The New Bond

“Dungeon runners, or as the guild calls them, delvers, are people in the adventures guild who mainly run dungeons instead of picking up quests off of notice boards. They will queue multiple runs on repeat or schedule a run in higher-grade dungeons in order to build up equipment and funds for more continued dungeon runs. There are a special few of them who search out new dungeons that haven't been fully explored for rewards and knowledge others have yet to gain.”

Aster

The water was cold, and dunking my head under again, I scrubbed furiously at my hair, watching dark muck wash away in the stream. This was the third time dunking my head in the water, and if it weren't for the constant flow of the water heading down the river, I'd have guessed that I was clean, but dust, dirt, and everything else I'd collected was almost like a second skin. If the water wasn't icy cold and numbing to the bruises on my skin, the entire thing would have hurt and been a pain, but the only painful part had been getting in at the beginning.

“You smell better, at least.” Umbra supplied, her amusement was plain in her tail twitches.

Raising my head to look up at the Umbra, I let the water flow down my back and laughed, rubbing one of my ears and seeing it finally come back without any dirt marks. For good measure, I dunked My head under once more before limping out of the water, pulled a towel out of my storage, and wiped off my face and around my neck.

Cleaning around and under the collar had become almost second nature And easier as I learned how. I could take off the leather, but it always felt more like a needless risk to part with the object that held everything I owned, and with how high the quality was, it never seemed to get more than a bit dirty.

“If anything, going into the dungeon taught me that I'm wearing my helmet and bringing a lot more to the next dungeon. The quiver is one of the first things I want to work on. I can't believe I thought I didn't need one.” As I talked, I pulled out a tunic and a pair of pants, slipped into them, then put the towel away.

My response elicited a low growl of annoyance from Umbra, and a long stream of Frost billowed from her nose. “Only three days to get ready. That bird rider either had his head full of clouds or wanted to rush us.” Her words weren't clipped with the sound of her claws breaking the small amount of ice that had formed on the edge of the river closest to her.

My thoughts on the talk yesterday leaned towards the latter option. He'd waited while Umbra had scanned over me, but his first words after seeing me hold up the core had been that we'd only had three days until we had to head towards the next dungeon.

His reasoning was timing and the need for secrecy at the next dungeon because of how close it was to a town.

It sounded like a load of scraps to me, but again, there wasn't much to be done about it. Rennald knew where the dungeon was, and even if his dislike of Umbra hadn't been obvious before, it was now. The rush that was put on the trip was, in a way, funny and disappointing.

To me, it seemed like everyone in the camp expected both Umbra and me to be upset at the fact that we were being rushed to go into another dungeon. Acting the part hadn't been hard for us because it was partly true. While we both were annoyed at the rush, Umbra specifically was furious that they wanted me to go into the dungeon hurt, but it meant that we'd finally be alone. On the surface, it seemed like a small fact, but after leaving the forest, besides flying up in the air, neither of us had much time alone with just the other as company, and even then, it felt like we were being watched.

It was late into the night that we'd realized the opportunity to slip away, and the goal to clear the dungeon had been tossed.

There was a slight ache of regret that I felt when realizing how it would look to Kat, but she was acting more and more distant. Even if we participated in the realm event together, it was clear that it would be the last thing they'd do before things changed. I was just cutting the tie a bit earlier.

“Seeing as we know nothing about the dungeon except you can fit inside, we need to gather as much food as possible. Three floors give us three chances to find a good place to wait and practice until the event, but food and water will be our biggest issue unless there's something to hunt.”

Fully dressed, I looked at Umbra. We'd discussed this last night, but she'd been reluctant to leave my side then, and judging by the bond, she was still reluctant now. My spatial storage would be all but useless after the first floor, but even with an excessive mana cost, it could still be used on that floor. Once it was cleared, we could pull any of the food and water we needed out over the course of a few hours and freeze it until we were ready to eat it and move it to the second floor if the first floor wasn't suitable.

“I like the idea, but months out here will be a year, if not years, in there. There's no way we can get all the food we need in a few days. A lot of this is hoping there's something there to eat anyway,” Umbra said.

