Dungeon Life
Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Three

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Three

Pul

The disguised changeling has just enough energy to aim so he doesn’t go face first into his bowl of stew. The stew would have probably been softer than the table, but his stomach has designs on the stew. Once he can convince his arms to gather the energy to actually let him eat.

“Uugh…” he groans, fully aware of the smiles and suppressed laughter of his friends as they sit with much more dignity in the guild hall than he does.

“The first couple days are the hardest,” encourages Freddie, the orcish lad smiling at the exhausted friend he knows as an elf. “I think it’s the fast levels. It feels like growing pains, but deeper. They’ll level off soon.”

Pul grunts, not even having the energy to grouse. Larrez, however, nods like he actually had a lucid reply.

“It’s also the physical exertion. Hauling is a much different thing than adventuring. He’s probably sore in places he didn’t know possible. I remember my first days of training.” Pul doesn’t even need to look up to know a wistful smile is slipping off the face of the disguised mayor.

“Though I needed bandages as well as a chance to rest. My father’s tutors were… not especially gentle.”

Pul snorts at that, which Rhonda takes as her turn to interpret. “Still, you really are doing well. It took me and Freddie a lot longer to get to your level.”

With legendary effort and will, as well as a groan that would make a zombie proud, Pul forces himself to sit upright. He’d give them all a glare if he had the energy, but he must settle for a flat look. “Adventurers are crazy.” They all smile, and he even hears a few other tables cheer and raise their mugs like it’s a compliment. It helps break the chains of fatigue over him, and he cracks a small smile before digging into his stew.

“Crazy is knowingly working toward a class from Lord Thedeim,” points out Larrez with a smirk. He doesn’t let Freddie and Rhonda object before he continues. “If you’re looking to avoid attention, His classes are rather bad at it. Heh, even if He says sneakiness is a major part of the one He has in mind for you.”

Pul doesn’t even grunt at that, instead opting to take a large bite of the bread that came with the stew. It’s still strange to hear someone who supposedly worships someone talk about them like that. As he chews, Freddie and Rhonda exchange a look before the orc speaks.

“It’s worked out for us both so far, and Marle is taking to her Teamster class really well… but yeah, Thedeim’s classes kinda stand out.”

Pul shrugs and swallows, following it up with a drink of the water in his mug. The cool drink and hearty food already has him feeling more alive, even though he knows he can’t have started actually digesting anything yet. “Maybe. But I’ve been doing those stealth exercises Teemo said to do, and… I’m still not too good at them, but I kinda like it. Your paladin class is a great paladin, your mage class is a great mage, even Marle’s hauler class is a great hauler. I think, if he’s got a class for me that’s great at stealth, it’ll be great at stealth.”

Larrez chuckles at that and shakes his head with a smile. “I’d call a famous stealth class impossible, but it sounds like just the sort of thing He’d be able to pull off.”

Pul can’t help but smirk around the food in his mouth. “Have some faith,” he prods, earning a laugh from both Larrez and Freddie. He finishes his bite while they finish their humor, then continues. “I really do think it’ll work. Teemo said stealth isn’t about being unseen, but about being unnoticed until it’s too late to matter.”

Larrez smiles and nods at that. “Miller says the same thing. He’s tried to train me in the more… subtle arts, as you well know. I don’t think my talents will take me much further down that path.”

“Do you… think he’d train me?”

Larrez hums as he considers it, giving Pul and the others time to take a few more bites of the evening’s stew before he answers. “He might, at least for the basics. I’m sure he’d call a lot of it the secrets of the butling trade, but there must be a few secrets that are more open than others.”

Pul nods at that. Butlers are supposed to be unnoticed as they go around cleaning and such, right? He doesn’t really want to know how to act like a servant, but he also gets the feeling like it’d be a good thing to know. If you’re being stealthy, you need to be somewhere you’re not supposed to, like in a manor where you’re not invited. Who pays attention to the servants in a lord’s home?

“If you’re going to be getting an advanced class, Tupul, have you thought about joining the guild?” asks Rhonda. “Guildmaster Karn had, uh… a similar class to yours, so I’m sure he’d let you join.”

Pul absently nods as he eats, happy she’s trying to be subtle about his class, and considering the idea as he works to fill his belly. “It’d probably be a good idea, right? Nobody seems to complain about the dues. I’ve even seen a lot of people joining the reserves, but I haven’t heard many complaints about how he runs things.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Freddie nods. “The dues really do go to preparing for emergencies, instead of just lining his pockets. Yvonne’s group was able to borrow some very nice gear back when they helped deal with Neverrest.”

“And he pays to a lot of shops to help give us all special deals. Master Staiven says a steady income for a shop eases a lot of stress, and a lot of prices, too.”

Larrez nods. “Most merchants prefer a guaranteed income to the whims of the market. There’s still an ebb and flow, but deals like the guildmaster secures also helps secure shops against problems.”

