“So she is the better Merchant.” Franco asked.

  “Of the two here? Yes easily, and one of the best Merchants out of Gemport. Top three three at least and a family friend.” Oaken answered, pointing at the merchant in the distance. Their group stood under a canvas awnings where they had returned their training weapons. Drinking water from a tall wooden barrel. It was clearly divided in half with a large opening on the top that could be sealed shut. The dividing line was a silvery thick script and geometric pattern whose side you could see. A strong cleansing and purifying rune that the mountain water moved through so that the water you drew from the bottom was safe to drink.

  After getting their fill of water Franco started walking towards the merchant Oaken had pointed out. “We can do this later, Franco. Helmric’s meeting is going to be soon.” Frazier said, walking alongside him.

  “That’s why I want to go now. I don’t know much but from what Master Helmric was saying this morning I think we are going to be staying here awhile and that it will only get busier. So I want to beat the rush.” He said as they crossed the last of the training yards and started crossing the main road. The old stone gate house was just to the right of them as they crossed the road. One small gate tower was in ruins while the twenty foot opening where the old gate should have been was clear and showed a path that was little more than a dirt trail leading out of the town into the mostly bare mountain side.

  “Yep, everyone is talking about Desanigh and how we have found it. Do you think it's that?” Sarah asked from his other side.

  “If so, why the buildup? We already know or at least think this is Desanigh. Probably some entrance to the city before it got destroyed.” Frazier said, clearly thinking it as overblown.

  “I don’t know about that, Father was very upset and up late that night of the attack but by the time I saw him the next afternoon he was in a much better mood.” Oaken said.

  “Do not say that to loud Oaken, it does not make him look well.” Maph said as he looked around them to make sure the few adventurers shopping at the two small merchant caravans, nor the merchant’s workers overhead Oaken’s comment.

  “Right, but he was,.” Oaken replied, embarrassed.

  Thirty three people had died, a real disaster for any expedition but it hadn’t seemed to Franco that anyone was too worried about it. It seemed the thought hit the rest of the group at the same time. Frazier looked up at the sun, trying to figure out how much time they had before Master Helmric’s meeting.

  “I’m going to get that money he promised us for babysitting you Franco and some more, I’ll be real quick.” She turned to leave but stopped herself as she turned to her group. “Don’t waste your money on anything stupid. Adventuring necessities only, oh and anything we might need for exploring caves.” Frazier said before she ran back into town.

  Franco saw that Sarah and Maph both looked excited as their eyes went to the goods on or in front of the wagons on display a few feet away. Oaken just looked annoyed. Like he did not have the money to get what he wanted. As Sarah and Mpah stepped away to do some shopping he nudged Oaken. “Can you introduce me to the merchant?”

  Oaken did a mild trill before nodding his head. “Sure, she is a family friend.” He led him to an older Dwarf woman that had been standing by one of the wagons watching them.

  “Good day to you Mistress Bluescale, this here is Franco the Copper that got his head smashed in in the other day and lived. He’s my new team member.”

  The old dwarf woman narrowed her eyes at Franco for a few seconds before looking at Oaken.

  “New team member. Is that so.” She said, looking at Franco again. She looked to be in her 50’s in human terms but that meant she could be 150 for all Franco new. She was just taller than Oaken, maybe 4 feet 11 inches tall. Her long graying hair was in three large braids that ran down her back. Each one with multiple hair bands of different precise metal or stones with fine detailed work or plane. She was wider physically then he was and her fair skin was well weathered and lined. The look she was giving him was one that said she would not tolerate any jokes.

  “Master Young, it’s good to see you up and moving and that scar on your head is a nasty one. Praise be to the Skyfather that you lived.” She said with sincerity but still a wary look watching him.

  “Mistress Bluescale have we met before today?” Franco asked, seeing her eyes narrow at the question. They had. I wonder what business they had had together or if she knew more about it.

  “We have Master Young,” she said after a few seconds.

