Forge opened his screen and went through his System messages, bypassing the minutiae and focusing on his gains.

  System Message: Dungeon Cleared!

  System Message: Aggregate System Points Awarded! 28 Points

  Shocked by the number, he checked his logs and verified what had happened.

  He’d received three points for each room, two for defeating the dungeon boss, and two for clearing the dungeon. 13 points!

  However, Cinder had received the same 13 points, plus points for delving into and clearing his first dungeon.

  It was an amazing bounty, and after dismissing his screen, he excitedly turned to his party.

  Like him, they were all going through their System messages with big goofy grins on their faces.

  Forge suppressed a laugh, remembering what he’d heard about ensuring one only checked their System messages in private.

  He could see the point, for no other reason than the loss of mystique, for a big, bad adventurer.

  Still, they deserved it; he thought.

  One after another, the group stood and waited patiently for the others to finish, until only Lioness remained, still sitting where she had healed Gideon.

  Her eyes focused on them, as happy tears flowed freely down her face.

  “I did it! I’m now a Tier Two cleric!” she squealed.

  The party cheered for her, and the tall cleric stood and ran to them, grabbing everyone and pulling them into a hug.

  Cinder appeared and wrapped himself around her neck, hugging her tightly.

  “Happy!” he sent.

  The entire team hugged the cleric before finally disengaging.

  “Get any new spells?” Gideon asked.

  The normally reserved cleric was ecstatic to discuss it.

  “My Heal and Refresh spell both went up to Tier Two and I get a new spell, called Bless.”

  Falcon placed a companionable hand on the cleric’s shoulder and squeezed.

  “That’s amazing! This is fantastic not just for you, but for the entire team!”

  Lioness hugged the ranger again, then finally got herself under control, looking at the rest of the team bashfully.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just really hard to raise your Tier. So, I was excited.”

  Gideon took a heroic pose and stared off into space.

  “I’m glad my sacrifice could lead you to this honor,” he said.

  Lioness hugged him, causing him to break from his mock posturing.

  “You know, you nearly died, right?” she whispered.

  The swordsman shrugged.

  “I had to do something and remembered how we overwhelmed the other hydra-geese. So, when I got inside its guard, I just started stabbing.”

  He laughed.

  “And then it fell on me.”

  Falcon clapped her hands together, getting everyone’s attention.

  “I want to know how many points everyone received.”

  They compared notes and found that everyone except Forge had received 15 points.

  “28 points? That’s insane!” Falcon shouted.

  Forge shrugged and gave a half-hearted smile to the ranger.

  “Yeah, I know it seems unfair. Sorry.”

  Falcon laughed.

  “I’m envious, not angry. And let’s face it, Cinder did a lot of work. He not only took out an entire room by himself, but also found all the loot chests.”

  Cinder, still wrapped around Lioness’s neck, moved to her shoulder and stood proudly.

  “Adventure Dragon!”

  The group laughed and swarmed the dragon with scratches.

  Breaking away, Gideon cleared his throat.

  “Alright, let’s find the boss chest and get out of here.”

  He turned to Forge.

  “Oh, and what did we get from the boss?”

  Realizing he’d never checked what they’d received, Forge searched his System logs.

  “Ten reagents, hydra-goose meat, hydra-goose liver, four enhanced flame sacs, and a Tier Two core,” Forge answered.

  Gideon grinned.

  “Goose liver’s a delicacy. I assume hydra-goose liver from a dungeon monster is worth a lot of money to the right foodie. So, we might want to try selling it to a high-end restauranteur, rather than to the Guild as an alchemy ingredient.”

  Forge nodded along.

  “And what if it’s poisonous or has some magical properties?”

  “Then we charge more,” the swordsman laughed.

  “We’ll get it checked first, just to be on the safe side,” Forge said.

  A yell from Falcon interrupted their conversation.

  “Hey! Why are the two members of our party that have enhanced strength off gossiping when there’s work to be done?”

  “Sorry,” the two muttered as they made their way over to the sarcophagus.

  Gideon stepped inside and brought out the small chest, placing it on the ground in front of the open crypt.

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  “Okay, that was actually really heavy,” Gideon said, taking a seat on the stone floor.

  The panels of the chest glowed a bright blue, to Forge’s amazement.

  “I’ve finished a dungeon before, and my chest didn’t look like this,” Forge said.

  Gideon turned and gave him a wink.

  “Well…” he drawled out.

  “The general public doesn’t know this, but completing a dungeon rewards you with a treasure commensurate to how thoroughly you completed it.”

