Vol. 2 Ch. 28: Dungeon and Thorns

Author's Note:

Recurring Characters:

Peter: The protagonist of this novel.

Mariah: Peter's mother. You can find her picture in Art collection.

Lidia: One of Mariah's friend, whom Matteo (Mariah's younger brother) used to have a crush on. She had been explored in the chapter "Dream and the past" in you're interested in her appearance when she was young.

Tessa: Lidia and Matteo's second child.

Mira: Lidia and Matteo's first child.

Elena: Mariah and Matteo's mother. She first appeared in the chapter "Dream and the past".

Gregor: Mariah and Matteo's father. He first appeared in the chapter "Dream and the past". He's a former adventurer.

Colin: The drunk widowed man who first appeared in the chapter "Dream and the past".

Recap:

She followed him to the training lawn beyond the hedge, her pace a little lighter. For now, she could forget about ruined dresses and her unfair mother. For now, there was only magic, and the quiet reassurance of someone who believed in her.

…End of Note...
....

(Some time before)

The scent of warm bread tickled Peter’s nose the moment he stepped into the bakery. The shelves were stacked with golden honey rolls, fresh berry pies, and sweet sticky buns, each looking enticing than the other. He always had a sweet tooth. Tessa, standing beside him with a growing frown, nudged him in the ribs.

“Focus, cousin. We’re just here for the rolls, remember? We don’t have money for anything else.”

“I can’t help it,” Peter whispered back, eyes locked on a crusty apple tart. “It smells like heaven in here.”

Behind the counter stood a plump woman with an apron and gentle eyes, who smiled at them. “Welcome, Tessa. Perfect timing, like always. All of them are freshly baked, just a few minutes ago.”

“Whoa!” Tessa shook with excitement. ”Two honey rolls, please.” She said, polite and short.

The woman nodded. “Do you want to eat here or get it packed?”

“Here,” Tessa urgently said. “I can’t wait.”

The owner chucked in good humour and turned to collect the rolls before offering one each to Peter and Tessa. Both of them moved deeper into the bakery to find seats. Just then, Tessa’s gaze fell upon a man quietly enjoying a slice of berry pie.

“Colin!” she said, grabbing Peter’s hand and approaching the man with a smile.

She sat down beside him, leaving Peter with no choice but to sit down at his table as well.

“I was hoping you’d go away,” Colin grumbled, looking dejected. “…just focus on eating, girl. I still have a hangover.”

Tessa winced before giving him a nod of understanding. A peaceful silence followed as everyone enjoyed their sweets.

“How is this so cheap?” Peter muttered, halfway done with his roll. “Shouldn’t honey and sugar be expensive?”

“Nah, one of the dungeon floors has bee monsters that adventurers hunt frequently,” Tess replied before taking another bite of her roll.

“The river allows quick trade with further regions that grow a lot of sugarcane,” Colin added to the explanation.

Before he could say anything more, the door banged open. Three men entered, all tall and with dirty smiles. Each of them was equipped with weapons. The warm smile on the woman behind the counter vanished in an instant.

The scarred one among them walked forward. “Lovely morning, ain’t it, Kira?”

The woman froze. “I—I told you last week, I can’t keep paying like this. We don’t make that much—”

“Don’t care.” One of the others leaned on the counter, tapping the hilt of his dagger. “We’re not here to discuss your problems.”

Peter ended up clenching his jaw. Tessa looked a bit spooked, her legs shivering under the table.

Kira’s hand trembled as she pulled a coin pouch from beneath the counter and dropped it with a soft clink.

“Good woman,” Scar-faced said, snatching it up. He turned around and ended up spotting them.

“Well, well. What do we have here?”

Peter was ready to step forward, but waiting for them to close the distance. Tessa stayed quiet, but then her eyes fell on Peter. She felt a sense of responsibility and took a deep breath before stepping slightly in front of her cousin, arms crossed, chin lifted in defiance.

