After returning to the central square, Priscilla was feeling a bit drained as she reached for her eyes and massaged both of them. Seeing the knight do that made Rionara ask.
"Pris, are you okay?"
"Hm?" She opened her eyes and smiled faintly. "Yeah, just a bit tired."
She was feeling a bit out of sorts after being close to the dungeon. It was like her strength was sapped away from her body. It was a different kind of exhaustion.
"Should we head back to the inn?"
Seeing her look with a worried expression made Priscilla involuntarily smile before straightening her back.
"No, it's fine. I just need a breather." She glanced at the few merchants around the central square before returning her gaze to Rionara. "Let's walk around for a bit."
"Mhm."
They walked slowly and close to each other. Rionara still held the coin pouch under her poncho with both hands as she walked. Her azure eyes kept jumping from blanket to blanket as goods were sprawled before her like offerings.
They were mostly accessories for civilians or trinkets for children as the more hardened adventurer clientele or brow-sweating farm workers were away at that time of the day.
"Wow…" She muttered under her breath as she noticed quite a few different things. Bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings of different materials, shapes and sizes. "They are beautiful."
"Thank you, young lady." The bearded merchant selling the goods smiled at Rionara. He wore a simple washed white robe and a cap of the same color. Strangely, the blanket underneath his goods was of far higher quality than his own clothes. "Feel free to try them out if you want."
"C-can I?"
The man nodded. Rionara crouched with the coin sack on her lap as she browsed the jewelry. There was a variety of different metals composing the goods, but silver and a few gold ones stood out the rest with the presence of precious gems like garnets, tourmalines and a variety of different colored quartz embellishing their appearance.
Rionara took a silver garnet bracelet and put it around her wrist. The jewelry itself looked pretty but it was far too big for her and it would simply slide off her limb if she angled her arm downwards.
She looked at the merchant with a sad look on her face.
"D-do you have anything smaller?"
"Sorry, young lady, I don't."
He replied apologetically.
"Aw…"
"You can make it into a necklace if you want." Priscilla kneeled down and glanced at the man briefly. "Do you sell strings as well?"
"I do have some cord…" He reached for the sack beside him and took out a length of braided hemp string. "I'll throw in some for free if you purchase any of these."
Rionara's eyes started to sparkle as she picked up the same bracelet again.
"I-I want this one, how much is it?"
"This one is five silvers. Eight if you buy the pair."
"The pair?"
"Yes, I made these two from the same garnet." He showed the other bracelet that had a strikingly similar gem embedded into its center. "Here."
He passed it onto Rionara's hand and after she stared at both of them for a while, she lifted her head and spoke while mustering all confidence she could.
"I-I'll get both of them, then."
"Alright then." As the man was setting a length of cord aside, Rionara grabbed eight silver coins from her pouch and handed it to him. "Thank you very much, young lady. Here's your cord and bracelets."
After being given the goods, the young woman stood up and bowed.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, sir."
Priscilla offered him her thanks before standing up as well. They left the merchant and started to head back towards the inn. On the way, Rionara was fiddling with the jewelry she bought while also fidgeting uneasily. Upon noticing her behavior, the knight spoke up.
"Is something wrong?"
"Huh?" Rionara flinched and looked at her with widened eyes. "Ah, no, not really. I…" She blinked a few times while averting her gaze as her arm extended outwards. "I just wanted to give you this."
She offered Priscilla the bracelet. That made the knight hesitate for a moment before gently placing her hand on top of hers.
"You didn't have to buy it for me."
"N-no, it's… it's something I wanted to do."
Priscilla closed her eyes and chuckled to herself before accepting the gift.
"Thank you, Rio." After grabbing both the cord and bracelet, she fashioned the gift into a necklace and wore it on her neck before putting it underneath her chainmail. "I'd like to wear it on my wrist but it might get in the way if I were to draw my sword."
She placed her hand on top of where the bracelet was and smiled quietly. Seeing Priscilla satisfied also made Rionara smile.
"Hehe… I should be the one thanking you, Pris."
After Priscilla helped her with making the bracelet into a necklace, they both made their way inside the inn. The main hall was still empty with the exception of Gerolt resting in the far corner with a wooden tankard filled halfway with ale.
"Ah, welcome back." He said while not even moving from his laid back position. "How was your little outing?"
"Good." Priscilla answered shortly while looking around. "Where is Karla?"
"Oh, she went to buy groceries for dinner rush."
"I see…"
The knight sat by the table next to Gerolt's while Rionara went over to the man to show off her new bracelet fashioned into a necklace.
"Gerolt, look!" She puffed her chest and lifted the jewelry. "I bought this!"
"Oh? Good work, Lass. Did your mom give you some allowance?"
