Only been a few months earlier...
Seomara groaned as she let the heavy traveling pack fall to the ground. "A shipment of heat crystals for you." She grabbed the trade imp off her back and dropped the annoying aide on top of the goods. "You can take him too."
The goblin trader seemed unimpressed but scribbled out a receipt. "We don't pay extra for him, but I'll credit you for the crystals. That's four thousand sixty two ducats in your account, and we'll give you one thousand gold for the transport. Thank you very much." The goblin looked up. "Do you want to transport some more goods for us?"
"Do you have anything other than ogre masks and gloves?" she asked. When the goblin shook his head she sighed and turned away. "Then no thanks. I'll see you later."
"Whenever you're interested in more money, drop by," the goblin said before returning to his ledger.
Seomara waved and turned towards the city of Dunbarton. At first she'd found the monstrous ogres, goblins, and imps staffing the trading posts to be odd. After all, Fomors and Humans didn't get along well. But after a bit of thought she decided she liked the inconsistency. If Fomors could live, and live well, among humans there was hope for a peaceful future. And it made her feel less guilty about her deadly dungeon forays.
Dunbarton was packed as usual. The small walled town didn't actually have many residents, but it was the unofficial staging point of the traveling Milletians. The city had the largest marketplace, was the endpoint for the continental teleportation system, and had a lot of skilled trainers. It was also close to Tir Chonial, where the human Milletians first stepped into the world of Erinn. So the city was always full of adventurers.
Seomara had always found that an interesting paradox. Milletians like her were one of the fastest growing races in Erinn, but they spent most of their time in the small villages of the east. The big cities of Emain Macha and Taillteann were more stop off points, and most Milletians didn't even enter the capitol Tara. The city that held so many people was just an overly large time waster for her and her fellows. There was nothing there that couldn't be found elsewhere easier.
She wondered if that was one of the reasons Milletians were still distrusted even though you couldn't tell a Milletian from an normal human, elf, or giant based on appearance. The native Tuatha de Danann never met a Milletian.
As she passed a Milletian wearing a flashing orange and red suit yelling lurid remarks to his friends across the way she considered there might be another reason their race was looked upon unfavorably.
Sighing, she turned into a side street and sat down on the steps of the library. She considered perusing the marketplace for new clothes, but her pockets weren't that deep. Trading made good money, but between bandit attacks and lack of space she couldn't carry that many goods. Her biggest concession to fashion was the rare blue rose she had tucked behind her ear. It accented her long red hair well she thought.
"Hm? Is something wrong?"
Seomara blinked and looked up. A dusky woman in a wizard's dress was leaning down to look at her. A hint of a fleeting memory told her she should know this woman, but there was nothing else in her mind. Still, she found herself trusting the woman's brown eyes and gentle smile.
"Wrong?" Seomara shook her head. "Not really. I'm just… listless I guess." She turned to look up at the sky. "I don't know what I'm doing here."
The woman nodded and sat beside her. "Nao is a nice woman, but she's not really good at giving directions. Still you know about the goddess and Tir Na Nog, right?"
Seomara sighed again. "Yeah. I know the Goddess is trapped in the world of Tir Na Nog. I even talked to Tarlach about it." The woman nodded in understanding. "But, well… I'm bad at fighting." Seomara showed the banded knuckles that she used to defend herself against bandits. "I can beat up giant spiders and the weak bandits, but that's about it. I went into Rabbie dungeon over there and the skeletons slammed me into the floor about a dozen times." She shook her head and grimaced. "If Milletians could die I'd be a goner. Even with Nao looking after me I still had to revive at the goddess statue."
The woman nodded. "Perhaps you could try magic? It's a bit slow but it can deal devastating blows."
"No offense, but magic isn't really my thing," Seomara replied. "I took Lassar's classes, but it didn't really click. I tried bows too but I'm even worse with them." She put the knuckles back on her belt. "I want to learn how to use these. I like using them. But I just can't handle more than one monster at a time. I've had to swap to short swords for most of my fights, and even then I tend to get in trouble fast."
"I see..." The woman frowned in thought.
