Chapter 7

The next few hours were a Harper-led Q&A session.

To avoid any inconvenient questions, I feigned amnesia, claiming that I had entirely forgotten about everything up to that point. This earned me a questioning glance from Bern, but it seems like he accepted it somewhat, or at least didn't care to pry.

After countless questions about where we are and what we were doing out here, I got a good grasp of the situation.

Currently, the two of us are in the dead center of the Farsha Desert, a huge expanse of barren wasteland in the eastern part of Varese, the main continent.

I tried to pry a bit more info out of him about the general layout of Varese but was met with little enthusiasm.

"The Ararin Empires at the center... Other than that, who can say? Kingdoms change so much these days there isn't much use making a map."

I asked about the rising cacti as well.

"Cacti plant... I am not sure what yo- Oh, do you mean the Anor plants?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like them, I thought I was going to die before they appeared."

"They hide away from the sun during the day. Apparently they can get enough light just from the moon on it's own. Though when drinking out of them you gotta be careful about Pulmna Scorpions... Though I guess you know that already." He grinned at me.

Other than that, we're currently headed towards that very same pyramid I saw before. Apparently, it was only discovered just a few weeks ago, after it rose up from beneath the sand as if it had existed there for decades.

Its title is the Khazret mountain, named after the man who found it, Jaskier Khazret. He sent news of its sighting back with half of his trading convoy before leading the remainder in to explore it.

"Darn bastard hasn't been heard from since. Nearby villages have labeled Khazret mountain as a dungeon to be cleared. A few old friends and I are currently headed there as a preliminary search group."

Dungeon... That word floated around in my head for a moment.

Dungeon. Dungeon... Dungeon! Dungeon!!!

This was like everything that I had imagined this world to be like!

Fantasy explorers delving deep into unknown catacombs in search of magic and treasure. Putting their lives on the line for adventure and glory, my heart was starting to race at just the thought of it.

"Wow, that's incredible..." I couldn't help from saying.

Bren raised an eyebrow at me and laughed, "Incredible? Ha! That's one way to put it kiddo."

Huh? What did he mean by that?

"How could an adventure like this not be incredible? You're diving into a dungeon for-"

Bren cut me silent with a bone-chilling glare.

"Kid... Do ya know what the survival rate for a normal dungeon expedition is?"

I stared blankly back at him.

"Nine percent. Nine in every one hundred people who enter a dungeon come out alive."

"I'm sorry, I did-"

He cut me off again with that same look.

"Now, imagine that dungeon is in the middle of a scorching desert, miles away from any sort of resources. Most importantly, imagine that this dungeon has never been set foot in, those entering do so without a single clue of what to expect. What do ya think that survival rate is now?"

"I- I don't know" I stuttered out, frozen by his glare.

"Ha! Neither do I!" Bren suddenly laughed out, totally evaporating the intense atmosphere that had surrounded us.

Unable to adapt to the sudden mood shift, I leaned back on cart and hefted a sigh.

"So if this job is so terrible, why the hell are you out here?" I asked.

"HA! Yer guess is as good as mine. Well, let's just say I owe a friend a favor."

That didn't sit quite right with me.

"Wait... So let me get this straight, you're out here in the middle of the desert on the way to kill yourself because you owe some dude a favor?"

"Who eva said anything about killin maself? I have no intentions of dying in this sandy wasteland."

"Well, then how the hell do you imagine you're going to overcome those survival odds that you just threw in my face?" I sputtered out in annoyance. If Bern was so confident in living then why was he so stern about it just a second ago.

"Well boyo, don't go about doubting my skills too much, ya happen to be looking at a brand new A-ranked adventurer." Bern winked at me with a cheeky grin.

Before I could even begin to start inwardly giggling at the idea of an adventurers guild actually existing, Bern continued.

"And on top of that, I happen to have just found my very own golden ticket for this here dungeon."

I raised an eyebrow, "And what might that be?"

His everpresent smirk had warped into a sad smile, entirely devoid of its former light.

"It's you, my boy Hale."

-

"Are you crazy? There is not a chance in hell I'm doing it." I shouted at Bern, its intensity cut short by my still raspy voice.

"Oh Hale, there is a 100 percent chance of ya doing it." He sighed back.

"Why do you figure that?" I asked, incredulously.

Bern simply gestured down at the heavy chains attached to each of my ankles.

Oh.

Oh no.

This is why Bern still had me chained up. This is how Bern intended for me to pay him back.

No no no no.

I panicked, clamoring away from him, slamming into boxes and tarps and I threw myself across the cart.

I knew it was futile to try, but something in my heart said I had to run here or else I was certain to die.

Bern tapped the front of the cart twice, bringing it to a sudden halt.

CLINK

I felt the tension pulling at my legs loosen and I fell into the end of the cart. The chain attached to my legs had been released. I didn't stop to think and started running as fast as I could muster.

"Hale."

I heard Bern's solemn voice behind me.

"It's all the same you know." Not hearing his approaching footsteps, I glanced back at the cart.

He pointed towards the mountain.

"Out here, in there... Isn't your outcome the same?"

I knew that. I knew what he was saying was true but I couldn't stop my feet from running.

"Don't you want a taste of that adventure you were so excited about?"