That sentence made Priscilla avert her gaze, flustered. But not in a particularly good way. Deep down only she knew how old Rionara was, which made it sting a bit bittersweetly.
"I'm not her mother…"
She mumbled to herself. Rionara tilted her head at him while asking.
"Allowance? What is that?"
"Erm… it's like sparing a few coins for a child to learn how to use money properly. You see, back when me and Karla lived in Astera we-"
"We used to take care of children." Gerolt's explanation was cut short by a somewhat irritated Karla. She walked in the establishment with two large hemp sacks in each arm. "Lord Vladimir used to teach the children math and how to use money correctly."
"Lord Vladimir?"
Rionara glanced at the knight, which prompted her to clear her throat before answering.
"He's the mayor of Astera. It's a city near the eastern coast. It takes a few days on foot to reach it."
"Ah… I see. So this mayor helps children?"
"You could say that." Karla settled the bags on top of the table closest to the kitchen. "Gerolt, help me put these in the pantry."
The man took a deep breath, finished up his drink and stood up.
"Aye."
Rionara glanced at Gerolt and Karla before speaking up.
"I-I'll help too."
"Oh?" Karla was carrying two sizable cabbages on each hand as she turned slightly around with a surprised expression while addressing the young woman that was half her size. "What a reliable girl you are."
"Hehe."
With a bright smile on her face, Rionara followed behind Gerolt while helping the couple to bring the many groceries to the back of the kitchen.
Priscilla watched it all unfold with a quiet smile. Though beneath her serene expression there was a lingering sensation of worry as she recalled the strange presence she felt near the dungeon monolith.
It felt ancient, something buried under the crust of the earth that was supposed to remain there until the end of times. Deep down she knew it was only a matter of time until she had to descend that abominable place.
She closed her eyes and started to wonder. How far down did that dungeon go? Why would her father willingly go there? Was she truly capable of tackling this alone? Her skills were undeniable, but there was only so much one person could accomplish alone.
She brought her closed right fist to her face—pressing the knuckles of her index and middle finger between her eyes to apply pressure. She needed to find a way to go into the dungeon, but from what she'd seen, sneaking past the guards wouldn't be easy.
"I need to find a way…"
"A way for what?"
The sudden female voice coming from her left made her lift her head with wide open eyes. Lucina was standing just a few meters from her table with a similar hemp sack filled with groceries.
"Oh… Miss Lucina." Priscilla's tense shoulders relaxed alongside the readied left hand that hovered above the hilt of her sheathed rapier. "I was just thinking how I would explore the dungeon. I saw some parties of adventurers but no one was going by themselves."
"They are advised to not go alone." The receptionist approached the knight's table and left the hemp sack on top of it before taking the seat across from her. "Dungeons are dangerous after all."
"How dangerous? I heard stories of monsters lurking beneath but if it's the usual kobold or two, I don't see how a properly geared adventurer would fail to defeat them."
"Oh, it's not just monsters. Traps and ambushes await within, some reports even mentioned entire rooms being used to trap large groups of people before unleashing monsters upon them. And not just one or two—but an entire horde."
"That seems… a bit too clever for mindless monsters…"
Lucina nodded in agreement as she continued.
"Some even say the dungeon itself is alive. That it grows for every fallen adventurer inside its depths. Well… not that we know if it's true—nobody ever set foot past the fourth floor."
"Fourth floor?"
"Yes, every floor has a powerful monster guarding the staircase leading to the next floor. Floors one through three have been cleared thanks to the adventurer's efforts, but the fourth floor is guarded by a bull-man."
"Wait… so it's a demi-human?"
"No, no, it looks very similar to their demonic counterpart but they cannot be reasoned with. It killed one of the best group of adventurers we had. Ever since then—no adventurer under the rank of silver is allowed to go fight it."
"Is it that powerful?"
"I'm afraid so—the reports mentioned the bodies were found in an… unrecognizable state."
"I see…"
Priscilla knew how good of a fighter her father was, but the way Lucina spoke put her on edge. Personally, she knew little of demi-humans—only seeing the occasional demon or goatfolk that came as envoys from the demon realm and the usual myriad of races that lived in the Arcadian capital. However, she knew bullfolk were known for their strength and short temperament, if that was anything to go by, she knew it was going to be a handful to deal with a similar foe.
"Ah, but you shouldn't have to worry about it." Lucina said with a calming tone. "No adventurer is allowed to go past the third floor, so you shouldn't even come close to seeing it, let alone fight it."
"That's reassuring…" Priscilla put her hands on the table and leaned slightly forward as she locked eyes with the receptionist. "Miss Lucina."
She raised an eyebrow while maintaining the friendly expression on her face as she tilted her head slightly.
"Yes?"
"Do you know anything about an adventurer known as the 'Red Baron'?"