The Dungeon Fairy: Two Choices: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 2) by Jonathan Brooks (bill gates books to read TXT) 📕

that; they didn’t want to spend any more time around the Raiders than they had to – which he couldn’t blame them for.  The servers automatically got a bonus tip whenever they were served, and Gwenda and her assistants (it was strange to think she had assistants, but there was a lot that went on that she couldn’t handle herself) did an accurate job of tracking everything.

“Oh…no; nothing like that,” Gwenda replied, smirking at them – though more in a joking way than a mean one.  “We just don’t have to pay when we eat here.”

“Huh?  How did you swing that?”

Sterge answered this time.  “Because we happen to know the owners, that’s why.  They give us a special discount.”  He didn’t necessarily want to lie to what he hoped were their new groupmates, but he didn’t feel like explaining everything with all of the others around in the increasingly crowded common room.  “We’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.  Now, go get some good rest – you’re going to need it.”

As Sterge and Gwenda fought their way through the crowd to the exit, the “Chief” of The Village couldn’t help but be excited about the next day.  Despite the danger that awaited them, he was looking forward to delving through the dungeon again; it was strange, but he felt a very subtle connection to it and missed it for some reason.  He put it down to the special fact that they had been the first ones to investigate it instead of anything else, but he also remembered the unique Abilities they had earned as a result.

Neither of them had mentioned them to anyone else, not even the other villagers, because they now understood the warning the dungeon had given them.  The fact that the Merchants were paying normal Raider groups to drop themselves down to the bottom of the waiting list – just so they could get their own people in there faster – was an indication that they would stop at very little if they suddenly had access to something that would allow them to increase their Raider Levels even quicker.

He had no way to confirm that was the case, of course, but he could instinctively feel it in his bones.  Worse than that, he also had to realistically consider that the normal Raiders would do the same if they found out.  While they were sort of on their “side” right now, they were behaving themselves for the most part so that they could continue to access the dungeon.  All bets were off if they found out about their Abilities, however.  Again, he couldn’t really know for certain what the Clan would do – but he could certainly guess.

Therefore, it was a risk doing what they were doing, but hopefully only a small one.  They weren’t planning on telling anyone, let alone their new groupmates, about their special Abilities…at least not yet; the boost in Power would be easy enough to pass off as normal for a while, and by the time they caught on, then Sterge and his best friend could determine whether telling them was safe.

Gwenda led the way to the governmental building they shared with the Raider Clan’s representative, and walked right inside and off to the left-side office.  She walked inside with Sterge just behind her, and he shut the door.

“What may I do for you this fine evening?” Jesper, in his normal red-shaded suit, asked politely without looking up from what he was working on.  He was seated behind a large desk covered in neat stacks of paperwork, and he was scribbling away on yet another piece of paper that was probably just going to be added to another stack.  On the left side of the office was “The List”, a chalkboard that was a mirror to the one posted outside of the building; it listed every group that was scheduled to delve through the dungeon, and at any time it could be seen by the Raiders to determine how long of a time they had to wait until it was their turn.  Right now, based on how many names were on it, the wait was quite long.

From what Sterge knew, there was also a master copy of it that Jesper kept on his person (and memorized, probably), so if anyone tried to alter it without his permission, he would know and correct it if necessary.  The chalkboard was more of a courtesy to the Raiders than anything.

Before they could say anything, the Clan representative finished what he was looking for and looked up at them.  He raised his eyebrows in surprise, which was probably because of the fact that they rarely came to see him in his office.  He looked worried for a moment, but then his face relaxed as revelation hit it.  He’s a smart one, he is. 

“Have you finally decided to delve?  I’ve been wondering when you’d get around to it,” he said, accurately divining the reason for their visit.  “I have to warn you, though, while I can get you bumped to the head of the line, I cannot allow just the two of you in by yourselves – you need a group of five…though I think you know that, don’t you?  Who did you find?”

Wow, he’s really good.  Gwenda smiled and relayed the names of the new groupmates, and asked to get in shortly after dawn the next morning.  There was absolutely no problem getting that done, which Sterge had to admit he was a little worried about since they hadn’t exerted their privilege before.  As they were leaving, however, the privilege came with a warning.

“I’m sure you can guess, but this alteration of the list might cause some…unpleasantness.  Some people have been waiting for weeks or more than a month to get a chance to delve. Getting bumped back – even if it’s only a few hours – could engender some negative