come near here.”

“What?” asked Mizuki. “Can you tell them not to?”

“I will pass it along,” said Isra, nodding.

“You actually will?” asked Mizuki.

“I will mention it to a bird and hope that it tells the local bears,” said Isra, shrugging. “Birds enjoy any favor that involves song, but bears can be stubborn, lazy creatures.”

“Okay, but how did you not realize you were a woods witch until yesterday?” asked Mizuki. “How!?”

Isra frowned. “I knew that the animals stayed away from the town,” she said. “And when I came into the town, I saw that no one seemed to care. There are certain animals who live domestic lives, and these were allowed in town, but I never saw anyone calling other types of animals in, so I thought… I thought everyone could do that, but didn’t, because it was impolite.” She seemed flustered. “I saw no one speak to the birds in the trees, and I thought it was because… because they had some taboo I didn’t understand. And some people did speak with the birds, but in a different way, and I thought that was just… a part of it.”

“What’s a taboo?” asked Mizuki.

“A thing you’re not supposed to do,” said Hannah.

“But why?” asked Mizuki. “I mean, for what reason?”

“Och, it varies, ay?” asked Hannah. “Usually, for a taboo, you don’t know why, you just know it’s not to be done.”

Mizuki frowned. “Sounds made up to me.”

“Really?” asked Alfric. “There’s nothing you don’t do without knowing quite why you don’t do it?”

Mizuki thought about that for a moment. “I guess there are some things we don’t talk about. But mostly that’s because there are some weird feelings about them.”

“What kind of things?” asked Verity.

“Well I’m not going to talk about them, obviously,” said Mizuki.

Verity rolled her eyes. “‘They all, somehow, knew of the unspeakable’,” she said.

“What’s that from?” asked Mizuki.

“A poem, The Contradictions of Man, it’s,” Verity hesitated, “a classic.” She seemed to think that saying that might be cause for offense, and Mizuki seemed like she was going to take offense.