Duelling Dungeons

Kass and I emerged from the access tunnel, climbing up into the green space, just as the sun was beginning to set.

While I could feel the same festive attitude out here, it was far more subdued. Most of the staff were enjoying the party inside; Voss, the Dryads, and a handful of others had gathered in one of the clearings for a more private celebration.

Although I was a little curious to see how everyone was doing after the match, I decided to give the area a wide berth. Not only was I feeling a little burnt out after everything that had happened, but I also wanted a little alone time with Kass.

As we strolled through the central park area, the magical lamps around us flickered to life, bathing the area in a warm glow.

“So, where to?” Kass asked.

“Someplace quiet,” I replied, snuggling into her shoulder. “Most of the social spaces are fairly well lit, but I feel like going to some place where we could stare at the stars…”

Kass smiled. “I know just the place; follow me,” she said, gently pulling me away from the small celebration and towards a small rocky outcropping on the other side. Although I’d noticed the small rocky area before, I’d never bothered to explore it since there were plenty of small, private clearings and picnic areas to relax in.

The outcropping wasn’t even a sculpted and maintained rest area; it was just a series of rocks and boulders that had been propped at the far end of the park. They’d probably all been pulled out of the rest areas, then placed tastefully at the end to create an interesting point of view at the edge of the park.

She led me off the gravel path around the side of boulders to a section where several medium-sized stones had been placed, creating what appeared to be an impromptu staircase.

“I found this place shortly after coming to the Manor, when I was looking for a place to be alone,” Kass explained. “I have no idea if someone created these stairs intentionally, or if they were placed here completely incidentally, but they make for a convenient way to get up to the top,” Kass explained.

“You were looking for a place to be alone?” I asked suspiciously. “Why? You’re the most social person I know.”

“That might be true, but even I can feel overwhelmed every once in a while,” she replied. “That was especially true during the first few days, when I didn’t know everyone.” She slithered to the side of the wonky little stone staircase and held out a hand. “Come on, I know it looks a little rickety, but I promise it’s perfectly safe. I’ve been up here plenty of times, and the view is worth it.”

I accepted her hand and carefully jumped from rock to rock, slowly climbing higher until I could finally climb onto one of the large boulders. Once I was up, Kass quickly slipped up the small pile of rocks behind me.

While several boulders were stacked together to form the decorative outcropping, the main body seemed to be a single titanic rock. Considering the sheer size of the thing, it was quite likely that the central rock had actually been sitting there before all the renovations happened, and they’d just piled all the other rocks up around it. Even if someone were using geomancy and had the help of the mythril golems, moving a stone of this size would still be a real problem.

The most surprising thing about the rock was that the back of it was nearly perfectly flat.

Kass slid over to the middle of the rock and coiled up before patting the space next to her. “You wanted to stargaze, right? Well, the surrounding rocks are tall enough to block out the light from the paths, and we’re far enough from the nearest city streets that we won’t be disturbed by the noise,” she said.

I stepped over and sank down onto the warm rock next to her.

A refreshing, cool breeze flowed over the trees and across the back of the rock, cooling me on the warm spring night. It was like Kass said: we were far enough away from the nearest city street that the only sound that reached us was the faint celebration from across the park.

Satisfied with Kass’s little hideaway, I lay back and stared up at the stars.

“So, what made you want to stargaze?” Kass asked. “I mean, I can understand you wanting to get away from the parties, but stargazing? That’s something I didn’t expect.”

“Well, you know that I sometimes have trouble turning my brain off? Well, when I stargaze… I still can’t completely turn my brain off,” I admitted. “But at least I can let my mind wander, and I can daydream, and think about things other than work.”

“Huh, why is that?” Kass asked.

“I dunno,” I replied. “I started doing it shortly after becoming an adventurer. If I had to guess, it’s because it reminds me how far I’ve come. The abyss is located deep underground, so I didn’t really have a chance to look at the sky until I left. When I didn’t have much more than George’s companionship and the clothes on my back, it reminded me that I was also free from my family’s oppressive presence.”

“That’s both incredibly beautiful and incredibly sad,” Kass muttered.

“It is what it is,” I replied, gazing upwards. “All I know is that when I look up at all the glittering stars above, I can’t help but wonder what the future may bring. It brings me a sense of peace.”

“So why haven’t I ever seen you stargaze after arriving here at the Manor?” Kass asked.

“Because I haven’t needed to dream of better things, or really needed to find some peace of mind since I came here,” I replied. “I was already living the dream.”

Kass frowned and turned her head towards me. “So why now? We won today’s match, and you outsmarted someone who could literally read your mind. What changed?”

“While I’m happy that we succeeded, Nor’Goth said something that unsettled me a little,” I admitted. “And while I could probably deal with that in my own time, I had a realization shortly after the match ended.”

“And what’s that?” Kass asked.

“Since there are eight expert-level dungeons competing in the clash, and the dungeon masters like to make a spectacle of the matches, what do you think the chances are that they’ll forgo the random selection and put the two undefeated dungeons against one another?” I asked back.

“From what I’ve seen, probably pretty good,” she replied. “So?”

“Do you know what the other undefeated dungeon is?” I muttered.

“I thought the other matches were still going on,” Kass said. “They started later than us so the audience could jump from one match to another.”

“Well, I checked right after cleaning George,” I said. “The Abyss completely dominated the kingdoms, ending the match in less than an hour.”

“Ahhh… Now I understand,” Kass whispered. “Are you worried?”

“I… I don’t know what I’m feeling. I wouldn’t say I’m worried exactly, maybe a tad bit anxious? The only contact I’ve had with my family since I left was when my sister came and challenged me to a duel. I have no idea how I’m going to react when I have to deal with them all at once,” I said.

“I’m sure you’ll perform brilliantly,” Kass said. “You’ll show them exactly what you’re capable of.”

“I hope so,” I mumbled.

“I know so,” Kass declared confidently. “They may have lived with you for years, but they have no idea who they’re dealing with.”

I smiled and turned to face her. “Thank you for having faith in me.”

“Well, you’ve earned it,” Kass said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Do you want to talk about it some more?”

I thought about it afor second, then shook my head. “Not tonight. Right now, all I want to do is clear my head.”

“Good choice,” she said, pulling me in closer so I could snuggle into her shoulder. “Then for now we’ll just lie here and enjoy the stars. That can be a tomorrow problem.”

I nodded slightly. “Tomorrow.”