Chapter 6 - Promise

Rovan rose from his seat. “Renji, you’re exhausted. There’s a room upstairs for you to rest in. Come with me. We can talk more tomorrow if you feel up to it.”

Renji wore a distant expression, eyes unfocused. He followed Rovan upstairs while Alina stayed seated at the dining table.

He must be really angry… confused… lost… If only I had found a way for the summoning to fail.

Rovan came back down after a couple of minutes.

“Well, that could’ve been worse, all things considered.” He sat back down at the table.

“It still doesn’t feel good, Master,” Alina said in a low voice. “Should I have tried to cause the summoning to fail?”

“The Duke would probably execute you for that if you got caught. You know how that bastard is.”

Alina let out a sigh. “That doesn’t make it any better, though. He still tried to have me executed anyway. Renji’s right—we probably ruined his life, or worse, the lives of his family. He probably has a wife or children.”

It was Alina’s turn to bury her face in her hands.

“What makes it worse is that he probably saved mine. I wouldn’t have been able to escape if he hadn’t helped.”

“You’re exhausted too. Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll continue tomorrow.”

Alina nodded. “Alright. Good night, Master.”

“Good night.”

Alina made her way upstairs, covering a yawn with her hand. She walked past the room Renji was in and saw that the door was open. She entered and knelt beside the bed. Renji was sound asleep.

“I don’t know if there is a way home for you. But I will help you search… whatever it takes,” she whispered. “I’m really sorry, Renji.”

***

Renji woke to a thud as Alina placed a basin of water on a table. He sat up and rubbed his face.

“Good morning, Renji. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Alina said in a soft voice. “You can use the water here to wash up.”

Yes, still in Rovan’s home. So, yesterday wasn’t a bad dream.

“Good morning, and thank you, Alina.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m still waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” Renji said flatly.

She had no words. Her guilt tightened in her chest at Renji’s comment.

“Um… there is food downstairs. Come downstairs whenever you’re ready.”

Alina left the room.

I suppose he’s still angry. Why wouldn’t he be?

Renji got out of bed and saw that his combat fatigues were cleaned and folded on a chair, with his tactical gear on the ground beside it.

Cleaned and dry already? They must’ve used magic.

He washed up and changed into his fatigues, and headed downstairs.

Alina and Rovan sat at the dining table, eating breakfast.

“Ah, good morning, Renji,” Rovan said, his tone somewhat upbeat. “Please, help yourself.” He gestured to an empty seat.

“Good morning,” Renji replied, taking the seat beside Alina. “Apologies about how I acted last night. It was uncalled for.” He bowed his head slightly.

“Don’t worry about it. Calling this a difficult situation for you would be an understatement,” Alina said, waving her hands in front of her.

“She’s right,” Rovan added, agreeing with Alina. “Also, I’ve been thinking: I’ll pay Sage Elith a visit. She might have some information that can help you find a way back to your world.”

Renji’s eyes widened as he choked on a mouthful of food. Alina quickly handed him a cup of tea, which he used to wash it down. He accepted the cup and took a gulp.

“There’s a way back?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. The possibility is very low. There was a hero summoned around the time people moved into the Labyrinth from the surface. But there are no stories about the hero going back.”

“Elith is a two-hundred-year-old elf,” Alina added. “She might know something.”

Of course. The immortal elf sage. Why wouldn’t there be? Renji shook his head.

“Something wrong?” Alina asked.

“No. Don’t mind me. Sorry, please continue,” Renji said.

“As I was saying, I’ll visit Elith and should be gone for about a week or so. Getting to forty from here is a combination of walking and teleportation.”

“Level forty?” Renji asked.

“Yes.”

“So, what do I do in the meantime?”

“Alina will show you around the city. Wear the cloak—your clothes attract too much attention.”

Rovan said as he stood and picked up his pack. “Oh, and don’t leave this floor.”

“Why not?” Renji asked.

Shouldn’t we try to leave town or something, while we are hunted.

“Just stay on twenty,” Rovan said dismissively.

Renji just nodded.

“Stay alive. See you both in a week,” he added with a cheeky smile.

***

Wearing hooded cloaks that covered their clothes and hid their faces, Alina and Renji made their way to the City of Rondal, the main city on Floor Twenty.

