The Human From a Dungeon 27 (Patreon)

Chapter 27

Imlor Tula

Adventurer Level: N/A

Gnome - Kirkenian

"So you don't have enough to hire a driver for this delivery? It has to be you?" Telena asked, bouncing our baby boy, Igran, on her arm.

The boy was named after my wife's father, who had been my uncle's best friend and taught me everything he knew about being a merchant. His lessons were how Telena and I met. She's the reason I am a firm believer in love at first sight. Her father was less than thrilled to hear about our courtship at first, but he came around and endorsed our wedding. He never hesitated to offer aid to us as our family grew, right up until his death just a week before Igran was born.

I wrapped my arms around my wife and son and squeezed them tight. Igran, the little scamp, grabbed my ear and tried to put it in his mouth.

"I could hire a driver, but I wouldn't be able to hire guards for them," I smiled sadly as I twisted my ear out of the boy's grasp. "That wouldn't be fair, especially with all that's going on recently."

All that's going on recently. What a dull way to describe all the happenings in recent times. Rumor has it that the drow are planning to start attacking again, there's been a rock slide or something that's shut down the adventurer's path to Bolisir, and there's been reports of disappearances on the civilian path. I'm definitely going to need to hire guards.

"But what if you run into another Nahalim?"

"My darling, I'd rather pay guards and run into a Nahalim myself than hire an unguarded driver and have them run into it for me," I kissed her cheek and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll make sure to hire the toughest of guards. And this will be the last time I have to do a delivery myself."

The original plan had been to hire a both a driver and guards for this job. If the giant rats hadn't killed my hnarses and destroyed everything but the metal I was transporting, I'd have been able to stay home with my family and let business take care of itself for a bit. Maybe even indefinitely.

I'm glad that I hadn't had this conversation with Telena last time. Fate would have made a liar of me.

"It had better be. I don't know if I can take many more sleepless nights. I thought it was bad just having to worry about Junior, but at least he's an actual adventurer," she sighed.

"Bababadlah," Igran added, matching his mother's serious expression.

"I'm sorry, my sweet. At least I won't be fighting any of the monsters, though. I'm not as brave as our son," I smiled and handed Igran his teething toy. "As a proper coward, it simply wouldn't do to be charging headlong into danger. So don't worry too much, okay?"

A bell rang that indicated that the shop in front of our house had a visitor. Hopefully, a customer. I kissed my wife's forehead and patted her free arm.

"It'll be fine," I said.

"I hope so."

I smiled at her and went to see to our potential customers. I walked through the warehouse entrance, sighing as I looked upon all the empty shelves. The ones that did contain goods weren't exactly full, either. That would change soon. Just one more delivery, and things would get back on track. I walked through a flap that led into my shop and paused as I saw who my customers were.

"Hi Imlor!" Nick grinned at me with his oddly shaped teeth.

"Hello Nick," I said. "I'm happy you were able to find my little shop! Did you come to tell me how things went with the High Chief?"

"In a way," Yulk chuckled, browsing my written goods.

"We need a ride to Bolisir," Nash grunted, his arms crossed. "The elf next door said you were going there to make a delivery for him."

"Erias? Well... yes I'm going to be making a delivery for him. Going to be a tight fit if I have to hire more guards though," I said with a sly grin.

"I don't mind working for transportation. How much are you paying?"

"Will fifty copper each do the trick?"

"I think seventy-five would be more appropriate. You seem to be a monster magnet."

"Come now, brother," Yulk interjected. "It simply cannot be his fault that every time we've seen him we've also seen monsters. It's also a boon that we're getting paid to travel to where we need to go."

"How about sixty?" I asked.

Nash sighed and proceeded to perform several theatrics that I'd seen dozens of times before. Rubbing his chin, scratching his neck, tapping his foot, all the while pretending to think about the deal I just offered. Of course, he was actually hoping that I'd sweeten the deal a bit. Might as well, it'll still be less expensive than hiring guards from the guild.

"Plus meals," I added. "Within reason, of course."

"Three hots a day?"

"One hot, two cold. You prefer hot dinner or breakfast?"

"Dinner. Alright, sixty copper each, and you buy the jerky and stew," Nash said, offering a hand.

"Deal," I shook his hand.

"Could I get some meals that have a mixture of meat and veg in them?" Nick asked.

"Stew has proso chunks in it," Nash answered. "That's a vegetable. Technically."

"It's a starchy tuber," Yulk added. "It's known to help with cramping if prepared properly. Putting it in a stew isn't one of the ways to prepare it as an anti-cramping tonic, though."

I remember catching in passing that Nick was able to eat both meat and vegetables, but I had been busy at the time and hadn't given it much thought. The shape of his teeth suddenly came to mind and it all clicked into place. I can help with this.

"I usually bring extra fruit and veg bars," I said. "I'll share the excess with you."

"Thanks," Nick said with another grin.

Yulk walked over to my counter and set down a well-worn tome that had been collecting dust on my shelf for a few months. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"How much for this one?" he asked.

