Chapter Six

 

Taking seats at a table in the taproom, Stern motioned at the girl with a tray. “Miss?”

 

She turned his way with a smile, though that faltered the moment she saw him. Swallowing her fear, she came up to their table. “How can I help you?”

 

“Breakfast for the three of us,” Stern said, then looked at the women with him. “Black tea?”

 

“Black tea is fine,” Trish nodded.

 

“Yes, please,” Cyra added.

 

“And black tea for all of us, please,” Stern told the serving girl. “Room C-4.”

 

Her fear had faded, and the girl stared at him for a long moment. She jerked back a step when Pawly meowed. “A cat?”

 

“My summons,” Stern said. “Pawly.”

 

“A summons?” The serving girl smiled. “I wish I had a cat summons. I’ll bring your meal right out.”

 

“Cute girl,” Cyra smiled. “She was nice.”

 

“Fearful to start, but she got over it,” Stern said softly. “Glad it’s not busy in here.”

 

“Those needing a crew are at the dungeon asking around, or in the Walkers’ hall doing the same,” Trish said. “I’d have waited a couple of hours, then started asking among those who’d failed to find a group.”

 

“Hmm, a good plan,” Stern said.

 

A minute later, the serving girl came back with a kettle and cups. “The tea. Breakfast will be out shortly.”

 

“Excuse us,” Cammie said, coming up to the table. “Breakfast?”

 

“We just ordered,” Stern told her.

 

“Oh, good. May we join?” Cammie asked, looking at Cyra and Trish.

 

They gave Cammie and Vulk an appraising glance before Trish nodded. “Of course. We have black tea, unless you want something else.”

 

“Dark ale,” Vulk grunted, taking a seat. “Breakfast.”

 

“Tea is fine, but I also need a breakfast, please.”

 

“Of course,” the serving girl smiled before leaving them.

 

“Trish, Cyra, these are Vulk and Cammie Urs,” Stern said, doing introductions.

 

“A pleasure,” Cammie smiled, but Vulk just stared at Stern.

 

“Stern said you were looking to join the crew,” Trish said. “Is that right?”

 

“We’ve been asking around the last couple of days, but haven’t had anyone take us on,” Cammie said.

 

“Should keep looking,” Vulk said tightly, eyes still on Stern. He grunted, clearly in pain for a moment.

 

“Excuse him, please,” Cammie sighed, shifting in her seat. “One of the reasons we’ve had a hard time getting invited is because my brother doesn’t know how to be civil.”

 

“Ah, and since Stern is with us, you think we might understand having someone who doesn’t get along with others,” Trish asked politely.

 

Cammie’s jaw sagged a moment before she coughed. “A bit more blunt than I would have put it, but broadly. That, and I’ve heard of irregulars before. I know they aren’t blighted or cursed, no matter what some say.” Her elbow slammed into Vulk’s side just as he opened his mouth. “We’re fine with Stern.”

 

“You are,” Stern said tightly. “Your brother hates me.”

 

Cammie jerked and looked at Stern while Vulk nodded. “Cursed,” Vulk said before he winced again. “Stop kicking,” he complained to his sister.

 

“Then stop being an ass!” Cammie snapped. “We’ve been here for days! Our money is running out, and we’ll have to do more quests before we even get a single tin dungeon done!”

 

“Your ale,” the server said softly a few feet from the table.

 

Cammie gave her a smile. “Sorry. I’ll take it.” She held out her hand, accepting the mug. “I’m sorry.”

 

The server nodded, then hurried away.

 

“And you’re scaring the staff!” Cammie snapped at her brother.

 

Vulk sulked. “You are.”

 

“At least you love each other,” Cyra said softly.

 

Cammie sighed. “Just us and Mom left. We need to advance to help her. This is not advancing.” She stared at her brother. “Now, are you going to endanger Mother?”

 

Vulk lowered his eyes to the table. “Sorry, Cam.”

 

“Good.” She put the mug down in front of him before turning back to Trish with a wide, hopeful smile. “We can be useful.”

 

Trish watched the byplay, then nodded. “Perhaps. We need to discuss perks and see if you’ll fit in.” She glanced to the side and nodded. “After breakfast, perhaps?”

 

Cammie nodded, her hope fading a little. “Of course.”

 

“Stern is the crew leader,” Trish added, looking at Vulk. “Is that going to stop you?”

 

Vulk took a small sip of his ale and shook his head, not looking at Stern. “No.”

 

“Let’s eat, then,” Trish said, giving the server a smile. “Thank you.”

 

“Of course,” the server said as she quickly placed a bowl down for everyone. “Enjoy.”

 

Stern looked down at the soup before him, a little surprised. Picking up the spoon that came with it, he stirred the dark broth and found pieces of egg, sausage, and potatoes. “Breakfast soup? Been a long time since I had one.”

 

“Oh,” Cyra said, as she had done the same. “How interesting.”

 

“It’s their standard breakfast,” Cammie said. “Tasty and filling.”

 

“Smells good,” Trish said when her stomach rumbled. She took a spoonful and smiled happily.

 

Stern copied her, letting the pork broth carry the flavors. It was lightly peppered, but had a nice bite of garlic. The sausage was pork and not overly salty, giving the meal a good heartiness. The eggs had been soft boiled and cut into rings— the yolk melted into the broth, giving it a creamy texture by the end.

 

They all finished within a minute of each other, every bowl cleaned to the last bite. The server collected their bowls, letting them know she’d pass their kind words along to her grandmother. She had even brought them a second kettle before leaving them to their discussion.

 

“Alright,” Trish sighed happily. “Now we can get down to business. First, let’s state the position of the crew and see if you’re still interested.”

 

“Okay,” Cammie said, sitting forward. “I have to ask about the cat, though.”

