Wolrd Sphere - 165 - Gareth POV (Patreon)

Chapter 165 Gareth POV

Gareth woke early as he only needed two hours of sleep for a full rest.  The tier one hasten dream ability had been awarded for his first Annual Tournament victory by means of a dungeon essence.  To his disappointment, the Annuals had not been held since.  He had been looking for his next dungeon since then.  He needed something to help him catch up with Storme—if that was even possible.

His childhood best friend was easily the most powerful person in Skyholme.  At first, he had been jealous, but now he just wanted to catch up so they could be equals.  He needed to get some powerful dungeon essences to increase his own powers.  When he learned Storme was going to the city of Myththorne, he asked to go.  He figured his delve team could delve into one of the larger dungeons and either claim an essence from a dungeon or earn enough gold to purchase one in the auctions.

He extracted himself from his bed.  He really needed to clean these blankets and sheets.  One thing he missed about his friend Storme was his cleanliness spell.  Gareth had even spent a few weeks with a mage just because she knew the cleanliness spell.  Unfortunately, she had trouble with Gareth’s wandering proclivities.  He didn’t understand why women always wanted exclusivity in relationships.  He was fine if the women around him were promiscuous.

Gareth cracked his back as he began his daily stretching routine.  His massive six-foot, eight-inch frame made him one of the tallest men in the city and easily recognized in the streets.  His muscled shoulders were wider than most men of his height.  After stretching, he went through sword forms without weapons, and his eyes closed until he was sweating freely.

As he worked, he thought about asking Storme to deliver on an old promise of getting him a device that mimicked the cleanliness spell.  He checked all the shops in Skyholme and had come up empty himself for such a device.  One of the new merchants in Aegis City offered to bring one from the lowlands, but he wanted a thousand gold deposit and another five hundred on delivery.  That was a substantial sum for Gareth, and he thought better of trusting the merchant.

Dressed, he entered the kitchen for breakfast.  He cracked six eggs and shaved some cheese as he blended it together.  The artificed hot stone heated, and he dropped a spoonful of butter into the pan.  Once it was hot, he started turning the mixture.  The scrambled eggs finished, he plated them and added a pinch of pepper.  He thought he did everything correctly, but still, Storme’s eggs tasted better than his.

He picked up a note on his kitchen table that he had been ignoring for days.

Gareth,

Thank you for the opportunity of being part of your delve team for the last year.  I have decided to move on and join Skyward Opportunities Delving.

Camin

Gareth balled up the note and tossed it away to a corner of the kitchen.  It froze in the air, the invisible man in the corner catching it.  Zayne huffed and became visible, “How did you know I was here?”  His delve team scout whined.

Gareth waved his hand to the floor, “You moved some of the trash on the floor when you entered two hours ago.”

“Wait, you knew I entered two hours ago?”  Zayne sat at the table grumpily across from Gareth.

“When you opened the door, I felt a cold breeze on my sweaty clothes when the pressure in the apartment changed,” Gareth said without candor.

“How are we going to replace Camin?” He placed the crumbled letter on the table.  “You know Gareth, you should stop having sex with every female member of the delve team,” Zayne said in a lecturing tone.

Gareth waved his hand unconcerned, “I never had a fling with Carmin, she was always too busy studying her spell books.”

Zayne was quiet for a long time before speaking, “Avenida isn’t coming to the lowlands with us either. She doesn’t want to leave her sister.”

Gareth’s face went dark.  They had one of the top young delve teams in Skyholme, but it was falling apart.  After the Black Mauraders were repelled, over half the delvers in Skyholme had died in the fighting.  It was a tragedy but also an opportunity for those that had survived.  Gareth’s delve team, Dungeon Heart, became famous a few months after the chaos.  Not only for their defense of Aegis City but also for their excellent delving skills.

Then came the lowland Adventuring Guilds to Skyholme. Loriel opened the islands to trade and migration and handed over the administration of the dungeons to the Adventurer’s Guild.  Suddenly, the Skyholme adventurers were priced out of purchasing delving tokens as they went to an auction format at the Adventurer’s Guild.  The price for a single token shot up to thirty gold in a week, a small amount of coin for outside Guilds, but it cut deeply into the local delve team profits, who typically only worked on the top layers of the dungeons.

The only dungeon outside the Adventurer’s Guild control was the Progenitor Dungeon, owned and operated by Storme. Gareth went to Storme and negotiated two weekly delves for his team for a fair price. He also went to Sovereign Loriel to plead the case for the local delve teams. Loriel took action and required half of all dungeon entry tokens to be auctioned only to delve teams who permanently resided in Skyholme.

After that, Gareth was briefly seen as a hero among the local delvers and at the Dungeon Academy, where he still attended.  However, foreign Guild teams soon started to build residences on the Skyholme islands and register as citizens under the new migration laws. That was coming to a head, and it was another reason why Gareth wanted to explore dungeons in the lowlands. A lot of dungeons allowed entry of an unlimited number of delvers. All of Skyholme dungeons capped the number of delvers until the first delve descended to the next level.