"The Musings of Gralv? You can take it," I chuckled. "If it weren't for you, I'd say there isn't a soul in this city that cares anything about an imp's opinion on the Fae."

"A what?" Nick asked.

"An imp," Yulk explained. "A small, typically nomadic race that has a bad reputation. My interest is less in the subject matter of the book and more in the fact that an imp wrote it. They aren't known to be fond of writing."

"Nothing makes that more apparent than The Musings of Gralv," I laughed.

"Why do they have a bad reputation?"

"Because they've got plenty of bad apples they don't bother sorting out," Nash answered the boy with a grunt. "They'll temporarily settle near a village or town, and once there's been a few thefts, rapes, and murders they run instead of letting the culprit face justice."

"It can't be ALL of them, though," Nick argued. "Right?"

"Maybe not," Yulk said. "You rarely see them in these parts, yet even we've heard the stories, though. Unfortunately, that means there's likely some truth to them."

Yulk put the book in his pack, settled his staff in the nook of his arm, and brushed the dust from his hands. The conversation got me thinking about the reputation that gnomes used to have in these parts. I grew up with people saying that gnomes were willing to sell their children for a copper if they needed one to screw someone over.

That, of course, isn't true for most gnomes. And for every gnome that it is true for, there's an elf, orc, and dwarf that it's also true for. What gave rise to this generalization was that most of the gnomes in Kirkena were merchants of some variety. The reason for that is because most of the gnomes here come from migrants, and being a merchant was the best way for an immigrant to make a living. There's plenty of gnomes in Calkuti that aren't merchants, and it's almost impossible to find a gnomish merchant in Hinchren.

The unfortunate reality of this generalization is that people automatically assume that gnomes are good at business, and are more willing to trust gnomes that they shouldn't trust when it comes to matters of business. A few years ago, one of the Great Chiefs appointed a gnome as treasurer. This particular gnome was a blowhard who didn't have a head for any sort of business, let alone civic economics.

The gnome in question gravely disrupted the economy of the city. It got so bad that he and several other innocent gnomes were lynched before the Great Chief's guards were able to put a stop to things. The mob of angry mer genuinely believed that all of the gnomes in the city, who were also negatively impacted by the bad economy, were somehow involved in a conspiracy to bring the city down.

Even after everything settled down there were attacks on caravans and businesses that were owned by gnomes for years afterward. It must be terrible to live in a place where your neighbors hate you through no fault of your own. I'd like to believe that Kirkena's different, but...

"When are you going to be ready to leave?" Nash asked.

"The carts are all packed up, but I need to pick up some provisions from the adventurer's guild," I answered.

"Just as well, we should get Nick's level retested," Yulk said.

"Really? Why?" Nick asked.

"Because you learned some new skills in our adventures thus far," Yulk grinned. "Plus I'm curious as to how Ten impacts your level. I'm willing to be you're at least level 6."

"No way. Sure, he learned a couple of skills, but that doesn't mean he went up a level," Nash said, shaking his head.

"Right," I interrupted. "Well, the carts are out back. Go ahead and load up. I'll be with you shortly."

The three nodded and left out of the front of the shop, and I exited through the back flap back into the warehouse. As I entered my home, my wife looked up at me from our kitchen table. She must have set Igran down to play in his room.

"Customers?" she asked.

"Nope," I answered. "Those were the people that saved my butt when I was on the road. Turns out, they also need to go to Bolisir. So, I hired them as guards. On the cheap, of course."

Telena laughed, "Always finding a way to save some coin. You sure this is going to turn out alright?"

I shrugged, "It has to. I'm contractually obligated. Even if I weren't, by the time another opportunity like this came along we'd be starving, and I'd still have to go."

"I know," she sighed. "I'm just worried. I... I don't want to lose you."

Telena hadn't always been like this. When I initially went on the delivery to Nuleva she had seen me off with a smile, confident in my return. Something changed when I got home days later than I should have and told her about the giant rats and the Nahalim. She's been fretting over me ever since.

If it were anyone else I would be annoyed. But with Telena, I couldn't feel anything except loved. I hate to see her worried, but I'd hate it more to see her starving. I love her more than anything, and I'd give anything to see her happy and well.

"I'll do everything in my power to make certain that you don't, darling," I brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her. "I've got to go."

"I know," she pulled me into a tight hug.

I returned the embrace, enjoying the flowery scent of her hair and the feel of her warm breath on my chest. I silently wished that I had become someone's apprentice instead of starting my own business. Some job that would just require me to work some hours and come home to her, safe and sound. Making just enough to keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies. What more do I need when I've got her by my side?

Unfortunately, that was a pipe-dream. I'm too old to be an apprentice now, and I don't have any non-mercantile skills that would let me start over fresh. The only way to keep my family housed, clothed, and fed is to revitalize my business. And the only way to do that is to leave Telena behind for a time, and risk my life on the open road.

"I love you, more than anything," I whispered to her.

"I love you more than that," she whispered back.

I gave her another squeeze and kissed her again.

"I'll be back."