  Lioness placed her hands on her hips and glared down at the swordsman.

  “Is that what we are? The general public?”

  Gideon nodded seriously.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what you were until now. We are all now official Adventurers, with all the perks and responsibilities that come with the title.”

  “But…” Lioness began, then stopped, nodded and turned to the chest.

  “Let’s see what’s in here and then get back home. My adrenaline is wearing off and I just want to sleep.”

  Gideon placed a hand on the cleric’s shoulder.

  “When we get home and go over our gains, I’ll tell my story, okay?”

  She turned to the swordsman and smiled warmly.

  “When you’re ready.”

  Falcon glared at the pair.

  “This is our first dungeon chest. You two can get a room when we get back home.”

  Lioness sputtered, cheeks turning red, and Gideon bellowed a laugh, but both quieted down as she speared them with another glare.

  “I need a mask like Forge. I bet he’s making faces at us all the time under that thing,” Gideon whispered to Lioness.

  The cleric gave an unladylike snort and then shrank under the ranger’s furious gaze.

  “Forge, will you store the chest, please?” Falcon asked, staring at her talkative teammates.

  He touched the chest, but nothing happened.

  Gideon held a finger up to speak, but Falcon moved toward him menacingly, and he lowered his hand and shut his mouth.

  “We need to open it here,” Forge said, inspecting the ranger.

  She looked tired. Examining the others, he saw Lioness shared the same look of exhaustion.

  Suddenly, it clicked.

  The cleric must have cast her Refresh spell on the swordsman when he was near death, and his own Burning Blood ability seemed to keep him going longer.

  “Before we go any further. Lioness, do you have enough juice to cast Refresh on Falcon and yourself?” he asked.

  Lioness’s eyes went far away as she studied her screen, then nodded to him.

  She touched the ranger, and golden light covered her. When it was gone, the ranger’s eyes were determined and clear.

  Gideon gasped.

  “Your clothes are clean!”

  Falcon looked down at her now spotless armor and grinned over at the cleric, who was now casting the spell on herself.

  The golden light faded, and she stood straight, her armor and white surcoat bearing the lion of Hypros pristine.

  Gideon examined each team member, then looked down at his own dirt and blood covered armor.

  “And of course you get the upgrade after you cast the spell on me,” he complained.

  “I didn’t…” Forge started.

  The swordsman held a hand up to Forge’s face, silencing him.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Mister Paladin, with the divine armor. Let’s just open the chest and go home so I can get a bath.”

  Snickering, Falcon checked the chest, then opened it without further ceremony.

  They crowded together to peer inside, spotting a pile of gold and a single object lying atop.

  “Whoa. Nice!” Gideon exclaimed.

  Falcon picked up the small, softly glowing orange stone and examined it.

  She closed her eyes and sighed.

  “Gideon.”

  “Yeeesss?” the swordsman replied, beaming.

  “What is it?”

  “Well, I first heard about these…”

  “Gideon!!” she roared.

  “It’s a Party Stone.”

  “Fine. Fantastic. Forge, store it, please,” she said, handing him the stone.

  Dutifully storing it in his ring, Forge reached into the chest and stored the gold as well, leaving two coins for Cinder.

  The dragon darted down and grabbed the gold and began nibbling on them.

  With the items removed, the chest faded out of existence, and the group looked around to see if anything else would happen, but the room remained silent.

  “Alright team, let’s go,” Falcon said, marching towards the entrance of the room.

  ***

  Other than the traps in the dungeon boss’s antechamber, the dungeon was easy to navigate, and a few hours later, they exited to the surface.

  “Okay. This is me officially stating I’ll be adding a point in Endurance sooner than later,” Gideon complained.

  Lioness readily agreed.

  “You really don’t notice that the entire dungeon is on a decline until you have to walk back,” she said.

  Summoning a notebook and pen from his ring, Forge made a note.

  “Increase Endurance,” he said, returning the pad and pen to his ring.

  A guild guard gave them a once over, then grinned widely.

  “Four entered and four exited. Well done!”

  Summoning a leather pouch to his hand, the guard opened it and removed four small vials, each containing a red liquid.

  He handed them to the party.

  “Let me be the first to welcome you as full members of the Guild.”

  He gave the team a Guild salute, arm horizontal across his chest, and fist over his heart.

  The party straightened and saluted back to the cheers of the nearby guards.

  Forge felt like he might burst from pride. It was a dangerous job, but it was such a small thing culling a Tier One dungeon. Though he knew the praise wasn’t really for stopping the dungeon from expanding wildly. It was the promise of what the future held.