The door swung open, and Klara stood in the doorway of Gareth’s apartment. She looked at Zayne and then Gareth. Gareth soured, “Don’t tell me, you are not going either?”

Klara was a harvester—one of the best at the Dungeon Academy. It had taken Gareth a lot of convincing to get her to join Dungeon Heart. Her lack of equipment and guilty look told Gareth the truth. He thought his natural charisma and loyalty would win over his team members. He was so confident that no one on his team had signed contracts.

Klara fumbled her words, “Camin told me about… She had this opportunity for twice the coin I am getting now… Skyward Opportunities is paying a large sign-on bonus…”

Gareth tried to remain calm. Klara was one of the few women who didn’t mind his wanderings, and she found herself in his bed on more than one evening after celebrating a successful delve. Zayne swore, “Bloody Skyward Opportuites. They are signing everybody for a year’s normal wages for delving. I think they are trying to corner the token market and are in tight with the new Guildmaster.”

Gareth looked at Klara and dismissed her with a more steady voice than he had thought.  “You can go, Klara. Thank you for your service.” Klara hesitated in the doorway but turned and left without saying a word.

Zayne turned on Gareth, “Centaur shit, Gareth. There are only three of us now. We can’t bid on tokens without having at least five registered to the team!”

Gareth was calmer.  “It is fine. We can still delve into the Progenitor Dungeon. Storme will never retract his offer.”

Zayne huffed, “Yeah, but the Duskhunters flood the local market with the harvestables from that dungeon.”

“As long as Tobias is still with us, we will be fine,” Gareth assured his friend. Tobias was their healing mage and had been delving with them for four months. He was from the lowlands and came to Skyholme seeking his fortune. He was an average healing mage in the lowlands, but up in Skyholme, he was considered exceptional.

“Did I hear my name?” A black-haired youth stood in the doorway with a large pack.

“This is all of us who are going,” he admitted to the young mage.

Tobias just shrugged, “We can find add-ons in the Myththorne Adventures Guild Hall. I hear the elven brothels are exquisite there!”

Zayne and Tobias waited on Gareth as he packed for the trip. They took a skyship to Skyhold and stopped for breakfast at the Gentle Tauren. Gareth frequently came here and counted the owner, Broderick, as a friend. The capital was still being rebuilt, but the Gentle Tauren somehow avoided any damage in the Maurader assault. Broderick had even killed a fair number of the pirates.

Nina was also still a server here, and when Gareth and his team celebrated after a run in the Progenitor Dungeon, they usually came here. Gareth usually found his way to Nina’s apartment rather than return to Aegis City.

Broderick greeted the trio, “Morning, Gaston, Toby, and Zayne. You want the breakfast special?”  Broderick knew Gareth was his real name but still used Gaston whenever he patronized the establishment.

Gareth nodded, “Two portions for me and one for each of them.” He placed the silver on the counter, and Broderick went to get it from the kitchen. When Broderick returned, Garteth asked, “Is Nina not working today?”

Broderick tilted his head, “She took a job at the Duskhunter Guild Hall over by the Black Spire. I think she fancies one of the dark elves. You had your chances with her, Gaston. But a girl can only wait so long.”

Gareth was fine with that; after all, there were a lot of birds in the sky to choose from.  He liked Nina, but she lacked something he sought in a woman. Of course, he was not quite sure what that thing was yet. But once he found it, he would know it.

They had to walk to the Black Spire after breakfast. It was just a few miles away, but the security at the city gates was new, giving the three of them a hard time and searching their packs. It was mid-morning when they reached the Spire, and they were already late, but Gareth saw Fera working in Storme’s gardens. He diverted to go and talk with her.

He regretted not trying harder with Fera after saving her from the Black Mauraders.  Their relationship had rekindled, but of course, Gareth eventually screwed it up. Fera now worked at the Black Spire for Storme and was making more coin than he was delving. Then again she didn’t have the expenses he had working for Storme everything was paid for.

Fera smiled brightly, “Gareth, how are you this morning?”

Gareth approached her and smiled back, “I am well, Fera. I have not seen you at the Dungeon Academy in weeks.”

Fera smiled, “Storme pays the instructors to come to the Spire. We also have personal mage instructors from the Mage Academy in Skyhold.” She was trying to make the large man jealous, but he was oblivious to her efforts.

“That is fantastic! The offer is still open for you to join Dungeon Heart. In fact, a few spots just opened up,” Gareth applied as much charm as possible to his words.

Fera laughed, “Only if you are fighting flowers! I used all my spell matrix slots on nature spells. You know that!”

Gareth frowned and tried to think of something else to say to rekindle his relationship with her, “Do you want to have dinner when I return from the lowlands?”

Fera’s smile faded, “Gareth, I am engaged to Luca.”

Gareth brought up the squat young mage in his mind. He was one of Storme’s delvers.  “The dirt mage? He is shorter than you! How could you be interested in him?”

Fera’s eyes had a dangerous glint to them that knew Gareth had overstepped. She yelled at him, “Luca is a very kind man and has never done a single thing behind my back!! And he is five-ten, only a little shorter than me!! He is also part of the best delve Guild in Skyholme!!”