It makes Pul wonder if he could try to negotiate something for his family. Freddie said most adventurers who know how to field dress only do so for the most valuable pieces. If he could get the guildmaster to make a deal with his parents to properly butcher monster parts for food…

He nods to himself, mopping up the last of his stew with bread. “I think I’ll join, yeah. Or… at least try.” His bravado wilts slightly, as he doesn’t know what applying actually entails, but his friends don’t look especially worried.

“I wouldn’t worry,” calmly states Freddie. “With us vouching for you, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

Pul smiles at his friends, thankful to have people he can actually call friends, and the conversation naturally dies off as they finish their meals. Satisfied, they take their dishes to the bar, where Karn the Slight accepts them. “Still edible, eh?” he asks with a smile, seeing the bowls wiped clean with a few crumbs of bread in the bottom.

Larrez nods. “As always. Do you have some spare time? Tupul wants to join the guild.”

The thin orc smiles wide. “Of course! I saw you kids all delving together, so I figured it’d only be a matter of time. It’ll just be the two of us while he fills out the paperwork, though. Privacy laws and such, you know how it is.” He glances over at Larrez, who nods.

“Of course. We’ll be down here, waiting for the latest official addition to our party.”

Karn puts the dishes into the barrel of soapy water before motioning for Pul to follow him. The changeling does so, and takes a few moments to look around the guildmaster’s office once they’re inside. It’s not exactly sparsely decorated, but not the sort of thing Pul would have expected from a guild leader, especially from one that’s supposed to be a rogue.

While he takes in the room, Karn digs out the papers and an inkwell. He sets them on the desk and motions for Pul to come closer and start filling them out. As he dips the quill in the well, Karn’s hand suddenly stops him.

“These forms can’t record anything but the truth,” he says, meeting Pul’s eyes. For a moment, he’s confused why Karn thinks he’d lie on the form, but then he realizes what Karn is actually saying.

He knows he’s a changeling, and he knows the forms won’t record him as an elf. Parties have access to their members files. While he’s pretty sure he can redact whatever information he wants, having his race be secret is the same as just saying he’s a changeling.

His friends will know.

Karn nods and sits back, releasing Pul’s hand, though the changeling doesn’t move as the orc talks. “If you want to back out, I can make excuses so they’re not suspicious. You still being in the thieves guild is a good excuse. Politics can be ugly, but ugly is a good way to hide something.”

“You know.”

Karn nods. “I do. I have a few changeling members, and I’ve covered for a few more changelings who wanted to join. Heh, and I’ve had to deal with a few others who thought they could trick the forms. Bounties on criminals are always lucrative.”

“You… don’t care that I’m a changeling?”

The orc snorts and shakes his head. “Nope. Trust me, kid. I know what it’s like to be something that people distrust. Not a changeling, but an orc on this side of the Gofnar, not to mention a rogue. You’ve got a lot of reason to hide your race and your class, both. Not a surprise you’d worry about how that looks.”

Pul lets the quill sit in the well as he fidgets with his hands. “Do you think they’ll mind?” Pul is pretty sure his friends would be fine, but he still feels guilty about lying about it, and part of him says he should keep his secret. He’s seen lesser secrets ruin people in the thieves guild.

Karn reaches over his desk and bonks the changeling on the head. “You know better than to even ask that. You could be the lost consciousness of Neverrest and they’d still accept you.” He snorts again before continuing. “Ok, maybe not that far. Neverrest had a history. Still, they’ll judge you for you, and I think they already know the kind of person you are.”

“It’s… still scary,” Pul admits, feeling so very small.

The wry look on Karn’s face softens. “Yeah, I know. I can hide most of your file from everyone else, if you want to keep your disguise. I do the same for ‘Larrez’ and a few other members. Some people just like their privacy. But if you join, they’re going to know.”

Pul breathes deeply before reaching for the quill. “I… I want them to know. They’ve been helping me. They deserve to know. I don’t want to be like the guild… the other guild wants me.”

Karn favors him with a knowing smile. “I understand that one, believe me. They’re not easy to get away from, but it can be done. I did it, and I’d bet on you being able to do it, especially with their help.”

Pul nods and puts his name on the form. It feels like something so small… yet so freeing. He puts in his race, too, and takes a few seconds to just look at it.

Pul.

Changeling.

He is. He’s been trying to hide it for a long time. But having it written plain like that… it feels a lot better than trying to hide. It makes him appreciate the apparent irony in him looking for a stealth class, but there’s a fine line, just like the line between being unseen and being unnoticed.

All his life, he hid because he thought he had to. But the class advancement he can feel himself moving toward… he’ll hide because he wants to. Because he can. He can hide what he wants, when he wants, not everything all the time. It’s a fine line, but just recognizing the line and choosing which side to be on makes all the difference.