Seomara leaned back on the steps. "So, yeah. I want to help, but there's really not much I can do. There are hundreds of fighters better than me. If I'm not wasting Nao's time, maybe they can help save the Goddess."
She hated the words as soon as she said them, but it was the truth. Someone like her couldn't defeat the monsters in the simplest of dungeons, much less the monsters she'd seen in the memories of the warriors who had tried to free the Goddess before her.
Suddenly the woman stood up and grabbed her arm. "Ah! What are you doing?!" Seomara yelped as the woman pulled her to her feet.
The woman let go and bowed in apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't properly introduce myself. I'm Carnelia."
Seomara shuffled nervously. "Uh, hi. I'm Seomara. Um, so why did you need me to stand?"
"Because I'm going to help you become a better fighter," Carnelia smiled brightly. "I'm not a master myself, so I can't train you directly, but I can give you a few pointers."
"Huh?" Seomara blinked. "I mean, that's nice but I don't want to eat up your time. And most dungeons I just end up on the ground dead, so..."
"Don't worry, this time I'll be there to protect you. And don't worry about the time. I like helping people, so it's not a big deal." Carnelia held up a small four leaf clover. "Besides, there's a special dungeon that just opened up. It should be a little easier than the normal fare."
Seomara found herself smiling in return. "Fine. But if I end up dead you'll have to pay for the Phoenix Downs."
"Of course," Carnelia waved her hand and summoned her horse. "Shall we get going? I imagine Rabbie dungeon will be quite busy soon."
"Might as well." Seomara summoned her own steed and hopped on.
The two adventurers clattered out of town, heading towards the ruins to the north.
Rabbie dungeon looked like someone had blasted a tower to pieces, leaving only the basement floor remaining. While close to the town of Dunbarton, the area was quiet and dark compared to the farmlands nearby. Seomara slowed as they approached the stairway down, remembering her last attempt at the dungeon.
Carnelia on the other hand strode confidently ahead, only pausing to place two jeweled puppeteer bars on her belt. "You know how to summon combat puppets?" Seomara asked. She'd seen the skill in action before but it was apparently an incredibly difficult technique to master.
Carnelia shook her head. "Not well. I know the basics, but not much more. I mainly use these as melee weapons. The magic in the strings helps me channel my power better. I prefer spells, but the rabble in this dungeon isn't really worth it most of the time."
"I... see." Seomara frowned and looked down at her feet. It seemed Carnelia was much stronger then she was. She hoped she wasn't wasting the other woman's time.
"Don't look embarrassed." Seomara started as Carnelia patted her on the back. "I've been training over a hundred and fifty years to learn everything I know. It'd be bad if I wasn't strong."
Seomara flushed a little at being caught. "Sorry. You're right. I shouldn't expect to know everything in four years." She turned back towards the dungeon entrance and carefully made her way down the crumbling stairs.
Rabbie's brick walls seemed more like a brightly lit catacomb then a traditional dungeon. The skull ornaments and wall sconces only reinforced that feeling. There were only two things out of place in the altar room. One was the serene statue of the Goddess, glowing stone a testament to the sacrifice Morrigan had made sealing the Fomor realms. The other was a young man with unkempt black hair and a bored expression who seemed to be wearing a robe made out of a shark. While the outfit looked odd, he held himself with a confident bearing. Two longswords sat at his waist, and metal gloves covered his hands.
The man's expression brightened as Seomara and Carnelia entered the room. "Oh hey! Are you running the Leprechaun dungeon? I used up all my clovers, so I was waiting for someone to come along."
Carnelia looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, so Seomara shrugged. He didn't seem that much crazier than the average Milletian. And another body to distract the skeletons was always a good thing. The older woman nodded, then turned to the man. "I suppose you can tag along. What's your name?"
"Blurpleberry," he said as he waved. He nodded at Carnelia and Seomara's introductions then ran to stand over the altar area. Seomara was a little more hesitant as she walked onto the patterned platform, but she forced her nervousness down. She put her knuckles on and waited for Carnelia to open up the labyrinth.