The last was not true. The Duskhunters were far and away the best. Shiny Platinum Delvers was probably third or fourth if you really considered all the Guilds… He stopped his thoughts as Zayne was pulling him away from Fera’s fury.

“Let’s go, big man,” Zayne said while dragging him away. “That ship has flown, and the High Mage is probably not happy we are already late.”

As they left, Gareth grinned back at Fera, “If he breaks your heart, you know where to find me.”

Zayne patted the big man’s back when they got a good distance away, “Don’t worry, Gareth. I am sure she will come around again. Maybe Luca won’t kill you when his first child is seven feet tall.”

They walked around the Black Spire to find Maelstrom still waiting for them. Storme was talking to Princess Amelia, and they both turned to face Gareth and his two companions. Storme gave a half smile, “Gareth, you are late. We meant to leave over an hour ago.”

Gareth shrugged, as time was relative when you had the fastest ship in the Sphere. He explained anyway, “New guards on the city walls. Getting into the countryside was a hundred questions, and they searched everything in our packs.”

Storme looked disappointed, “It is good they are stepping up security after the last incident.”

“I heard about that. Twenty people attacked the Spire, and the High Mage took care of them,” Zayne said, bringing himself into the conversation.

“It was just twelve people seeking free healing. And yes, I healed them, but they are spreading a different version of events,” Storme replied to the scout. Storme gestured to the Princess, “We are escorting the Princess’ new ship home. It means it will take a few extra days to get to Myththorne.”

Gareth’s eyebrows went up, “Princess, is that your beautiful ship on the pond just over there? Perhaps you would like to hire three hardened adventurers to protect your assets while you travel?” Gareth had met Princess Amelia three times in the last year, and each time, he had tried to charm her and failed every time. For some reason, she only had eyes for Storme.

The Princess looked over the three members of Dungeon Heart. Each one had a large, heavy pack wearing typical delving gear. She bit her lip, thinking, “Gareth, right? Yes, I think perhaps I could have used your services. Why don’t we talk along the way to the Principality.”

The response slightly shocked Gareth, but he walked on board the Princess’s ship and was given a private cabin. A few minutes later, the skyship was in the air and following the Maelstrom. A knock came on his door, “The Princess is inviting you to her cabin for the evening meal.”

Gareth did the best he could to clean up and cursed himself for not getting a device to cast the cleanliness spell. When the man escorted him to the cabin, he found a dining table set up and Zayne and Tobias already eating. The Princess smirked at Gareth and motioned for him to sit.

Zayne mumbled through a mouthful of food, “You got to try this and this.” He pushed two platters toward Gareth. Gareth sipped some wine and had to admit the food was very good. Maybe even as good as Storme’s cooking.

“We take our food very seriously in Marstom,” the Princess said as the three delvers consumed more food than they reasonably should. Gareth was the last to satiate his massive bulk, but the four of them sat contentedly sipping wine.

Gareth held in a belch as he spoke, “We never discussed the cost of our services for guarding you.”

Tobias retorted, “I think three meals a day like this will cover it.” Gareth gave him a hard look, and the healing mage held up his hands in acquiescence.

The Princess laughed pleasantly, “I think twenty gold a day each should be fair. But I was thinking of starting my own delve team.” She swirled the wine in her glass, looking at each of them in turn. “The High Mage has had so much success with his teams. I was considering sponsoring my own.”

Gareth frowned, “The Dungeon Heart delvers are not up for sale.” He was going to build his delve team and be in charge. He would not take orders from anyone.

The Princess kept her eloquent smile on, “Everything is for sale, my large friend.” She continued before he could change his mind, “How about an annual allowance of five thousand gold, and you keep fifty percent of your harvests?”

Zayne asked, “Five thousand each?”

The Princess looked over the three of them, judging them, “Five thousand each for equipment and expenses, up to a total team size of…” She thought for a few moments as the three men hung on her word, “Let’s say seven. As many as seven delvers, and I even like the name Dungeon Heart. It sounds like you have the heart of the dungeon, or perhaps you are in search of tearing out the heart of the dungeon.”

Gareth’s hands started shaking. He was going to lose Tobias and Zayne if he did not accept Princess Amelia’s offer. The offer was generous. His annual living expenses were only about one hundred gold—his partying expenses, well, he didn’t track that. Potions for his entire team ran about five thousand gold. His weapons had been made by Storme. And only Zayne and himself still had those weapons. The rest of the original team had left one by one. Well, technically, Avenida was still part of Dungeon Heart.  She just wasn’t leaving Skyholme.

“I choose what dungeons we delve into, and we only delve twice a week,” Gareth started the negotiation.

The Princess smiled, seeing her fish caught, “You know that is not how these things work. I find something I need in a dungeon and send my delvers out to retrieve it.”

Gareth hedged, “You could send us into a dungeon that we couldn’t handle.”

She held a small smirk, “For now, I am only expecting you to delve into dungeons you are familiar with…the Skyholme dungeons. But I need three delves a week from you. Are you interested in a one-year contract?”

Gareth felt the pressure of Zayne and Tobias’ gazes on him. He may regret this later, but he said, “Yes.”