The Human From a Dungeon

Yulk Alta

Adventurer Level: 7

Orc - Nulevan

Nash and I turned around to allow the human to get dressed in privacy. Nash was on edge the entire time that our backs were turned. He must still think the little critter could be a threat. He's not wrong, I suppose. Not the kind of threat that would attack you without a weapon, though. The kind that could out think and out maneuver you on a battlefield? Maybe.

This human had just awoken and had already demonstrated knowledge of fringe intellectual pursuits like evolution and nutrition. It spoke of things I had spent extensive effort to learn as if they were common knowledge. My younger brother had stumbled onto a goldmine of knowledge! Even if the human didn't have any more knowledge than what he had already displayed, just studying his anatomy would be revolutionary. He would likely be opposed to vivisection, though. Even with healing magic available...

"I'm ready, I think," Nick said.

My brother and I turned around to look at the human. He actually cut a dashing figure, if you're into that sort of thing. Trimmed black hair that was longer on the top than on the sides, dark blue eyes with a hint of green, a chiseled jawline, and musculature that was reminiscent of a fighter. He had a scar to the right of his chin that was barely noticeable, and a much more noticeable scar on his left temple. He could pass as a short elf or a tall dwarf were it not for the ugly round ears. Nash was right, they're very jarring now that I look closer.

"Alright, let's go," Nash replied.

We exited the room with the human to my left and Nash to the human's left. The girls were peeking around the corner of the hallway, curious of the human's activities. Yini and Nimora were enamored with the thing, but Catalina seemed afraid of it. I will have to remember to ask her about her reasons for that. Perhaps it's merely a phobia, but she might be able to detect something that I can't about the human.

I had no reason to believe the same of Nash, though. My brother was infamously overreactive and overprotective. His near hostility towards the human makes little sense, since he's the one that brought it from the dungeon. I glanced at the human as we walked. It walked very similar to Nash, fully upright with a steady gait. Unlike Nash, it was keeping its eyes ahead and trying to avoid making eye contact with the orcs that quickly shuffled out of our way.

As we continued on I wondered if the human was a warrior or a mage of some sort. Not everyone has to be, of course, there are many who are neither. Most, even. But something told me that the human was special in more than its rarity. I might be setting myself up for disappointment, but I really want to see what it's capable of. I wonder what adventurer level it is! No, wait, it had shown ignorance of magic. While that doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't have martial combat experience, it's unlikely to be above level two if it's never heard of magic. Perhaps instructing it on magic would boost its level?

"Listen, Nick. When we get to the chief's chamber you need to be quiet unless you're directly asked a question. You're technically an outsider, and you're deeper in our village than an outsider is allowed to be. An outsider meeting the chief in the chamber is unheard of, so if you're rude there's bound to be bad consequences," warned Nash.

"I understand. I'll keep quiet," replied Nick.

"Oh, I don't think it'll be all that dire," I said. "After all, Nash is the reason you're here. If you do anything naughty, he's liable to take the blame!"

I returned Nash's glare with a malicious grin. A not-so-subtle reminder that all this is his fault. Ah, but I'll likely have to remind him that whatever the fate of his team is, he's not to blame for that. They went off on their own volition, and he wasn't even their leader. He was their strongest, but Graz was the leader. And Graz decided to leave their strongest behind and continue on. And the others followed him. If Graz survived, I'm going to give him a good skull-shaking for his stupidity.

We entered the chamber and my blood ran cold. Alurn and Rirnu stood before the chief, looking ashamed. I didn't waste time wondering where Pakin and Kirisaka were. These two wouldn't be here alone if things had gone well. A boss had been encountered.

"Nash, I'm sorry," said Gluhern. "Your party didn't make it."

Nash's jaw tightened as the realization hit home. He looked at Alurn and Rirnu, and both of them avoided his eyes. He swallowed and nodded at the chief. I reached over and patted his elbow to comfort him. He'd need a drink tonight.

"Chief," I began, "I take it that Kirisaka and Pakin didn't make it either?"

"Correct."

"Was it a boss?"

"We believe so."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"That's what we're deciding," Gluhern said and pointed to the human. "I wanted to speak to that to find out more information. Care to introduce us?"

"Allow me," said Nash.

We all looked at my brother, not expecting him to be able to speak yet. Perhaps I didn't give him enough credit and he already knew that what happened wasn't his fault. Nash is a great brother, he's full of surprises. Never boring.

"This is Nicodemus Liam Smith, a human who may have been transported to our world from another world. He goes by Nick," Nash said, gently pushing the human forward.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Nick said, bowing at the waist.

Everyone froze for a second. Despite the grim attitude of the meeting, there were a few chuckles.

"I am not a king, I am a chief. You need not genuflect to me," Gluhern said with a chuckle.

"Need not genuflect? A remarkable increase in vocabulary," I said while jerking my head to the left to dodge a thrown goblet.

"DON'T PATRONIZE ME, SORCERER!" Gluhern yelled.

