Dungeon Runner
The Tiger Writes
sciencefiction
sciencefiction
31K5
Tibs survived by picking pockets; until he's caught.
Instead of losing a hand, he's sent away and told he must now survive a dungeon.
How is a kid who knew nothing more than his ...Stepping Up, Chapter 37
Tibs closed the windows in the room. No one who'd watched them in the inn had essence, but adventurers could be bought, and because they needed to pay off what they owed to the guild, Tibs expected a lot of them didn't care what the work was. Even Runners in town needed coins, and he knew few of those left well enough to trust they wouldn't spy on him for a few silver. He wished he knew how Alistair had used his essence to keep anyone from listening to their private conversations.
At least, that was a question he could ask the next time he saw his teacher.
Khumdar watched him with a calculating expression again, and Tibs did his best not to question the cleric's change in attitude, despite his explanation.
Tibs pulled the chair away from the table and sat. "How did you get your audience?"
Khumdar sat on his bed, looking thoughtful. "I do not know that the method I used will apply to you. In becoming a cleric, a show of devotion is required. It is not simply about reaching your chosen element. A teacher cannot take you to them."
Tibs chuckled. "I fell off a cliff, was buried, and threw myself in a fire, then a pool of corruption. The only audience I had the guild's way was with Water."
Khumdar thought about it, then nodded. "True. You also mentioned how the elements behaved as if they were expecting you. It is possible leniency is being accorded in your case."
"Yeah," Tibs said dejectedly. "I'm special."
The cleric smiled. "Being special does not have to be a burden. It is what allows you to heal us."
Tibs sighed. "I don't mind that part or the one about having more than one element. It's the guild treating me special that's annoying."
Khumdar raised an eyebrow. "I do not believe that falls on the elements, but on you. They are not what compelled you to save the dungeon, after all." He paused. "Although they may have played a part in how you survived being doused in corruption."
"You think so?" They hadn't spoken much about it. Tibs hadn't wanted to relive that time and Khumdar never volunteered information.
"When I reached you, there was so much of it that I do not know how you were not already on your way to melting. I doubt even Don would survive contact with so much corruption. There is a limit to the protection an element affords us when used against us."
Tibs swallowed as he remembered the pain. "Tell me about how you got your audience."
Khumdar hesitated and Tibs wondered if that reluctance in sharing what he knew would be something he'd have to deal with once he had the element.
"I stole the technique." The cleric looked away.
"Are you ashamed?" Tibs asked in surprise.
"I am not...proud of what I did. Theft is not something I was raised with. There are rogues within purity, but you would not recognize them as such, I expect. I supposed that was my first indication darkness was which element pulled at me. It is the technique the purity clerics use. I modified it to suit my purpose."
Tibs considered that. "So I'll be able to use it for the other essences too?"
"I expect so, yes. The issue you will face will be in finding locations where you can perform the...ceremony." He frowned. "Then again, you do not wish to become a cleric. The requirements may not be as stringent. I can guide you to the location for my element, and as there is only one location for purity, that will dictate where you go for that one. I am unsure how you will proceed for light."
Tibs shrugged. "I'll learn how to have the audience, then worry about figuring out where I'll do it. Maybe I can figure out a way to ask Harry."
"Please allow me to be present when you make the attempt." The cleric grinned. "Watching you attempt to lie to a man so in touch with Light will be entertaining." He became thoughtful. "There is much of the cleric in what I have observed of him."