  “Master Young?” Oaken said in amusement and surprise. “Well Master Young here lost his memory, Old Tina. Got bonked on the head by one of those those stone golems and doesn’t remember anything before waking up in the infirmary.” Oaken laughed. “What do you think of that.” Her eyes went wide with surprise and then narrowed in suspicion. Franco couldn’t help but laugh at the emotions playing across the woman’s face.

  “It’s true Mistress Bluescale, I don’t remember a thing so anything you could tell me would be appreciated. Master Helmric has helped me a lot today with what information I apparently gave him when I joined this expedition but I know little more than my name and that I am from Abigail.”

  “Now that is a surprise” she said with a small smile forming on her lips before she gave him and Oaken another quick glance as if she just decided something. “Well then Master Young I have some news for you. Good news in fact, if not more about yourself.” She said with a smile finally fully appearing on her face.

  “Please call me Franco, apparently that’s my name,.” Franco said.

  Her smile brightened. “Interesting when we first meet you insisted on being addressed as Mr. Young and I have no problem doing that for a man who deposited three hundred gold with me before we left Gemport. You wait here and I will grab my ledger.”

  Oaken's bill was wide open as Franco turned to him and saw it. Franco closed his mouth, just now realizing it had been open also. Oaken snapped his bill closed so fast it made a sound.

  “Franco my new teammate” the quiet Kimber was suddenly much more alive and Franco couldn’t help but smile at the change.

  “Have I told you how how much I respect Abigail? A truly great nation ruled by some of the best Kings and Queens of history. One of the founding nations of the world, they say, over over 11,000 years old. Keepers of the Book of Levi and the great Scholaria. It’s one of the best schools and schools for magic in the world. One of only three founding nations to survive the Five Evils and that apocalypse.” Oaken was only picking up speed in his need to impress Franco.

  Franco knew he was grinning like a madman trying not to laugh. Oaken’s sudden need to ingratiate himself had brought Maph and Sarah back to watch the young Kimber chatter away like his father.

  “At many times the center of the world and always friendly to my people the Kimber. I read that after the Five Evils it took less than a century for the High Valley to send out its Armies of Peace during those trouble times times. That the generosity of the Abigail people go all the way back to that legendary figure the Cleric of the Old World, Abigail herself who through her own blood and tears saved your people from a dying world. If all from Abigail could be be but half as..”

  Franco grabbed Oaken with both his hands and shook him. “Oaken enough, Oaken stop.” Franco said, trying to stop him between laughs now. “Ducky enough.” Franco finally got out between laughs.

  The Kimber instantly stopped talking and raised all three arms, affronted before he noticed Maph, Sarah and Mistress Bluescale standing there with half a dozen other people staring at him. You could see color come to his face and even his bill slightly change color in embarrassment.

  “Let’s see what Mistress Bluescale has to say to us before we spend that money on our team.” Franco said letting go of Oaken turning to the merchant.

  “Humm, just like his father this one. Always gets a little too wet when he gets excited.” She said as Oaken somehow grew more embarrassed. “Well if I am going to be calling you Franco then please call me Tina, some call me Old Tina but do as you will. Now the ledger shows that you still have 262 gold of credit with me and if you plan on helping out the Stone Eaters then that is most generous of you” she smiled. Maph and Sarah both stepped up to be near them at those words.

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  “First of all, is that the team name, Stone Eaters?” Franco asked not sure how he felt about it.

  “It’s a good name,.” Oaken said, offended at the hesitation.

  “It’s a Gemport expression,.” Tina said.

  “Means someone is a right tough bastard,.” Sarah said.

  “Fits you now,.” Maph said, looking at Franco’s scar.

  “Well I’m glad to be a Stone Eater then, so let’s start with potions Tina”

  “Adventuring is too expensive.” Franco muttered as they walked away from Old Tina’s wagons.

  “15 Gold for a healing potion is what we paid in Gemport before we left so the fact we got her down to that is good.” Frazier said with a smile.

  “It’s always easy to spend someone else’s money, Frazier.” Maph said as he tapped his adventurer’s belt. “Good of you Franco for doing this”.