The metal goblet clattered behind me. I grinned. Most of the drinking utensils in the village were either made of wood, glass, or ceramic. The chief had tired of having to order replacement cups and had changed all of his utensils to metal. This was much more economical, considering that this type of spat of ours is nearly traditional at this point.

I frequently critiqued Gluhern for several reasons. The first and foremost reason was that I got amusement from his reactions. The second reason was to remind him that even though he is a chieftain, he is still an orc like the rest of us. It's all too easy to forget a simple fact like that when your word is law. The third reason is to keep my reaction time healthy.

I stole a glance at the two surviving members of the rescue party and immediately regretted my shenanigans. Alurn, who was normally mountainous, was now staring into the distance as if lost in thought and looking significantly deflated. Rirnu was struggling not to cry. Gluhern and I met each others eyes, and I could tell we both felt shame at our outbursts.

"I'm sorry," Gluhern said to everyone except me. "Nick, I called you here because you were found in the Delver's Dungeon around the same area as the beast that will be the topic of discussion. Alurn, please describe what happened."

At the mention of his name, Alurn returned to reality and began his tale. We all listened raptly, especially when he described the creature. Skin nearly as white as its hair with claws like daggers, standing like and as tall as an orc, and with speed that matched a shadow warrior's. The way it moved when it killed Pakin, almost too fast for even an over-ten to see. Very interesting, but in a very dangerous way. Something I would rather read about instead of personally study. Unless it were dead, of course.

"When we returned to the collapsed portion of the wall, we waited for Kirisaka to catch up," Alurn said. "But... after waiting for a very long time... we were teleported to the entrance. Without him."

Every face listening to the story dropped except for Nick's, who looked confused instead. The human looked like he wanted to ask questions but was hesitating due to our warnings.

"The dungeon shifts frequently, and when it does it teleports the adventurers still wandering around inside to the entrance," I explained softly. "The only time it won't teleport someone to the entrance is if they're dead."

The faces that the human made were interesting. They were alien, but so communicative that I immediately knew what they meant. His confusion turned to realization, then sadness, and then, as he turned back to look at Alurn, empathy. It was at this moment that I realized that Nash was completely in the wrong about this little creature being a threat.

My eye's locked with my brothers. He had seen the empathy on the human's face and knew he had been wrong. His hand dropped from the handle of his axe for the first time since we left the hospital. The only way the human could be a threat is unintentionally.

"Thank you, Alurn," Gluhern said before turning back to Nick. "Have you ever heard of this beast or anything like it?"

"N-no chief," the human stammered, shocked by the question.

"No need for honorifics, call me Gluhern please," the chief said gently.

"Right, sorry. No I haven't, Gluhern. Until I woke up yesterday I hadn't even heard of a dungeon. In my world, monsters aren't real. Neither are orcs, elves, or dwarves. Not even magic. It's just humans and animals. I'm sorry I can't be more help," Nick said with a genuine tone.

"I understand. Thank you. I'll be wanting to discuss your world more in a bit, but first the topic of what to do with the creature must be addressed," Gluhern said.

"I don't think we have a team strong enough to beat it," Rirnu said.

This was quite the revelation from the veteran healer. We had all suspected this to be the case after hearing Alurn's recount, but hearing it said aloud by Rirnu seemed to set it in stone. There was nobody else in the village who knew the limits of our adventurers better.

"Well, we'll have to do something. We can't risk adventurer parties running into the damned thing, and closing the dungeon indefinitely will spell the death of this settlement," the chief said.

"What about a barrier?" I asked. "Block off the path that leads to the part of the dungeon with the beast in it. If we use a runic barrier and warn everybody not to mess with it, the beast won't be able to leave the part of the dungeon that it's currently in."

"And what's to stop it from attacking the crew sent to set up the barrier?" Alurn asked hollowly.

"It could be that pale due to living in the darkness for a long time," Nick said. "Which means it's probably got an aversion to light. Light is usually a bad thing in deep darkness."

We all looked at the little human with various emotions on our faces. My face held curiosity, Gluhern's held amusement, Alurn and Rirnu looked thoughtful, and Nash looked annoyed and angry. I almost laughed when I realized why Nash was upset. He believed the human had spoken out of turn.

"Yes, yes you may be right!" Rirnu said at last. "The lights leading to the room we found the beast in were all slashed and broken!"

"We all had lights on, though," Alurn said.

"True, but the lights in the hallway were much brighter than our lights. There were times were I nearly forgot we were under ground!" Rirnu said excitedly. Then his mood soured and he said, "But if that's the case, then we all could have run for it and Kirisaka didn't have to..."

"Hindsight is helpful as long as you don't make it a hindrance," I said. "This isn't a case where you should have known better and should be chided into doing better next time. There's no way you could have known. Even I, with all of my learning, have never heard of a beast the likes of which you have described."

The pair looked at me with gratitude in their eyes.