Carnelia looked over to make sure her allies were ready before dropping the clover. As soon as the item hit the altar's surface the world seemed to shift and bend. The statue of the Goddess was still there, but the passage up was gone. Instead there was now a dark staircase heading down.
Blurpleberry was already on the move, drawing his long battle swords as he headed down. Carnelia was quick to follow, drawing her enchanted control bars. Seomara hurried after. She was still a little worried about the dungeon, but she didn't want to be left behind either.
The room below had another Goddess statue. Each of the adventurers made sure to touch its base, allowing the mystical energies within to synchronize with their life force. Now if they were 'killed' they could revive here, though it would still place a strain on their bodies.
As they turned to the open passage to go deeper into the dungeon Blurpleberry waved his hand to summon a mount. Seomara blinked at the strange spectacle, but Carnelia just coughed loudly. "We were thinking of a more sedate run."
"Oh, okay then." With a wave the horse disappeared into light again and Blurpleberry began jogging into the dungeon instead.
Carnelia sighed. "Well, I suppose you'll learn more this way."
"I've already learned how to rush a dungeon. Though I imagine it's hard on the horse," Seomara replied as they followed along.
They caught up to the swordsman at the first chest room. Apparently their new ally was wise enough to wait for them to arrive before triggering the monsters. In fact he was polite enough to let themselves get positioned before triggering the chest.
Seomara tensed as black smoke rose all around her, then sighed as the forms of rats appeared. She had no idea why rats were part of the dungeon's defenses, but they were no threat whatsoever. She got ready to kick the nearest one away, when a shockwave slammed into the small creature sending it to the ground. Gasping in surprise Seomara looked up to see Blurpleberry crouching both swords outstretched. The warrior stepped back, recovering from his windmill strike, before casually slashing one of the rats that had survived. "How?" she asked. "Your sword didn't even hit them."
"Wind pressure cut," he said. "You get it at the higher ranks. You should train that skill. It's really useful for wiping out dungeon trash."
Seomara frowned. "So how do you train it? Well I mean I know how in theory, but there's no way I can use it effectively right now. It really sucks. And flailing away against rats isn't going to teach me anything."
"Fight zombies. They're slow, but hard to kill. They'll teach you the right way to do a windmill attack without getting caught up in bones and stuff." The man frowned. "But I don't remember the range being that bad when I started out."
"Knuckles don't have the range your blades or my wand has. It's easier to counter an enemy's blows with your hands, but that requires a one on one fight," Carnelia said as she pocketed the key that one of the rats had dropped. She smiled at Seomara. "You might want to train with those swords of yours. At least until you master the skill more. Blurpleberry here is right. The ability to strike all the foes surrounding you away is an essential combat skill."
"Right!" Already she was learning important techniques! Seomara pulled out her short swords to try to get a feel for the distance.
As she took a few experimental swings, Blurpleberry walked closer. "You haven't personalized your weapons?"
"Huh?" Seomara looked over at the swordsman. "Personalize?"
He pointed at her blades. "I can tell you've worked with those swords a lot by the way you hold them, but you're compensating for the flaws in the blade instead of fixing those flaws. You should have a smith tweak those blades to better fit you. Probably won't even cost much for short swords like that."
"That's amazing." The two looked over to see Carnelia tapping her chin in thought. "I didn't think it was possible to see that level of detail without inspecting the blade closely. You seem to be very knowledgeable about swordwork."
Blurpleberry shrugged. "Of course. I'm going to be the best swordsman ever. I've gotta learn how to do things like that."
"The best swordsman ever, huh?" Seomara considered the bold proclamation. "Why that?"
"Well who wants to be the worst swordsman ever? Obviously being the best swordsman is what you want to be right?" Blurpleberry looked as if the answer was simple.
Carnelia shook her head. "Somehow I think there's a few missing steps in that logic, but I won't press the point. It is good advice Seomara. You should probably look into it with the money we get here." She began moving towards the next room. "We should probably move on however. Time flows swiftly for us. There's no need to rush, but lazing about is bad too."
