Goldenclaw and I lead the others through the paths we discovered earlier this morning while scouting. Thankfully, they are still clear. We travel in pairs. Goldenclaw and I travel at the front, Glimmer and Ironvine behind us in the middle, and Renald and Liaz at the back.
"How long does it take to get to the dungeon?" Glimmer asks. "I feel like we've been walking for hours."
"If you expect to arrive today, you can think again." Goldenclaw chuckles beside me. "Be patient, my little friend."
"Either way, it's better than having to walk the entire eighty-day journey we would've had to make otherwise," Ironvine states as a matter of fact.
"I agree," Renald says from the back. "I wouldn't have enjoyed walking for hundreds of miles straight without a cart."
"You guys keep saying it would take us eighty days to get to the boss room…" I turn and look at everybody, "...so how is this dungeon supposed to help us?"
"None of you has ever been in a dungeon before, have you?" Liaz answers my question with another question.
We all shake our heads, even Goldenclaw.
"Dungeons are pocket dimensions created using powerful time and spatial magic," Liaz explains. "They are made of interconnected rooms, but if you enter one, you can't leave until you complete the challenge inside."
"What kind of challenge?" Renald furrows his brow.
"It depends on the room." Liaz shrugs.
"How do you know all of this, Liaz?" Goldenclaw looks at Liaz with doubt.
"I used to be an adventurer too, y'know." Liaz turns his nose up, obviously offended by the question. "Besides, this wouldn't be my first time entering a special dungeon."
"Special dungeon?" Glimmer looks puzzled. "What makes it different from a normal dungeon?"
"Special dungeons only have one room." Liaz answers as we move again, "As far as I know, they only appear inside regular dungeons... and they all contain irregular monsters."
"Yeah, I've heard that before." Goldenclaw nods his agreement.
"What's an irregular monster?" I ask. "I thought monsters were just monsters."
"Inside the Tower, the monsters that inhabit each floor increase in power the higher you go..." Goldenclaw motions for us to stop. "Hold that thought."
Pushing away some brush, I see a herd of deer-like creatures with large, twisted antlers, passing directly across our current trail.
"Hobblehorns." Goldenclaw explains in a teacher-ish way, "Something's causing them to migrate this way."
"There are so many of them." Glimmer pokes his head between me and Goldenclaw to get a look at the creatures.
"What could be making them move like this?" Renald and Liaz join us as well.
"I don't know. Could be dire wolves, could be hobgoblins, could be anything." Goldenclaw examines some of the dirt on the trail. "There are too many to force our way through. We have to wait until they finish crossing."
"How much do you think this will set us back?" Renald looks at the sky. "It's almost noon already."
"If I'd have to guess, in the long run, about a day or so." Goldenclaw stands up, "I say we set up camp now and pick off a few of these Hobblehorns for food while we can."
"I agree. Any objections to that idea?" Renald looks around at us all.
We each shake our heads no.
"Fine." Renald unpacks. "Goldenclaw, Whisper, you two scout the surrounding area. Ironvine, Glimmer, you two focus on camp setup. Liaz and I will focus on getting something to eat."
Separated from each other, we don't say too much. Goldenclaw and I check that we haven't been followed. I'm the first to see them. Climbing a tree, I see a single golden flag with a black sword emblem in the distance. It looks like it's in the same area we were in earlier this morning.
"Goldenclaw! I saw a flag where our last camp was!" I quickly climb back down from the tree.
"What did it look like?" he asks, worry written all over his face.
"It was a gold color and had a sword on it." I run towards where the others are, Goldenclaw right behind me.
"The Sellsword Guild. Dammit." He curses. "They probably sent knights to collect the bounty on us."
We burst into a newly formed canopy. I can see Glimmer and Ironvine getting a stump and some logs for another table, Renald is loading a purple crystal into Liaz's Arcane Rifle. Liaz is standing over him, giving him instructions.
"Scrap the original plan!" Goldenclaw yells at everyone, packing his things. "We've got to move now!"
"Why?" Glimmer huffs, placing down the stump he was carrying. "We just finished setting up."
"I saw a Sellsword flag at our old camp." I throw my bag on my shoulders.
"That's less than a day behind us." Renald's jaw drops slightly. "Sorry, everyone. Goldenclaw's right, we need to move now. Repack everything and let's get going."
"What about the hobblehorns?" Ironvine tosses his log away and grabs his backpack. "I thought they blocked the way."
"We'll just have to circle." Goldenclaw takes down the canopy.
It took us about 5 minutes to repack everything. We all march in a single file line now, following Goldenclaw, who leads us northward, in the direction the Hobblehorns travel from. We travel the rest of the day and all night, stopping just as the sun rises.
"I…" Glimmer collapses face-first into the grass below, "...I can't carry on anymore!"
The rest of us collapse as Renald says, "Everyone, get some rest. We leave here in an hour."
I hear my stomach rumble, but I try to ignore it. Closing my eyes, I drift off.
I see Brownblood's face wearing our old Wardog uniform: a simple suit of light black armor with three claw marks across the chestplate. We are on the beach at Port Carniva, just outside one of the Wardogs' secret headquarters. He is on his knees, holding a golden earring in his paws. This was the moment he asked for my hand in marriage. The moment I agreed to become his wife.