This Used To Be About Dungeons полностью

“There are times I wish I hadn’t,” said Hannah. “But it was tradition he was anglin’ on, and tradition didn’t appeal to me much, so it was clear he had the wrong of me. Micah is the sort to like a muscular woman wearin’ pants, I think, and there’s some appeal in the tall and burly, for my own tastes, but… well, to do it in that way, to have a love that grows and blooms over time rather than startin’ with a spark…” She shook her head. Micah had felt a spark, that was clear enough, but Hannah had only seen the appeal of him in the abstract. “I don’t think it was wrong of me to say no, mind you, but there’s a part that wished I’d said yes. I still see him ’round, of course, in a town as small as Pucklechurch, and he’s been quite decent about it, no hard feelin’s. Perhaps in five years, once I’ve had my fill of the dungeons, I might see if he’s still available or kick myself because he’s sure to have found someone. To settle down now, though, have children…”

It was easier to say to Alfric, knowing that he wasn’t likely one to gossip. Talking to Mizuki meant trying to think carefully about her words. Something said to Mizuki, who had friends in town and an open mouth, could easily end up in the ears of someone else, and it was too early to know whether Mizuki could be bound to secrecy or trusted with private feelings. Not that these were secrets, just things that were a bit delicate.

“And do you think about that?” asked Alfric. “Marriage?”

“Worried I’m not goin’ to be patchin’ you up if I have a husband or a wife?” asked Hannah, smiling at him.

“Just curious,” said Alfric. “But yes, it would also be unfortunate to lose you because you wanted to start a family.”

“Ay,” nodded Hannah. “But no, I s’pose down the line I might be through with bein’ wild and free, and if Micah is still available, he seems like a good sort to settle down with, but I’ve got dungeoneerin’ I want to do, travels through the hexes of the world, all that sort, and to take a husband or a wife and then leave them seems a bit cruel, to my mind, or at least unreasonable.”

“And it would be?” asked Alfric. “A husband or a wife?”

“Ay, well,” said Hannah. “I am a cleric of Garos. I had a few girlfriends in the seminary, and it was nice enough. My mind goes to men more often though, so she would have to be, well, somethin’ special, which is what we all hope for, isn’t it?”

“I guess,” said Alfric.

“And you?” asked Hannah. “Any romance, prior to this part of your life?”

“There was a girl,” said Alfric. There was an obvious and immediate hesitance, not just in his words, but in his whole character. “She was… someone special. I’d known her since we were small. And then things didn’t go as they should have gone.” He shook his head, maybe because he knew he was being too circumspect, though Hannah thought it more likely that he was just thinking on it. “My parents are both dungeoneers. Their advice was that I’d be traveling so much early on that it would mostly be about brief encounters, and that I should take what I could from them. Then, when I was older, I could have longer, more stable relationships. The dungeons at my parents’ level, they take three or four days to clear, and they don’t do more than one a month, if that.”

“Seems like too much risk of death,” said Hannah. He’d changed the subject from the girl and hadn’t been terribly deft about it, but Hannah let it be. No need to get everyone’s history right off the bat, in her opinion.

“Maybe,” said Alfric.

“I warn you now, there’s a point where I might bow out,” said Hannah. “I can take punishment better than most, I can handle wounds, but if you’re lookin’ for someone to go with you all the way, someone who’d want to go down into the infinidungeons of Dondrian, I don’t think that’s me. Or any of the others, for that matter.”

“I know,” said Alfric. “I don’t expect that. What I expect is to raise my elevation and get some experience under my belt.”

They had been talking for some time, and when they’d reached the temple, they’d stayed outside, in the shade of the building, continuing their talk. Hannah found Alfric nice to talk to, at least when he wasn’t going on about dungeons, and even a little bit when he was. It was clear that he had his own story to him, but one of the things she’d learned in seminary was that everyone had their own story, and it was just a matter of listening to it. More than that, you could find reflections in their stories and places where two stories would line up with one another. Alfric’s experience of wanting a wild world to tame wasn’t unique in the slightest, but that was part of what made it interesting. It was common, especially for young people, and that was where some of the lure of the dungeon came from.