The trio fought their way further into the dungeon, stopping only at one of the strange subterranean herb patches to gather some of the magical plants. Seomara grabbed a few for herself, remembering the hardy plants could be installed in her homestead, despite the snow. As they breached the inner depths skeletons started to appear, but with Carnelia's magical firebolts and Blurpleberries whirling steel, Seomara only found herself bounced off the floor once. And she'd managed to catch and break off the offending monster's arm before it could finish her off.
Finally they found themselves before the massive door that led to the boss of this Dungeon. Seomara rubbed the wounds that Carnelia had healed, amazed at how quickly the confident woman's magic had cleared up the damage. "So are we ready?"
"Eh, this won't be much of a fight," Blurpleberry said as he turned the key in the massive lock. The door swung open revealing an evil looking leprechaun. Seomara cautiously advanced on the creature, while Carnelia summoned mana to form a flame on her staff.
Blurpleberry on the other hand simply ran forward. The leprechaun raised his staff to call forth some magic, but the warrior just ran the Fomor through before cutting its head off with his offhand blade. The creature fell dead as the exit room opened up. "Loot time," Blurpleberry said happily as he ran towards the end room.
"Well that is a way to handle it I suppose," Carnelia said as she banished her magic. Seomara shrugged. It had worked after all.
As the two began walking towards the exit, Carnelia looked quizzically at her. "I'm a little curious though. Why didn't you use any fighter skills?"
Seomara blinked. "Fighter skills?"
"Yes. Fighters have a number of unique skills. Like the ability to rush into battle with a strong punch. Or kick their enemies across the room," Carnelia made a few jabs for effect. "I imagine they aren't as powerful yet for you but..."
Seomara blushed with embarrassment and looked away. "I... don't know any. I haven't even seen those skills before." How could she be so ignorant?!
"Really?" Blurpleberry looked out towards them. "There are always a few running about. At least in the dueling grounds. I know there's a guy in Belvast that's got some skills too, though he only teaches people who already know the basics. I suppose you can't learn it from them."
"I haven't seen any books on the subject either," Carnelia said with a thoughtful frown. "I heard there was a master in Emain Macha, but I don't know anything beyond that." The magician sighed. "Sorry to get your hopes up."
"No, that's alright." Seomara waved off the woman's apology. "You've already helped me a lot. I should find some things out on my own."
Carnelia smiled. "Well if you ever need any aid and you see me in the area, please don't hesitate to ask me. I like helping people out."
"And if you need someone to help stab people you can ask me to run with you," Blurpleberry said.
"Hm?" Carnelia looked over at the swordsman. "Why haven't you taken your treasure yet?"
The man shrugged. "It was your pass so you should take first pick right?" Seomara couldn't help but smile. It seemed the swordsman had a sense of honor, even if he was too quick to rush into battle.
"Thank you." Carnelia opened one of the boxes, revealing a flood of gold and a pouch. Seomara turned toward the nearest chest and opened it for herself. The gold quickly disappeared into a pouch, while the green dress that was within she stashed away for later.
"Sweet." Seomara turned to see Blurpleberry holding up an intricately forged great sword. "Third one. I might have enough by the end to forge a spirit weapon." The man waved. "Anyway thanks again. And see you later." With that he touched the statue in the middle of the room to return to the ruins above.
Carnelia shook her head again, but the dusky wizard was smiling. She moved to touch the statue as well, and Seomara followed suit. They arrived just in time to see Blurpleberry vanish with another party of adventurers from the altar. "Well then. I should look into getting more herbs for my potion skill. So, what are your plans Seomara?"
Seomara thought about the things she'd learned in this quick dungeon run. "I think I'll get my weapons fixed up then look for zombies. Do you know where you can find them?"
"Indeed," Carnelia nodded. "Tara has something of an infestation in the dark corners of the Shadow Realm."
"Then Tara it is!" Seomara waved to her new friend. "Thanks for everything. If there's any way I can help you in the future don't hesitate to ask."
"I will," Carnelia said as they climbed the stairs out. They waved one more time before each summoned a steed and ran off in different directions. Carnelia to the herb fields below Dunbarton, Seomara to the trading post.
After all if she was going all the way to Tara, she might as well make some money along the way the young adventurer reasoned.
