Dungeon Core Academy: Books 1-7 (A LitRPG Series) by Alex Oakchest (book suggestions txt) 📕

“Then you ought to apply to the town for a construction contract,” said Kathryn. “If you ever remove yourself from their wanted list. Now please do me the favor of shutting up.”

“I don’t get this, Kathryn,” said Gulliver. “Why are you helping us? You’ll get yourself into trouble.”

“Maybe I’ve gone insane. Or maybe I decided that you’re worth the trouble, I don’t know. Insanity seems the most probable answer.”

“I’m worth the trouble? Really?”

“Why not? Things haven’t been right in my marriage for a while. My husband ain’t a saint, and there are too many rumors of his dalliances with tavern trollops for at least one of them not to be true. At least you and I can have our fun without decades of marriage resentment getting in the way.”

“Why in the gods’ names are you still together? It’s not as if you have children. Just kick him out on his arse.”

“It’s a funny thing, Gully, the ruts you can fall into. It sometimes seems harder to pull yourself out than to just lie back and accept things. I suppose I have you to thank for giving me the kick up the arse that I needed. It’s time for a change! Not just in my house, but in the town. First, I’m going to help you two get out of here, and then I’m going to purge some of the bad apples from the town guard. Bring in honest men and women who aren’t in Pvat’s pocket. Then, I’m going to well and truly kick Pvat’s arse. I’ll kick it so hard he’ll sail into the sky and see the gods.”

 We reached the end of the tunnel, where a set of steel rungs led twenty feet upwards, ending at a manhole cover.

“That'll bring us out by the east wall,” said Kathryn. “Nobody’s going to be around. This district ain’t used much after the fire a few months back. I know a place you can slip out of town, and then that’s that. Done. Someday soon I want to know who the hell you are, Beno, and what trickery you’re up to with Dullbright, but first I want Gully…I mean both of you…out of harm’s way.”

“Thank you, Kathryn,” I said. “The town chose its head of guards well. Your honesty is more than I’d expect from someone in your position.”

“Chose? They didn’t choose anything. I worked my arse off as a guard, then a captain, and I climbed up a career ladder that was already slippery with sweat from the kiss-arse guardsmen who came before me. But thank you, Beno. And Gully?”

“Yes, love?”

“We aren’t love’s young dream, so don’t go getting carried away about all of this. I like you a lot, but I’m not ready to marry you and buy a cottage in a sunlit valley. Even so, try and keep your pants on until we meet again.”

“I’d ask you to do the same.”

“Here we go, then.”

Kathryn’s boots clinked on the rungs as she climbed to the top. She strained against the manhole cover until the light from a streetlamp slithered in. She climbed up and out of the sewers. Gulliver followed, then Klok, then Rusty. Finally, I floated up and out, emerging on the streets of Hogsfeate.

…where I saw four armed guards surrounding us.

And not, I noted with frustration, guards of the Len and Ben variety. These guards were tall, trim, and their leathers sported not even a single food stain. One of them, a man with a beak-like nose and eyes like a hawk, addressed Kathryn.

“Ma’am?” he said. “You’re with the fugitives? What’s going on?”

Kathryn drew her sword and prodded it into Gulliver’s back. She stared at the guard. “Good thing that you’re here already, Lonas. You’re the one I would have sent for. The incompetent apes at the barracks let the scribe and the core sweet talk them into helping them escape. A spell or something, I reckon. I didn’t want to pry too much yet. Truth be told, the scribe sickens me, with his leering eyes and floppy hair and his awful, awful clothes. You can’t trust him an inch.”

Lonas eyed her suspiciously. “You…pursued them into the sewers, ma’am? You?”

“Yes, me. Why not me? What, because I’m in charge of all you lunks I should be above crawling through the crap under our town to correct your mistakes? Are you saying I do not pull my weight, Lonas?”

“No…”

“Now, I have a delicate problem. A transgression like this should mean the expulsion of all the guards who were tasked with keeping watch over our captives. Half a dozen men suddenly without jobs. Their families without gold to buy food. That wouldn’t be good. We’re supposed to stick together, us guards, wouldn’t you say?”

“Of course,” said Lonas.

“I wish there was a way for me to protect them. They only made a mistake, after all. And everyone knows how deceitful cores can be, and how utterly, utterly shameful the scribe is with his words and his lies. But if we’re seen strolling through town with escaped fugitives, the mayor is bound to find out. We will have to explain how the fugitives escaped in the first place, and I will have no choice but to expel the guards responsible. Oh, cursed gods! What to do…what to do…”

“You…uh…could take them back to the barracks, ma’am. And the boys and I won’t patrol around here tonight. If you take Eastern Way and then head down Hope Street, nobody will see. Then maybe you could punish the guards privately, ma’am. Nobody needs to lose their jobs.”

Kathryn, playing her role to a perfection that I found impressive, sucked in her cheeks. She folded her arms. “Hmm. Eastern Way and then Hope Street. That might be a way to solve it. You’re a clever man, Lonas.”

The guard’s cheeks reddened. “Thanks, ma’am.”

“I see