Ashes of the Fallen

Confused by my statement, the rogue inquired. "You don't want the shield? You're the tank, you should take it." Well, I didn't even bother looking at the shield since I couldn't really use it anyways, I didn't have a one-handed weapon to go with it.

Shrugging my shoulders, I let her continue on with the sorting.

The total collection of loot amounted to forty weapons, one per goblin that was killed. Thirty-seven of those were inferior quality swords worth about ten copper coins a piece. Two poor quality swords worth around sixty copper coins and the last poor quality item was the spear, worth around thirty copper.

That spear was actually a better weapon despite the same grade and quality, but being simpler to produce with a smaller amount of iron it wasn't worth anywhere near as much. I figured a poor quality shield was probably worth fifty copper though, since it was banded together with iron rings and leather straps.

There were also four rings that dropped, each with a small enchantment of +2 to one random attribute. Having never seen an enchanted item in the North, I had absolutely no clue as to their appraised value.

I would have to trust the rogue here.

As I was thinking things out, the female rogue had put the shield, spear, and one of the two low-quality swords in one pile and divided the rest amongst the four of them. Then she called out to me, "the shield should be worth around one-hundred by itself. The rings are worth about thirty in town. Will this split work?"

Running the math in my head as best as I could, it seemed I had the largest split this way, but I was sure she was aware of that. A little confused since we already decided on equal distribution, I raised my concern.

"I believe my share is slightly larger, is that alright?" I asked plainly.

She let off a nice smile as she explained, "I figured you could use it, it's only a few copper anyways. Consider it payment for successfully tanking." She was definitely my favorite of the four… and quite possibly the smartest of the bunch as well.

"Ah, well thank you then."

As soon as I had said that, the four guild members grabbed their belongings and made their way to the exit without so much as a word to whether we were continuing on or not. As they reached the exit they said their thanks for the party and quietly left one after the other.

The group disbanded just like that.

Alone and relaxing by myself in the dungeon, I continued to munch on rabbit jerky while thinking things over. I kind of wanted to go to the next level, but my party had left without a word. In an effort to console myself, I walked over to check the loot.

Inspecting the shield first, my mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

The [Old Aspis] was a [Decent Quality - Uncommon Grade].

It wasn't an inferior quality or even a poor quality piece. It was of decent quality and of an uncommon grade… that girl.

This was worth at least two-hundred copper and she should have known.

She did me a favor.

I wasn't a big fan of favors.

Well, I would repay it in some fashion later. Debts were not something to be carried around. Having concluded my business and with nothing else to do in the lonely dungeon, I soon left as well.

Chapter 42: Quest Chains 'n Stuff

(Wednesday, May 26th Game Day / Thursday, February 18th Real Day)

That fresh, crisp morning air after a light rain.

Something about it, I couldn't quite place.

But in the end, it calmed my soul.

Gazing out at the forest in front of me, there was nothing more than trees as far as the eye could see. Light had just graced the world and soon adventurers would fill the space between. Waiting in the darkness just off to the side of the dungeon, I had been calmly biding my time in the summer rain.

That was about to come to an end.

Yeah, it wouldn't be long now.

A burly dwarf soon appeared in the distance, not quite as short in stature as I would have imagined, but still quite short nonetheless. A man maybe five feet tall, with shield and sword followed by two males in robes and a fourth man with a bow. Adventurers, here to conquer the dungeon, I suppose.

Without a fifth member, I became a little anxious at the prospect.

Having already turned in the first portions of the chain quests, I was now sitting on [Outing the Outcasts, Part 2] and [Bringing down the Guard, Pt. 2]. Now, all I needed was a party that was looking to clear the second level at the minimum.

I could only hope that they were on the same page.

As the dwarf walked within earshot, I decided to take a chance.

"Hey, do you guys need a fifth?" I called out while making eye-contact.

With a bit of a tsk and a face that couldn't care less, the dwarf looked me up and down before deciding on his reply.

"Yeh, wha' do you do?" he coolly questioned in return.