That was what we had thought of in a night, a plan with a lot of holes, to wait out the timer for the realm event in a dungeon. It sounded ridiculous, but the benefits were just what we needed. The chances that it would work out weren't great. Out of The two dungeons I'd gone into, there'd only been a few edible monsters, such as the giant spiders in the first dungeon. With three floors, there was a higher chance that this dungeon would hold something to eat even if it wasn't the best, but still taking in as much food as possible would help, at least in the short term.

“The other option is trying to fly away after we get out of this dungeon. Once we know where it is, we can go back to it. If they were willing to tell us anything about the dungeon, it'd make all of this much easier. Getting food for the dungeon will give us time to get to the other floors to see if they hold anything we can eat. Fighting on an empty belly isn't a great idea.”

Sitting on the hard ground next to Umbra, I watched the river slowly weave past a low dip in the land and disappear for a moment.

Snorting, Umbra wrapped her tail around me in a half circle, and I leaned against it gratefully and pulled out a long strip of leather and a set of sewing tools.

It took Umbra a minute to respond, but eventually, she sighed, having a long breath out of her snout. “I don't care for human politics as much of it doesn't make any real sense. There is more than enough land and levels to go around, but I will say Arilon was much more straightforward in what was to be done with us, even if it wasn't to our liking. Here, even if I can fly, there are many secrets and glances that I don't like.”

I knew there was a part she was left unsaid, and I didn't push her on it, but I could tell that she missed having dragons to communicate with. It was a reminder that even with as advanced as her speech and way of thinking, Umbra was young, and we both were. She was almost a year old, if not already, and I was around seventeen. I lost track of time at some point, so I couldn't be exact on the date. As it stood, both of us were learning a lot of new things.

“I think you're right. Things do seem tense, if not hostile, ever since the griffins arrived, maybe even before, but if they did want to do something with us, why haven't they? Going into the dungeon for as long as possible seems Like a better choice than staying out here. We'll gain levels faster there, and the only threat will be the dungeon itself.”

Rubbing my hand on the leather, I pulled out and started to mark sections of it with a piece of chalk. I had two things I wanted to finish today, one being the quiver and the other being a new pack. Neither had to be of amazing quality. Even a common grade would do fine and hopefully raise a few of my skills.

“I'll hunt through the night and rest tomorrow so I will be ready for the flight. They haven't given us any distance, but I doubt they will allow any rest, and with the griffin's higher grade, I think they will try to push at high speed as well.”

I rolled my eyes at the hint of a growl in the mental voice. The book on dragons that we'd read made a big point on how dragons saw themselves as rulers of the sky and didn't take kindly to any creature outdoing them in anything related to flying. Even fighting other dragons wasn't uncommon for wild ones.

It was almost hypocritical of her to dismiss human politics when they had a whole set of unspoken rules of their own.

Taking out a pair of long scissors, I made a cut in the leather and turned it slightly before making another longer cut and inspecting The other marks again, making sure it all lined up. While I wasn't aiming for this to be a masterpiece, I still wanted it to be as good as I could make it in a short time. The quiver would have a belt for waist carry or a link on the edge that could be attached to a pack to carry it on there. The quiver also would have two different pouches for either rune arrows or normal arrows. The last piece, and the part I'd probably not be able to finish until we were inside the dungeon, was a rune to keep the arrows from falling out.

The rest of the leather and cloth I had would go towards making a new pack. It would be about the same size as my old one, but this time, it would be made for me and fight snugly against my back to make moving with it easier. As I worked, Umbra and I talked. There were a lot of problems that couldn't be solved with the plan, but also a lot we could prepare for. The containers I had for water were full, and with Umbra hunting food later, the first-floor supplies would be all set. We would stay there as long as we could with what we had and work on leveling our skills and practicing with our bond before moving forward to the second floor. Depending on what we found, we could stay or rush to the third floor if there was no way to have a prolonged stay. With the time dilation every dungeon had, the only way to tell time would be the realm event timer, and we'd aim our exit as close to that as possible. That was when Umbra had an idea that seemed as obvious as it was hilarious and solved most of the problems we had.

