Date?

The streets of the town are lively this afternoon.

“Going out into town today?”

I turn and come face to face with a mountain of black fur and horns.

“Morning Jim, yeah I wanted to get some fresh air and do a little prep work.”

“Hmm…That's good. Always best to prepare before entering the dungeon.”

He snorts once.

“Don’t go charging in again, rookie. You aren't a strong bull like me! Moohoohoo!”

He slaps my back.

Hard.

Then he is on his way off on his own adventure.

She said we should meet in the town square. I am early so i’m in no need to rush.

“I kinda want to stretch my legs.”

I take off running.

I made it to the square in no time at all.

Wait, is that Momo? I swear I am really early. Glad I decided to go for a little jog.

There she is standing next to the Hero’s Fountain. She isn’t wearing her helmet which is nice. I will actually be able to see the person I am speaking to.

“Hi Momo!”

“Good…um– Good afternoon Tai.”

“Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.”

"No it's okay. Your goggles look nice t–today."

"Yeah apparently it belonged to a goblin before."

"Oh that's nice. I think."

It is probably best I don’t bring up the fact we are both here an hour earlier than we planned.

“Hey Momo. Do you know who the Heroes are on this statue?”

“Kind of…Well, people say it depicts the party of the First Hero who defeated the first Demon Lord about 5,000 years ago.”

“Wow so there are Demon Lords?”

The fountain has four figures of white marble.

A knight with a horned helmet in the center. He clearly is the hero. The statue’s presence alone is inspiring.

To his left is a lizardman archer.

Griping the hero’s right arm is a elf wearing a dress. Maybe a mage or a priest? It is kind of hard to tell. The statue's staff is broken.

Behind them all is a large minotaur wielding two giant shields.

I like the idea of two shields. I did that in my last Darkest Soul run... 

“Oh anyway Tai do you want to go shopping like we talked about earlier?”

“Yes! Lead the way.”

The market stalls filling the main street have so many interesting items.

A family of dwarves selling reconfigured dungeon traps catch my eyes. They took a spring loaded poison dart trap and made a grappling hook out of it.

There is a goblin selling detoothed mimics. It makes them the perfect storage for infinite space and no chance at getting eaten. At least that’s how the goblin puts it.

“Freehearken is a dungeon town. Our entire economy revolves around it and the people need adventurers like us to support them. Every new day the dungeon regenerates what it lost.”

“I didn't think about it that way. The dungeon is what is keeping Freehearken alive.”

“Yeah that’s probably the best way to look at it, Tai. The dungeon provides for us. But we have to be respectful of the dungeon.”

I wonder what Momo means by that? I don’t get the chance to ask her. Something catches her eye and she runs off.

“We made it!”

The building is quite small. There is a large chimney billowing out black smoke. I can hear the clanging of metal crashing into each other.

“This is Dragon’s Heart! The best blacksmith in all of Freehearken.”

Momo is anxiously staring through the window.

"Here you will be able to get a blade that won't break like the last one."

She nods her head excitedly.

“Okay lets go take a look.”

“Um…It's okay, I'll wait for you out here.”

The bangs of her hair now drop covering her large eye. It is clear as day that Momo would like to accompany me into the blacksmith’s shop.

She just physically can’t.

Looking at the frame of the entrance that is just not going to be a possibility.

“Go ahead.”

I duck through the door with a gentle nudge at my back from her massive palm. 

There are so many weapons and pieces of armor. It puts the gear I have underneath my robes to shame.

There are simple blades and then there are ones with extravagant gold detailing.

“Whatcha looking for today human.”

Her voice is raspy. She is covered completely in scales. Her wings folded neatly behind her back. A face like a lizardman but a more defined snout and horns.

She looks like a dragon. The shorter door led me to believe that she wouldn't be taller than me. 

“I was told you have some of the strongest blades in town.”
“Ya don’t say”

Her golden eyes dart towards the window. There is nothing there.

“Are you looking for a longer blade or something shorter?”

“I would prefer a short sword.”

“Smart choice kid. Here, pick one.”

She places two short swords on the counter. I know shorter is better for me. One, I can move faster with lighter equipment. Two, it is easier to use something like this in tighter spaces.

As I reach down to inspect the short sword before me there is a loud thud to my left.

She certainly is something. My eyes lock with a singular pupil staring intently on the blade in my hand from outside the window.

She shakes her head disapprovingly.

Moving further down the counter another thud. I look again . Her face lights up and she begins to nod her head vigorously.

If I didn’t know she could clobber a monster with one strike I would be mistaken that she is only just a child at heart.

She can really discern a good piece. This blade just feels better in my hand than the other.

“I’ll go with this one.”

After having a sword break in my hands I am a little terrified of these things. Hopefully Momo is right and this one won't break on me. 

“Alright kid and could you thank that goofball of a cyclops for the business.”

I smile.

“Sure thing.”

“Now that you got a new blade, Tai, there is some place I want to show you. Come on!”

She grabs my hand and we take off running.

Woah. Strong hand. 

We arrive at a church near the backside of town. The architecture looks far older than the rest of the town. Momo calls it a parish on account that the town does not have an official representative from the central church.

From up here you can see the whole ocean. Tracing the path of the scaffolding down the cliffside  you can see groups of adventurers descending to the beach.

A group is forming outside the dungeon entrance. A stone passageway on the edge of the beach where the sand meets the ocean waves.

“This is my favorite part of Freehearken. When the light hits the surface just right you’ll be in for a real treat.”

Momo leans on the edge of the old stone wall, eye gazing at the water below.

The sunlight casting across the surface begins to reveal the dark world below the waves. I see long stone streets, large buildings, and castle walls.

My mouth drops.

“It’s beautiful isn't it?”

Momo grins with joy.

“I knew you would be able to understand.”

“Momo what is this place?”

“You should know you almost died in there.”

“That's the dungeon?"

“Well more specifically the dungeon is underneath the city in the ruins of the old sewer system.”

I can’t believe it. I can clearly see rubble and broken buildings but all things considered it looks relatively untouched.

“It is like a city frozen in time.”

“Yeah the parish here is all that is left standing from the old kingdom. Sorry I am not really good with human history but a long time ago the plateau holding the city sank just below the ocean.”

She might not know a lot about it but listening to her talk, she can really tell a story.

Thinking about my previous life I guess I would have called today a date.

I start to laugh.

"Hey Tai, what's so funny?"

"It's nothing. I am just happy to be alive and getting to see all this wonderful world has to offer."

"I'm glad too..."

I could not hear Momo's whisper. 

"Sorry, what was that Momo?"

"The ocean is just so blue." 

She smiles, her hair blowing in the sea wind.