  Franco waved off the complement. “No more thanks are needed. This is an investment and this money is from old me so it also didn’t really feel like mine, especially when all we did was change a number on Mistress Bluescale’s ledger.”

  They walked away with ten healing potions, a whopping 150 gold in cost. Oaken explained, when a day laborer in Gemport might make a single gold a month. A healing potion was a second life. Look at Franco himself, yes it had taken one and a half healing potions and a [Healer] to save him but he had his skull crushed in and now he was on his feet two days later. Having a healing potion made adventuring possible. Now Franco had made sure all his team had two on them while he had three. That was Gold ranked level of healing potions for a team Tina had said.

  They had brought a few more stamina and antidote potions as well for everyone. Franco had bought himself some sleeping gear, travel rations, another change of clothes, hygiene items, two good size water packs and a canteen that fit his belt. He had to run back to their house to grab his pack to carry all his new gear. It and the healing potions had cost him 210 gold. Then had come the hard part but luckily Frazier had returned with that 50 gold promised her team. Upon seeing his spending spree she just laughed and patted his arm as the rest of the team argued about what they needed. With the rest of his credit and their 50 gold the team bought 3 items. A new spell for Oaken, detect magic, enchanted gloves for Sarah that when activated locked a ward spell or curse spell in place for 8 seconds and allowed her to see the magic. Perfect roguelike ability to help dismantle magical traps and alarms. The last item they had gotten was a wand. This was a wand of break ward that Frazier held on to now. They had paid for the better wand that could recharge itself if it still only had 3 charges compared to the one time wands that had as many as 12 charges and were much cheaper by far. With that they had within minutes spent his credit and the 50 gold they had just gotten but they seemed to feel good about it.

  Even Old Tina felt good about her windfall so much so that she had forced Franco to sit down on one of her crates as she gave him a haircut. Which was in fact just shaving the other half of his head to match his bald scared side and when he complained she had just given him a half potion of hair regrowth to help the scared side regrow his hair.

  Franco robbed at his now totally hair free and cold head with a hand as they walked towards Helmrics building to hear this big announcement.

  “It does look better,.” Sarah said as she walked next to him.

  “My head is cold,” he mumbled.

  “Well I was going to suggest it if no one else was by tonight. Can’t have our new teammate making us look bad with his bad hair.” Frazier said from the other side of Maph.

  Oaken was already lagging behind them, his bill almost touching the new spell he was reading.

  “Well it was nice of her to give me some hair growth potion for free. It should help with the scar I hope.” Franco said, still rubbing at his bald head. He could feel the sun on it. I hope I don’t get a sunburn, he thought as they got to the building and saw the crowd milling about in the intersection talking or sitting on the ground off to the side.

  “Looks like most are here already,.” Maph said.

  They found a spot towards the middle of the crowd and a clear view of the door to Helmric’s office. They only had to wait another fifteen minutes before Helmric came out of the building with Innosaa and another Kimber that Franco hadn’t met before. He asked Oaken who was next to him still reading the spell.

  “Hey who's that other Kimber next to your father and Innosaa?” Franco asked. Oaken had to look up and was surprised to see that his father was already out the door.

  “Oh umm that’s Master Netlor. He was fourth in charge but with Master Fairview's death everyone moved up one. Innosaa is now second in command”

  “Oh I didn’t know that, she never mentioned that.” Franco said.

  “She would not, she is an elf. It would be very rude of her and insulting to you for her to tell you her position.” Maph answered.

  “You learn something new every day.” Oaken said and then slapped Franco on his back. “Ha that's doubly true true for you isn’t it now” he laughed at his own joke and trilled at his amusement. Franco just gave him a smile.

  “Alright listen up this won’t be long.” Helmric shouted from in front of the building. “Quite you ill begotten eel feet”. The crowd laughed at the strange Kimber curse but went quiet.

  “Good good. I am here to say a few things. First, like I said the night of the attack it was thanks to you that more were not lost. That all the blame of that disaster falls on me as Expedition leader and highest level adventurer here. All that remains true true” at those words Helmric paused and Franco could tell that there was still a lot of anger at Helmric for what had happened but he could also sense anticipation. A reason for all this. A reason for why people became adventures.