  Guild recruits had a shockingly high mortality rate. To not lose a party member in their first delve was something to be lauded, and showed they had not only the ability, but the inner strength to do the job.

  The party enjoyed a meal in the small barracks, but declined to rest, instead looking to head back to the city.

  A freshly scrubbed Gideon sat across the carriage from Forge, his armor safely stored away, as he looked out the window, a wistful smile on his face.

  Holding a hand to his chest, Forge stored his own armor away and sat comfortably in his padded gambeson.

  He laughed and his team turned questioning gazes his way.

  Chagrined, he gave a weak smile.

  “Sorry, I’m so comfortable in the mask, I forget I have it on. And when I take it off, it feels like I’ve lost a part of myself. Weird, right?”

  Falcon nodded, a serious expression on her face.

  “A lot of druids in the Tir wear masks, and they almost never take them off.”

  She stared out the window at the trees in the distance.

  “It’s not that they’re concealing their identities, either. The masks allow them to take on their role as protectors of the forest, and lets everyone know who and what they are, like a badge of office.”

  Lioness studied Forge’s face.

  “It’s interesting. I know that’s you, but it also seems like you’re a different person without the mask.”

  “I bet it would be terrifying to have that mirrored face coming at you, swinging that weird mace,” Gideon said.

  Lioness laughed.

  “Forget the mace. How about the fire tentacles? We’re on the same team and they unsettle me.”

  Forge shot a questioning look at the cleric.

  “Am I creepy?”

  She laughed, taken by surprise by the question, and the hurt look on his face.

  “No. Not like that. More like…” she searched for the right words.

  “Like someone with abilities you’ve never heard of,” Gideon said.

  “You’re like a holy octopus,” Lioness said.

  Gideon shook his head.

  “Octopi don’t have tentacles. They have arms.”

  The cleric harrumphed and glared at the swordsman.

  “If an octopus doesn’t have tentacles, what does, then?”

  “Squids, cuttlefish, mimics…” Gideon listed.

  Deflating, Lioness leaned back in her seat.

  “I’d argue the fact with you, but honestly, I’ve never even been to the sea.”

  “You were right,” Gideon said.

  The cleric’s head swiveled to stare at him.

  “About the tentacles?”

  He laughed.

  “No. That I’m a prince.”

  All eyes turned to him, but no one commented.

  “First, let me explain. My father is not the king of a kingdom. A few hundred years ago, one of my ancestors was king, but there was a change in leadership, and a new family took over. However, the rules of heraldic nobility state that we keep the title, just not the sovereignty.”

  Pulling a chain out from under his shirt, he showed the team a ring.

  “This is the signet ring of my family. And before you get too excited, it’s also the only thing I received from them.”

  “What about the sword?” Lioness asked.

  “Oh no, that I earned,” he laughed.

  Falcon leaned in and took the ring, bringing it closer so she could inspect it.

  The chain pulled Gideon’s head forward until his chin rested on her head.

  Lioness and Forge shared a laugh as Gideon rolled his eyes at the uncomfortable position.

  “This is really nice work,” Falcon said, turning the ring around to inspect the family crest.

  “Definitely enchanted,” she finished, releasing it.

  Gideon leaned back in his seat and tucked the chain back into his shirt.

  “I’m not sure what it does, but I doubt it’s anything worthwhile. My older siblings all went into high-level positions either with the Kingdom, the Army, or the Crafters, and I got last pick.”

  “Really? You got nothing?” Falcon asked.

  “They sent me away to get a proper education, far from the family, and were less than pleased when I returned and wanted nothing to do with their arranged marriages and political positioning.”

  Gideon held up the large, sheathed sword that sat across his lap.

  “I was told if I was strong enough to lift the family sword and gained the skill, I could have it. So, I spent the next three years taking any assignment I could get for the experience.”

  He ran a hand over the sword’s polished hilt and grinned.

  “Turns out my family didn’t think I could cobble together the six points necessary, or would give up, but when I went to my father and demanded the sword, the shock on his face…”

  Gideon’s smile widened.

  “It was all worth it. I took the sword, was told in no uncertain terms to get out, and left my family home to come to Scofrey and join the Guild.”

  He looked around the carriage, grinning.

  “And now look at me. I’m on a team with a ranger from the Elven lands, a cleric of Hypros, and a weird paladin-dragon combo that’s going to save the world.”

  He laughed and turned to stare out the window.

  “And not one bloody regret.”