“If we do have to exit, is there anything stopping us from going back in immediately? As long as one of the floors has something to eat, then we should be fine.”

Tilting my head, I looked up at the blue cloudless sky, and after thinking for a moment, I nodded. Nothing I knew labeled it as a bad idea, but that didn't mean it would work.

“It should be as a last option if we have to leave, but if it does work, I don't see why we can't just rerun the dungeon.”

Over the next few hours, we ran through hypothetical question after hypothetical question. The biggest issue was the lack of knowledge about what we were getting into, but nothing could be done about that. As we spoke, the leather in my hand started to take shape, and eventually, I had what could be called a roughly done job. The quiver was just two feet long and would leave the fletching poking out. I'd have to find or make a new quiver when my draw length increased, requiring a whole new set of arrows and equipment. It lacked any oil to help keep the water out and was coarse to the touch, but it would do perfectly for now. Out of curiosity, I identified it.

[Leather Waist Quiver - Common - This quiver is made by a low grade crafter for wearing on the waist.]

I couldn't say I was disappointed. With only a few hours put into the item, it would be surprising if it was any higher in quality. Placing it in my spatial storage and mentally promising myself that I would oil it later, I stretched and let out a groan as a series of joints popped. Dexterity, as I was now learning, could only do so much when I was sitting still on hard ground, leaning for hours on end.

The shadow blocking my light was the sign that Umbra was leaving over my head, and I looked up, spotting her looking at the leather, and I waited for her to say what was on her mind.

“I wonder if making weapons for my kind has ever been done.” Glancing at me and seeing my incredulous look, she snorted, not having to guess what I was thinking. “Not human weapons like bows and swords, but maybe something to go over my front claws.” She held up the bracelet she had gotten a while back. “The description of this makes me think that at least it's possible.”

Snorting at the memory of the story she had told me that day, I quickly identified it, trying to remember what it had said.

[Draconic Band - Rare - Designed as jewelry for dragons, this band was made by a Mastercraft kobold of metalworking with a unique metal. Enhanced to increase in size depending on the dragon wearing it.]

Nodding at the screen, I remembered it: the runes had kept Umbras scales clean. If jewelry could be made for a dragon, It did make sense that creating something combat-related for a dragon was possible, too. The only problem was I had no idea what a kobold was. Thinking about it, I rubbed one of my ears, tilting my head from side to side. It could be some kind of dwarf. They were known for being great crafters.

“It's possible, I guess, but I don't see how you could really improve your scales or claws besides runes.” My words seemed to please Umbra greatly, judging by the rumble of agreement and spark of happiness that flowed through the bond.

A long, far-off screech caused both of us to look up, and I frowned at the brown spec In the distance. It wasn't hard in the clear sky to spot that one of the griffins was out hunting. Watching it, I relaxed and leaned back on Umbra’s tail. It was only after the griffin started in a dive that I spoke.

“Things seem to be changing fast. I mean, I never really knew the world outside the forest less than a year ago, and while I'm learning a lot every day, everything seems to change faster than we can keep up. I can't say Kulni was wrong about us needing to see what was outside the trees, but I doubt she expected this. We're going into a grade three dungeon, and we're only in grade two. She'd probably kill us herself if she learned about everything.”

Umbra reached down the tip of her nose, touching my head, and I reached up, rubbing her snout with a smile. I laughed as her tongue snaked out and tickled the palm of my hand.

“From one side, this could look quite bad, but from the other side, you've gained a lot of levels, advanced a grade, and have access to an event that happens so rarely. The last one was centuries ago.” Umbra drew back her head and rumbled, “After the event, depending, of course, on what happens, I don't see why we can't go back to the forest to relax for a while maybe head towards the desert and explore in that direction where there are fewer humans or explore the elven forest, they seemed nice enough.”

Fixing my almost dried hair, I nodded. “Yeah, I know the event is important, and I do want to see what it's like, but we're going to need to be ready for it. I'm sure there are a lot of people who've spent years in grade two building up skills and practicing spells. Afterwards, going back to the forest does sound nice.”