 

“She’s my friend,” Stern said without explaining further.

 

“I see,” Cammie said. It was obvious that she didn’t understand, but didn’t want to push it.

 

“Firstly, if you join as a full member of the crew, you’d need to update your badges,” Trish said, tapping hers to show them the crew icon on it. “We’re going to spread our name. Secondly, we’re going to be looking at Rescue Squad, so we won’t be running all the dungeons three times.”

 

Cammie nodded slowly. “Both of those are fine. Are we going to run them twice?”

 

“No,” Stern said softly. “Rescue Squad doesn’t come down this far, but pulling souls out still happens at this tier. We’ll be looking to pull souls as often as we can. No Walker should be left fractured.”

 

Vulk just sipped at his mug, but his emotions were held tightly.

 

“Most of the soul requests down here don’t match what could be made from using the dungeon points differently,” Cammie said slowly. “I’m not opposed, but we also need money.”

 

“Speaking of money,” Trish said, feeling like this wasn’t going to work out after all, “our quest rewards are collected by Stern. He splits them, with an equal share being set aside to pay for the crew’s needs. That includes room and board.”

 

Cammie had started to object, but then nodded slowly. “I can’t fault that idea. We’d all have to pay anyway, so having a crew fund makes sense.”

 

“I know the cost of bringing soul shards out,” Stern said. “I’ll match that payment to you and your brother. It’ll help make it easier to not run the dungeons multiple times and make sure you can help your mother.”

 

Vulk blinked, then sat forward. “Why?”

 

Stern stared into Vulk’s eyes. “Because family is precious. I have brothers and sisters who will be Walkers in the coming years. I need to hold my runs open, just in case, but I don’t want to hinder members of our crew, either.”

 

“That’s generous,” Cammie said, giving her brother a pointed look. “Just us? Not them, too?” She nodded at Trish and Cyra.

 

“We’re in a relationship,” Trish said with a smile.

 

Cammie blinked slowly for a moment. “The three of you?”

 

“Yes,” Stern said.

 

Cyra was red, but she nodded.

 

“Oh. Well then, that won’t influence how the dungeon points are spent, will it?”

 

“No. Everyone will have an equal share if we can’t agree on spending them as a group,” Stern said. “I hope we never have to do that, but we might.”

 

“That’s fine, then,” Cammie smiled.

 

“Now, why should we take you?” Trish said.

 

“Perks,” Cammie exhaled slowly. “Okay. Vulk is up to Iron Skin, uses both hands to wield axes, can cut through light armor, and the wounds he leaves bleed. Of course, he and I are good with seeing in the dark and are resistant to poison. I’m good at dismantling mechanical problems, making simple traps, and cracking locks. I also have Thick Skin, as a lot of the lower traps are simple needles.”

 

“A trap finder?” Trish said. “And you had a hard time finding a group?”

 

“I won’t go without my brother, and... well…” She glanced at Vulk, who frowned at her. “He’s a problem child.”

 

“You failed to tell them how often you break things,” Vulk snorted.

 

“Breaking things?” Trish asked.

 

Cammie looked away, a touch of pink coloring her cheeks. “I have a tendency to fiddle with things if I’m bored or stressed. I can pull a lot of things apart, but I’m not as good at putting them back together.”

 

Stern chuckled. “So you’re a deconstructor more than a maker?”

 

Cammie frowned at him, then sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“I can kill a lot of things,” Vulk grunted. “I’m not a bulwark because I use both hands to attack. If I just used a shield and tried to protect others, we’d have found a group easier. But why hinder myself by taking away a source of damage?”

 

“What about you three?” Cammie asked quickly. “Stern said you’re the bulwark.”

 

“Yes, I’m the bulwark. A quick rundown for each of us…”

 

Trish explained her perks, which had Cammie nodding. Cyra then explained hers, and both Cammie and Vulk sat forward eagerly when they heard she was a healer.

 

“We’ll accept,” Cammie said.

 

“Yes. Healing can help keep us alive,” Vulk nodded.

 

Stern stayed quiet as they dismissed him with Cyra being a healer. Cyra glanced at him, and he just shook his head.

 

“Okay, we’ll do our run tomorrow. If we can find a balance, we’ll get you added as members of the crew,” Trish said. “Fair?”

 

“Fair,” Cammie grinned. “Thank you so much.”

 

“I’m glad I can finally do what I was born to do,” Vulk grunted.

 

“Meet at sunrise for breakfast,” Trish told the siblings. “We’ll likely be pulling shards tomorrow.”

 

“Okay,” Cammie said. “I need to make sure my gear is in order. Come on, Vulk.”

 

“Yeah,” Vulk nodded. “Tomorrow.”

 

When they’d left, Stern exhaled. “They stopped even thinking about me. Guess we’ll spring Pawly on them tomorrow.”

 

Cyra giggled when Pawly huffed. “They’ll be impressed.”

 

Pawly meowed, then waved a paw at Stern.

 

“Okay, go home. See you for dinner?”

 

Pawly nodded as she faded away.

 

“We should go check on shards,” Stern said. “We’ll pick a quest now so we can eat and go tomorrow.”

 

“Yes,” Trish nodded. “Then, we have the rest of the day to get our gear in order. We’ll be turning in early tonight to get good sleep. This dungeon will be longer and harder... I don’t want us not being prepared.”

 

“We’ll be ready,” Cyra said as she stood up. “Let’s go.”

 

Stern got to his feet. “Best to do it before everyone comes back from the dungeon. Did you want to try finding a sixth, Trish?”

 

Trish hesitated, then shook her head. “Not right now. I’ll ask around this afternoon. I want to see if a caster is available and talk to them myself, first.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Trish rose and led the way to the door. “Let’s see who we can save.”