  Helmric let out a long trill during the pause, anger and excitement all in one just like the crowd. “Second I am here now to tell you I am about to send a Message through Oberlin who is now in range of both us and Gemport that that we have discovered Desanigh and that I am declaring it a Dungeon.”

  There were actually gasps from the crowd before everyone started talking to their team members. Before anyone in the team could say anything. Oaken held up both his right hands. “Wait.”

  Helmric let the crowd in front of him talk only for a few seconds before he slapped the ground with his tail. The loud pop hushed the crowd. He trilled this time in announce “I am sure. Those who question me let me be clear. I was not the first one to come to this decision. Captain Fallow of the Gold Rank Sun Splinters was first as his team was tasked by me yesterday to clear the next room.”

  Some in the crowd called out anger in their voices about him not having the right to do it without a meeting. He slapped his tail on the ground again and yelled “This is my Expedition you signed on to and I am the highest level here so I decided with with the advice of the fellow Gold Rankers here. With that in mind you fourth arm freaks. Captain Fallow cleared the next room in a few hours and then the next and the one after that and finally a fourth room. He brought in Captain Lolateerum and me to see the progress he had made and to see the fifth room. A fifth room that splits into three paths and is trapped like ones before it. Oh and it has riddle riddle confirming once again like the rooms before it that we are entering the doomed city of Desanigh and that riddle looks to be written on a golden treasure chest.”

  Franco looked around and saw many during the same. This was a moment of history, a thing of legends. He didn’t remember much but he was sure of this. He wanted to be here now.

  “And if that is not enough for you who call yourself adventurers. That cursed damned first room had 12 stone golems in it. Yes Yes and we only fought 8 of them. The stone scarab colony destroyed the mana gatherers for the others and broke apart one golem completely but not the other three.”

  He stepped aside to let Innosaa reached back into the building and with both hands, bring out a metal ball the size of her head with dull crystals in the hollow center of it and complex writing and symbols written on its surface and as could barely be seen from Franco’s vantage point on the inside of it as well.

  Helmric continued now to the deadly silent crowd “Three intact Five Evils era golem hearts. One will go to the dead’s kin, one to pay for the Expeditions expenses so far and help to pay for what comes next and the third to you lot.” The Kimber smiled, bill open and with a gleam in his eye.

  The adventures cheered, anger now lost at the windfall. Franco asked his team “How much will those sell for” he had to raise his voice so they could hear him.

  All five of them put their heads close together and Frazier looked around the group. “Not sure really, I think they will be put to auction. A brand new stone golem is like 8,000 gold last I saw one on sale in Gemport. Their heart is like 6,000 of that cost from what I’ve heard. Who knows what a 4000 year old advanced mage golem heart will go for.”

  Oaken was nodding his head as he looked at their group. “With three of them I expect they will sell very well but not what some of these people think. 20,000 or 30,000 something like that. If we knew for sure they worked it would triple their price but it’s going to be a gamble for each one.”

  Their group broke apart as Helmric and Innosaa waved the crowd back to silence. “Well now things will change. I have asked Oberlin to make camp early as he will spend the rest of the day sending Message spells back and forth forth. The Expedition messages will have priority and will be the only ones for the next two hours no matter who your grandma is. After that I will open it up for you sand eaters but it will be first come first served or highest bidder if too many of you want to send out messages to your friends until Oberlin is out of Mana or scrolls. Now remember the expedition owns this town so no making claims to ruins or areas until you clear it through us. I expect a rush here so I am making it clear no one comes that hasn’t been approved by the Gemport adventures guild first, and they won’t start that for at least four days. That is going to give us us a twelve day head start. So team captains grab lunch first and be back here for a long afternoon of meetings. The rest of you sorry lot better get ready because starting tomorrow we are going to crack open open my peoples shame and loot their ill begotten treasures.” Helmric roared the last words before turning and entering his office, his lieutenants following behind him as the adventures cheered, hooped and yelled their approval.