The Dungeon Inn - English

B01C26 - Another visit

One day Bruno came back early from his morning round. When he came into the cave, he looked around briefly and as soon as he saw me, he immediately came towards me.

"What's wrong, Bruno? Something happened?"

"I found tracks at the edge of the forest. If I remembered Aron's descriptions correctly, they should be goblins. I think we should report this immediately!"

"Oh, it seems we're taking action quicker than I thought. Just which level is this, should we take level two with three squads?"

"Hah, goblins are childish stuff. Sir, I think you don't need three squads for this, one should be enough, unless they're still green behind the ears."

"I rely on your judgment, Sven. Then please write it in the letter and send it off."

Like Hilda, Sven could already read and write. Since he would be active in the Inn, we agreed that he would write the letters for the guild.

A few days passed and Aron appeared with his group. Not alone, but with two other groups.

"Didn't we write that one squad is enough?"

"You did, but you also said it was about goblins. You can never be too careful with them and they often live in caves, which are a popular location for dungeons."

"You suspect a dungeon?"

"At least there is a possibility. Who is the new one anyway?"

"This is Sven, luckily he can read and write, the letter was from him."

"Ah, we were wondering how that could be. But hey, it's a bit mean. I offer you, that we look for someone for you and you think you don't have any capacity and as soon as I come back a few days later, someone new is there."

"Ah, sorry. That's how it turned out. Sven wants to train his skills in the forest and has happily accepted a place to stay nearby. In return, he will also teach us to read and write."

"One hand washes the other, eh?"

"You could say that, but we don't have enough beds for your big visit."

"Hah, no need to worry. I had already seen last time, that you have not enough beds for a large visit. So we brought a whole load of straw with us, that should last for a while."

In fact, several adventurers were already bringing straw into the guest cave and soon enough beds were prepared for the three squads. As soon as all the adventurers had settled in, they set off with Bruno to get an idea of the situation. Bruno first wanted to use the time until arrival to find the location of the goblins, but Sven said he only risked being discovered and then maybe leading them to us, so he gave up the idea again. The group came back in the evening and discussed for a while how they wanted to proceed.

"I thought you were about to attack."

"We would have liked to, but the journey here made it too late and we are a bit exhausted from all the walking. Goblins are also nocturnal, it is better to attack them at midday. In this respect, we will do everything tomorrow in a calm and relaxed manner."

The next morning they set out to eliminate the possible danger. Bruno and Sven had asked if they could accompany them and Aron said that any help was welcome, but that they couldn't get in their way. So I stayed behind with Sarah.

They returned in the evening and you could tell it had been a long day. But their eyes started to light up when they saw, that I and Sarah had already prepared the meals for them. As they ate, they proudly talked about, how they had destroyed the goblins and laughed about how Bruno tried to kill a goblin with his club and got stuck on the ceiling. Sven then had to save him from the counterattack and unleashed a tirade of lecture on him. He was then only allowed to continue walking with a spear in his hand. As soon as he barely reached for the club, you could hear Sven's warning again.

"Apparently it was really worth getting you involved. The group of goblins was a bit larger, so they must have been there for a while and we didn't notice. Who knows, when we would have noticed it. So kudos to Bruno for finding the clues and for being able to inform us in a timely manner."

"Are goblins that dangerous?"

"As soon as they form larger groups, some go on raids. That means they had their fingers out for the farmers near Wachstadt. We adventurers can keep them in check well, but farmers are an easy target for them."

When fatigue took over, they retreated one by one. I was able to hear from a few adventurers that I wasn't a proper Inn without alcohol. But when I countered, that I would be happy, if they deliver it to me free of charge, they let it go.

The next morning our guests left again.

Sarah tried her hand at our entrance sign. We had had several weeks of writing training and she had practiced the name of the Inn frequently. She wanted to get this done before she took her summer nap. So, when Sarah was satisfied with her achievement, Bruno brought in the entrance sign and she very slowly drew each letter on the sign with great care. She said afterwards that the ink behaved a little differently, but she was still happy with the result. After much experimentation, Hilda had specially made a different ink than usual, so that the writing would not be washed off immediately after the first rain. Bruno also had to make some boards for this. But he wanted to make some for the beds anyway, because the adventurers had brought enough straw, that we could accommodate a fourth group in the guest room. I had already created the space for this with the crystal.

So we should be able to return to a quiet everyday life. Unfortunately, Sven's arrival brought new problems.