This Used To Be About Dungeons полностью

“I know, I was thinking down the road,” said Alfric. “I’ve heard that in Kiromo they’ve been trying to breed bigger sheep, strong enough to pull a cart, but I don’t think they’ve had much luck. And in Tarbin they have cats, but they’re mostly for show. Most likely we’ll have a travel entad before any of that becomes relevant for us. Maybe we’ll even have one later today.”

“I hope so,” said Mizuki. “I am not looking forward to the walk back.”

“I think I’ll go to Liberfell after we’re done in Traeg’s Knob,” said Verity. “I have the money to spend the night there, and I told Cynthia that I wasn’t coming back. Besides, it would be nice to see a bit of a bigger city.”

“It’s nothing in comparison with Dondrian,” said Alfric.

“Nothing is anything in comparison with that monster of a city,” said Hannah.

“Well, are we all going to Liberfell?” asked Mizuki.

“Those of us that are still alive at the end of the dungeon,” said Hannah with a little laugh.

“Hannah,” said Alfric.

“Oh, just a joke,” she said. “This one is in the middle of nowhere, should be easier than Pucklechurch was. Obviously I don’t expect anyone to be hurt, and if they are, I expect me to be able to patch them.”

“From what I’ve heard, the warp point is at the top of a hill,” said Alfric. “So at least on the way to Liberfell, we’ll have a downhill stretch.”

“It’s a popular place for sleddin’,” said Hannah, “if you can stomach the walk in the winter.”

“Yeah, I used to do that when I was little,” said Mizuki. “Not many people live in the hex, and the warp point is in a nice place. You just sled down, then warp back to the top. Kind of terrifying though. And obviously it’s late spring.”

“Sorry,” said Verity. “What’s sledding?”

“You don’t have that in Dondrian?” asked Mizuki. “You just, uh, slide down a hill, usually on a—do you know what a sled is? It’s like some wooden boards with metal runners.”

“And people do this for fun?” asked Verity.

“It’s loads of fun,” said Mizuki. “The biggest hill near Pucklechurch isn’t really good for it though. You need a bigger one, like at Traeg’s Knob, which is all the better because you can just warp up instead of having a hike.”

“There’s a handful of houses near the warp point,” said Hannah. “Not so much of a town though, just a waystation. Some of it’s public, a place to warm yourself on a trip, or if you’ve come for the sleddin’.”

“We don’t get much snow up north,” said Verity. “A dusting in the middle of winter, usually, but nothing more than that. My first winter here, I was shocked by how much it built up.”

“And yet you didn’t wear pants,” said Hannah, shaking her head.

“I’m wearing pants now,” said Verity, lifting up her dress to show that indeed, she had pants on beneath it. It was not, in Mizuki’s opinion, the most flattering outfit. Mizuki had pants too, but she hadn’t wanted to walk in them, not when it was going to be a mildly warm day. She had bought a pack and put the pants and a few other things into it, along with her gloves, boots, and a thicker shirt. She also had the helmet she’d gotten from the blacksmith, which she’d almost left at home because of how stupid she looked in it, but better to look stupid than to be stupid.

There were similar changes all around. Perhaps it was Alfric, or perhaps it was Hannah, but they were all treating it like they were an actual dungeoneering party. The helm had been more expensive than Mizuki would have liked, but she was very easily getting into the habit of thinking that money wasn’t a real concern.

“Traeg’s Knob is hilly, verging on mountainous,” said Alfric. “That should mean tougher monsters with thicker skin, if a bit slower. And because it’s less inhabited, we’ll expect less in the way of finished goods or worked rooms.”

“Bit of a surprise there was so much in Pucklechurch,” said Hannah.

“Variance,” Alfric said. “Knowing that a leyline used to run through there… it might have been that.”

“Or the big stone in my backyard?” asked Mizuki. She hadn’t had a chance to show Hannah, in part because of the mild hangover.

“Possible,” said Alfric. “If the Pucklechurch hex was a part of the leyline, then there’s a good chance that there are older ruins there, even if they’re buried deep. Many of the oldest cities were built along leylines.”

“Seems an argument for local knowledge,” said Hannah. “If you’re wantin’ to go through all the local hexes, maybe best to ask around first, to see if there’s somethin’ you don’t know about the place.”

“It didn’t end up mattering,” said Alfric. “We made it through.”

“Still,” said Hannah, “the dungeon we find in Traeg’s Knob, it pulls from a hundred twenty square miles or so, doesn’t it? Hard to know what might be buried there.”