"Okay, then we'll put a barrier up at the broken wall as soon as possible. We'll make it the strongest runic barrier we can make, damn the expense. While the barrier is up, we'll send a missive to the kingdom to make them aware of our troubles and request elite adventurers to vanquish the beast. There's bound to be enough loot to make it worth their while," Gluhern said. "Does this satisfy your concerns, Alurn and Rirnu?"

"No," Alurn replied, falling to his knees. "I am shamed, chief. I am meant to be the greatest warrior in this village, yet I fled in terror, leaving my closest friend to die."

This turn of events wasn't unexpected. Alurn was known for being honorable, and wore heavy plate-mail despite wielding a great-sword for the sole purpose of being a bigger target. He prided himself on taking all of the hits for a party, keeping them safe while they fought. Nash and I locked eyes. He had clenched his teeth again. Then the chief spoke.

"You are not shamed. You have worked harder than most to be as strong as you are, so it is unlikely that you could have worked any harder or been any stronger by the time your party faced this monstrosity. If the roles had been reversed, and Kirisaka had ran while you fought, you would have died as quickly as Pakin."

"But chief..."

"No, listen to me Alurn. It was a bad matchup. Your strength is great against strength, but that creature surpassed your strength and was many times faster than you. It would have cleaved through your armor in mere moments and then been on Kirisaka and Rirnu. Kirisaka would have died either way, and the village would be left with one fewer adventurer," Gluhern said, leaning back in his seat. "Even if you are to be shamed, I cannot think of a worse punishment than having to continue on as an adventurer without your closest comrade. Mourn Kirisaka, comfort his family, heal your mental wounds, and get back to work. Do you hear this judgement?"

"Yes, chief," the mountainous orc said.

"Good. You both have three days off, and then you'll report this situation directly to High Chief Ulurmak. Alurn, Rirnu, you two are dismissed. Nash, Yulk, please remain."

The two over-tens left the chief's chambers, leaving Nash, Nick, and myself standing before Chief Gluhern. I always found it awkward when I had to witness Gluhern actually be a chief. I much prefer being blissfully ignorant to his wisdom and continuing on as if he were a bumbling fool. No matter, I'm sure his bumbling ways would make themselves evident again soon enough.

"Now, what to do about you, Nick?" Gluhern asked.

"We should find a way to grant him citizenship of the village. Or whatever the equivalent of citizenship is for a village," I said, tapping my chin at the quandary.

"I know he's shown that he can be useful, but he's not an orc. This is an orc village, not a mixed village. It's part of our mandate. So why?"

"Well, the fact that we found him in the dungeon could pose problems in the future if we don't. Dungeons are first come first served, but not necessarily first registered first served. He's been in the dungeon presumably since before we settled here, since none of us saw him enter," I said, placing my hand on Nick's shoulder to keep him from trying to correct me. "If we send him on his merry way, everyone that he runs into will have questions about his origins. Some of those answers may get back to the Curaguard, and that could result in an investigation, which would result in our claim being temporarily revoked. Or even permanently revoked if it finds in favor of the human."

"I see," Gluhern said, narrowing his eyes as if to try to see through my bullshit.

"If he were part of the village, then our claim couldn't be revoked. His claim on the dungeon would merge with ours."

"Would that be satisfactory to you, human?" Gluhern asked.

"Y-yes," Nick said as I squeezed his shoulder pointedly.

"Okay. Now the problem is, how do we go about doing this? I'm certain his majesty won't approve of us just adding him to our roster."

"Adoption. High Chief Ulurmak can't contest an adoption," Nash said. "I'm sure mom wouldn't mind. What do you think Yulk?"

I was shocked at the suggestion. It was surprising enough that Nash was suggesting that the human be our brother, but the actual cleverness behind the scheme was even more surprising. He was correct, the High Chief can't contest an adoption. He was also correct that mother would likely go for the scheme. She had a big heart and loved non-orc company. I couldn't help but grin at how conniving my brother was being.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind at all. That's a great idea, actually," I replied. "That would also settle the matter of where to keep him. We just clean out a room for him. I've been meaning to move my laboratory to the alchemist's anyway."

"Good, then it's settled. We'll talk to mom and get the human moved in," Nash replied while turning to Nick. Then he asked in a dangerous tone, "Unless the human has an objection?"

"N-no, no I don't. Thank you," Nick said.

"Alright, sounds good. Nick will have to remain in the hospital until Yilda makes the adoption official, though, which means you're still on guard duty," Gluhern said with a chuckle.

"Ah, if I could have a moment, chief?" I asked.

"Sure. Nick, Nash, you're dismissed."

My brother looked at me with curiosity before deciding that he'd rather not know why I wanted to spend more time with the chief. Nick and Nash turned and left, leaving Gluhern and I alone. I'd been wanting to have this conversation for quite some time, and I had been thinking about the best way to broach the subject. Gluhern opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him.

"I'd like to teach the human how to use magic."