“You three got coins?” the thug asked, stepping closer. “Don’t look like you’d miss a few silvers.”

Tessa shook her head. “Don’t have any,” she said. “Only had enough to buy the honey rolls.”

Scarface’s eyes fell upon her locket, and he grinned. “Give me that then.”

He took another step forward. One of the other thugs chuckled and leaned near the shelves, knocking over a basket of buns with a lazy swing of his elbow.

Peter’s fist clenched around the table’s leg, ready to separate it to use it as a wooden club at a moment’s notice. His eyes darted around the shop to assess what could be used to take down these thugs as soon as possible without giving them any opportunity to hurt innocents.

Just as the thug raised his hand to grab Tessa’s locket, Peter’s hand reached forward to pull Tessa behind him.

A voice cut through the air like a blade. “That’d be unwise.”

The thugs raised their heads to look at the man sitting behind the kids. They had noticed his presence earlier, but chose to ignore him because of his beggarly appearance. Unlike the woman, Colin looked completely unafraid, still sitting calmly on his chair at the table.

“And who’re you?” the second thug asked, suddenly less cocky.

“Someone who knows who the girl is,” Colin said, nodding at Tessa. “She’s Gregor’s granddaughter.”

A beat of silence.

Scarface looked at the kids again. His smirk faltered. “So? He’s grown old. Do I look afraid?”

Colin didn’t move from his position, eyes focused on the pie. “So, you’re on the wrong street if you think Gregor’s name doesn’t mean anything. He and Elena had helped more adventurers than you’ve had hot meals. Some of them lead large parties now, and still owe them. I bet some are just looking for an excuse to pay it back.”

The weight of his words settled like a mountain over Scarface’s shoulders. He exchanged looks with his companions. One of them shook his head at their leader.

“We weren’t gonna hurt nobody,” Scarface muttered.

“Then leave,” Colin said, voice cold.

The thugs shuffled out, walking away without another word. The bakery door closed behind them with a final thud.

Tessa let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.

Peter released his hold on the table leg. “You knew they’d back off?”

Colin shrugged. “I knew they’d hesitate. Sometimes that’s all you need.”

Peter doubted that. He had a feeling that the man was more than a drunk.

…

The sun had climbed higher by the time they left the bakery, but the atmosphere still felt a bit heavy. Peter walked close to Tessa, noticing that her shoulders were still a bit stiff. Colin led the way, hands tucked into his cloak, eyes scanning the street.

They passed stalls and carts, children playing near the fountain, and a woman hanging laundry from an open window. Normal life carried on, indifferent to what had just happened.

Tessa cleared her throat. “Thanks. For back there.”

Colin didn’t look back. “Don’t thank me. Just remember the name you carry. Though…both of you did well, showing great composure.”

“…Yeah,” Peter said, smiling at his cousin. “You’re so brave standing against those thugs.” He said, trying to make her feel better.

Tessa frowned. “But it didn’t work. They only retreated after hearing grandpa’s name.” She looked at Colin with curious eyes. “Did he really help that many adventurers?”

Colin slowed his pace a little. “Your grandparents are very kind people. When amateur youngsters with grand ambitions didn’t have enough to fill their stomachs before sleep, much less pay for a roof over their heads, Elena offered them shelter and food. Gregor gave them lessons and advice. Most of the ones who got big didn’t forget that.”

“City is nice and all,” Peter said, getting attention from both of them. “But my village didn’t have bad people like them. Shouldn’t the city guards do something about them? It looked like a routine thing back there.”

“They won’t do anything,” Colin shook his head. “Guards are easily bought with bribes, and those men were members of Thorns. It’s an influential gang with strong backers in the noble district.”

“Don’t worry about it,” He added when he noticed the worried look on Tessa’s face. “They tend to stay away from the Adventurer’s guild. The guild master wouldn’t tolerate them near it. You won’t see them often unless you venture into the slums.”