“How does daylight work in this labyrinth?” Renji asked.

“Magic crystals in the ceiling.” Alina pointed upwards. “You can see some of them if you look hard enough.”

Renji looked up as they walked, peering at the ceiling that was at least twenty stories high, if not higher.

Is that the ceiling? Looks like there are crystals embedded in it.

“They gradually stop glowing when it’s night,” Alina added.

This is insane…

“How far away is the city?” Renji asked, deciding he’d heard enough about magic crystals that simulate the sun.

“About two hours on foot.”

“Shouldn’t we be avoiding the city, since the Duke’s men are hunting us?” Renji asked.

“Rovan told us to stay put though.”

“He’ll be away for a week.”

He couldn’t be sure, but he felt uncomfortable staying on floor twenty.

“How do we get to other floors?”

Alina thought for a moment. “First, we need you to get registered with the guild. That will give you an identity plate, which allows you to use the teleportation gates that take you to other safe floors.”

“Safe floors?”

“Every five floors, where the towns and cities are. They run from floor five to sixty, but there’s no way up to floor four from five.”

“So, what counts as an unsafe floor then?”

“Floors in between. That’s where the monsters are. We call them dungeon floors.”

“That’s convenient.”

It’s too structured. Like there’s some kind of intelligence governing the whole place. What kind of world did I end up in?

“Yeah, it’s like the labyrinth is alive and protecting us, isn’t it?”

“Is it alive, really?”

“I think so. Hard to believe otherwise, with what we’ve seen.” Alina shook her head.

His mood seems slightly improved now. Maybe he’s the type that needs to be always doing something.

***

Meanwhile, at the Duke’s mansion in the audience chamber, Duke Thorval sat on an elaborately adorned armchair, his grey hair tied loosely at the nape.

His gaze shifted to Vaerina across the room.

Vaerina approached his chair with deliberate steps. “Have you found them?” she asked, trailing a finger along his arm as she passed.

“Not yet.” He exhaled heavily. “The floor is too expansive for my personal guard. Perhaps I should involve the City Guard…”

She bent low, her voice dropping to a whisper. “That would be a risk, my dearest Duke. Do you want the entire labyrinth to know you attempted a summoning? The other floor leaders would turn against you.” She brushed a finger along his chin and stepped away gracefully.

A knock on the door. “Enter,” Thorval called out.

A hooded man entered the room. The same man from the guild who spotted Alina and Renji. “My Lord.” The man bowed. “We have spotted the water mage. At the guild here on Twenty. They seem to be attempting to leave the floor.”

The Duke perked up. “Tail them and report back. Do not engage before I send reinforcements.” Thorval looked the man in the eye. “Do not underestimate them.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The man bowed and silently left the room.

“I believe it’s time we got my dear pupil directly involved,” Vaerina murmured.

“Are you certain?” The Duke raised an eyebrow. “I sensed a conflict within him, the last time we spoke.”

“I have ways to deal with that, my Lord,” she reassured.

***

Alina and Renji entered the adventurer’s guild. It was moderately busy, with about half the dining tables occupied. No one seemed to pay them any attention as they approached the clerk’s desk—or so they thought.

From a corner of the hall, seated at one of the dining tables, a duke’s guard recognised Alina as she pulled down her hood and started speaking to the guild clerk. The description of her companion also matched what he had been told. He lowered his tankard onto the table and discreetly left the guild hall.

“All done, sir.” The clerk smiled as she slid Renji’s identification plate across the counter. It was slightly larger than a business card, with a thin chain attached. Alina did all the talking, and Renji pretended to be mute. While he could understand the language because of the stone Rovan gave him, he still couldn’t speak it.

“Thank you,” Alina said, as Renji picked up the metal plate and nodded in thanks.

He stared at the plate for a moment before putting it in his breast pocket.

“So, what do we do next?” Renji asked as they left the guild.

“Hmm…” Alina put a finger to her chin.
He probably needs something to do. Might help take his mind off things.

“How do you feel about monster hunting?” she smiled. “Frogs specifically.”

Renji raised an eyebrow. “Wait… monster frogs?”

He sighed, muttering under his breath, “From counterterrorism to frog hunting.”