Fish King, Pancakes, and Demons?

That recovery bill was not cheap. I am back down to a single gold coin left in my pocket. The priestess of light did a good job healing my nerves these past few days but my left arm still feels a little dull.

I need to be more careful, especially when I try to enter the dungeon solo again. I’m not a tank so I need to stop trying to block everything. Now time to go find out as much as I can about the missing pieces.

The fish king thing?

As I descend the stairs of the dormitory into the guild hall I can hear the chatter of adventuring parties starting their fresh day. We didn’t run into anyone in the dungeon last time since Momo insisted we enter hours before the others.

Not that it would have mattered anyway. It seems like once the other parties know Death Clap is going in the dungeon for the day they chose to take a break. Brutus apparently leaves very little for the others to make it a profitable trip for them.

“Good morning Janice.”

She is hiding behind a giant stack of paper work. Life as the only receptionist in Freehearken must not be easy. Quickly she shuffles her dress and adjusts her glasses.

“What can I help you with today Tai?”
“You seem pretty busy sorry I shouldn’t have bother–”

“It is quite alright. Just have missives from the Empire. More dragon sighting reports. I could use a small break.”

“Okay then would you be able to tell me anything about the final boss of the dungeon?”

“The Sea King. It is a dangerous foe that is a master of arms in all forms of combat. Not easy for beginners…”

She raises an eyebrow.

“Could you describe what it looks like?”

“I have never seen it myself. Most people say it looks like a fish.”

That is what everybody seems to say.

“Thank you–”

“You could ask Jim. He has fought the beast on numerous occasions.”

I nod my head and head towards the dining hall. As I turn the corner I can hear a stack of papers crash to the floor. The Guild wouldn’t be able to survive without Janice’s patience.

The dining hall is filled with adventurers eating breakfast. So many happy faces as they dig into their meals. The dining hall has some of the best food in town.

I feel the floor shake due to the large steps of none other than Jim the Minotaur. The large minotaur kneels next to me and nudges his head forward. Does he want me to pet him like the Guildmaster did?

His deep brown eyes continue to stare at me waiting patiently. I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I gently place the palm on my hand on the soft fur in the center of his head. His ears flap for a moment and then he rises.

That just must be how minotaurs greet each other?

“How are you doing this morning Tai?” Jim moves and takes a seat on the comically undersized bench. As sturdy as it is, it slightly bows. Eagerly he waits for his breakfast meal. From the look in his eyes he is a regular and the waitress doesn’t even need to ask. Guess Jim never skips his breakfast.

“Is it okay if I join you?”

Jim snorts approvingly. He directs me with his giant palm to sit next to him. I politely shake my head.

“I’m not sure the bench can handle the both of us. I might end up being the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

“What’s a camel?”

“Don’t worry about it Jim.”

I guess there might not be camels in this world?

The cat eared waitress delivers a large plate of pancakes on their first trip and returns again rolling a large barrel of cider. Jim digs into his meal joyously. His ears periodically flapping.

“Would you like something to eat meow?”

I decline the waitress's offer of breakfast with a polite wave of my hand. I’m flat broke and I need to save my free meal ticket for dinner.

“Is there something you need Tai?”

“I heard that you have faced the Sea King many times?”

He scarfs down three pancakes in a single bite and drinks from the barrel to chase it down.

“Yup! That one can be trouble for beginners. All those weapons make him a real threat.”

“What does the boss look like?”

“A fish.”

“Could you elaborate more.”

“Oh right you haven’t seen the boss…Um…it looks like a big fish. With legs.”

This is not helping the image I have in my head. Suddenly a familiar voice softly speaks from behind me.

“Now Jim it is best to be a little more descriptive with the rookie adventurers.”

“Sorry you are right, Guildmaster.”

The old man walks into view. He looks tired. No doubt he has his hands full running the Guild. Jim scratches underneath his chin and thinks. He lets out an excitable snort.

“It has humanoid arms. That is how it wields weapons. It keeps its weapons where it is easy for it to swap freely.”

Well it’s still not helping me visualize it but that does help me get a better understanding of how it fights. If it has multiple weapon types I will have to observe how it uses each one.

“What is the third boss like? The jellyfish?”

“Oh that one? It is really big…like a massive jellyfish. It moves pretty slowly. If you let it grab you then you are in for the nastiest sting of your life. Not much you can do to alleviate the pain till it dissipates.”

I shudder to think how badly that might hurt me if Jim is saying it's painful for him and he has fur. I don’t even know if my world’s remedy would be successful. The old man takes a moment to join us. He sits down clearly exhausted next to Jim. The bench holds.

“I know you are fast, Tai but if you focus too much on dodging attacks then you risk making a fatal mistake. Avoiding pain is not the same as trying to stay alive.”

“What do you mean by that Guildmaster?”

“Sometimes you have to put yourself in harm's way to escape with your life intact. It is a lesson many adventurers never learn till it is too late.”

That kind of makes some sense to me. If I had a healthbar like in a game I could utilize taking damage to clear pass an objective. If I know the limit of what damage I can take then I could trade it for a chance at escaping.

Sadly I don’t have a healthbar. All I have is pain and I need to know my limits. Not sure if I want to test them though. It is something I will need to learn as I go.

Jim snorts in agreement. The Guildmaster waves his hand as he walks off to discuss something with the town guard. I turn back to Jim who is stuffing his face with a new plate of pancakes.

“Jim, is there anything strange with the dungeon recently?”

“Hmm…I have noticed extra frog warriors running around but I am not too sure anything is strange. There are more interesting things happening outside the dungeon. Like the dragon!”

He gulps down the rest of his cider and the foam sticks to his nostrils.

“Isn’t that a bad omen?”

“Yup. Nothing good follows a dragon sighting in my experience.”

“Nothing good?”

“Well they typically don’t attack towns like ours but bad things seem to happen following a dragon’s wake.”

“What kind of things can happen?”

“Famine, diseases, and sometimes demons.”

Sometimes demons? That is a huge jump from famine.

“Are demons common?”

“Nope they are all dead. Not a single one left. At least according to my books. That doesn’t stop people from thinking they are still around. Rumors happen from time to time. I know they are all dead. Again, because of my books.”

So Jim is a reader. I didn't expect that. Wonder if he has reading glasses? How would those even work? Maybe I can ask to see his library one day.

“Thanks for the information Jim. It was really helpful.”

Jim’s ears wiggle.

“Anytime Tai. Maybe one of these days we can go dungeoning together!”

“I would like that!"

I wave as I run out the Guild hall. I need to get going. I only have one gold coin left but I know exactly what I need to spend it on to make sure I can clear this dungeon.

I need to get that helmet.