“Plus, with solace so close and the presence of holy knights everywhere, they’d prefer to keep their heads down for a while.”

Peter nodded, satisfied with the information offered for now, but decided to investigate the gang a little more by himself. Today’s incident made him realise that he lacked a lot of information about how things worked in Rosefall and what the power dynamics were in this city.

They reached the inn soon after. The diner was quiet, having recently finished serving lunch to the patrons. In stark contrast, there was a ton of noise coming from the kitchen, likely from the utensils being cleaned and sorted. Lidia looked up from the ledger when the trio entered.

“Where did you find them, Colin?” she asked, then noticed the look on Tessa’s face, causing her expression to darken.

Colin wasted no time. “Met them at Kira’s bakery. Some thugs of thorns entered soon after to extort money from the shop…then tried the same with the kids.”

Lidia’s hands froze mid-motion. “They what?”

“I stepped in before it could escalate. They had enough brains to scurry away once they recognised Tessa.”

Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but Lidia didn’t let her.

“Not a word, Tess.” Her voice was low and sharp. “You left without telling anyone again, and—you even took your cousin with you. How many times have I told you to be responsible?”

“I didn’t think—“Tessa started.

“Exactly,” Lidia snapped. “You didn’t think. What if Colin hadn’t been there? Those scums wouldn’t have hesitated to hurt you both.”

Tessa lowered her head. “Sorry.” She muttered.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Tess,” Lidia said flatly. “You need to show change in your future actions, otherwise it’s useless.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “This girl…”

The door creaked open before more could be said. Gregor entered, followed closely by Mariah, pale-faced, and Mira, who carried a satchel and looked exhausted.

Gregor frowned. “What’s going on?”

Elena filled him in with quick, clipped words. As she spoke, Gregor’s jaw clenched tighter. Mira looked from Tessa to Peter. Mariah shared a look with Peter.

“Thorns are getting bolder,” Gregor muttered. “I should give the guild a visit soon.”

Mariah sat slowly on a bench. “No one was hurt, right?”

“We’re fine,” Peter said, giving her a reassuring smile.

“I should get going now,” Colin said, nodding toward Gregor, who expressed his gratitude for standing up for the kids to Colin before he left.

Tessa walked forward to stand before Mariah, arms folded, eyes on the floor. “I’m sorry for putting Peter in danger.”

Mariah smiled gently, putting an arm around her. “You okay?”

Tessa gave a small nod.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. I’m sure you didn’t mean it,” Mariah said, kissing her forehead. “I’m not mad. Just get permission from someone before you leave so Lidia can worry less, alright?”

“…Yes,” Tessa nodded again.

Mariah smiled and turned to Lidia. “Let’s forgive her just this one time without any punishment.”

Lidia nodded, giving her a grateful look. She perfectly understood that Mariah was helping her by playing the good guard in this situation.

“How did it go at the cathedral?” she asked.

“We’ve both good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Gregor asked, taking a seat, while Mira walked to stand beside her sister.

“Good one,” Matteo said, emerging from the kitchen, his arms still wet from washing utensils.

“Well…after talking with the priests, we can safely say that Mariah has enough coins to get healed,” Gregor said. “But only the arch priestess has the required skill to perform the healing, and she wasn’t present today.”

“So, she’ll get healed tomorrow then?” Peter asked, willing to wait another day.

Gregor shook his head. “It’s unlikely.”

“Why?”

“The priests said she left to investigate something at the gates, and Solace is near. She’ll likely want to keep her mana pool full until Solace is over and whatever trouble is lurking in the background gets resolved.” Gregor said.

“The skill consumes a lot of mana,” Mariah added with a forced smile on her face. “They said that we should visit after the Solace.”

“At least now we know that she can be healed,” Matteo said to lighten everyone’s mood.

Mariah nodded. “You’re right. Solace is just nine days away. Things could have been far worse.”

…End of Chapter…