The Knife With A Thousand Blades: Dragons In Dungeons, #2

By David Heyman

A city under siege, the royal army all but destroyed and an endless hoard of bandits at the gate.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for Kruna, Derrin, Elendiere and Gnorman to redeem themselves and get back onto the hero's path as they level up their characters in their next session of Dragons in Dungeons. It's not going to be easy though, because even though they are secretly all dragons in disguise it rather goes against the spirit of the game to eat all the bandits.

Armed with the knowledge that a new bandit king has risen to power in the north, and goes by the somewhat ambiguous title of 'Knife', Kruna and the others have to come up with a cunning plan to sneak past his army and cut off the head of this metaphorical snake before the kingdom is overrun. A task far easier said than done when you have a wizard with a twitchy spell finger and a Dwarf covered in armour on your team.

Will our adventurers manage to be stealthy? Can they find the Knife? Will Gnorman ever get the stains out of his robes?

Find out in the second instalment of Dragons in Dungeons!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Synthetic Minds Press
• Release date: Aug 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223824794

David Heyman

David Heyman David Heyman is a writer based in Shizuoka, Japan. Originally from London, he moved to Japan to teach English after living in Wales for fifteen years. When not educating others about the glorious (read as confusing) English language he finds time to write. While in Japan he met his wonderful and supportive wife and now spends most of his free time with her either gardening or generally being geeky together. For more information about future books from Synthetic Minds Press, author interviews and exclusive short stories, you can sign up to our monthly mailing list at https://www.getrevue.co/profile/minds_press

Book preview

Chapter 1 - Campfires

It took them five days to find all the different pieces, and then an unfortunate tailor was given the task of stitching him back together so they could have something presentable for the funeral, Kruna said, pausing to take another bite from a large rodent she had hunted earlier that day.

Derrin held a similar chunk of meat loosely in one hand, the meal all but forgotten as he sat by the fire, enraptured by her tale.

You should have seen it. It must have been the worst corpse I have ever laid eyes on, and I’ve certainly seen a fair few! People were barely holding down the contents of their breakfasts when the guards paraded the body through the city. It’s crazy what Humans will do when their leaders die. Anyway, that’s the end of that, and I do believe it’s your turn to tell us a story, Derrin.

Gnorman and Elendiere subtly turned on the logs they were using for seats, and Derrin felt suddenly much warmer than he had a moment ago.

Ah, um, right! Let me think for a moment. He remembered the food he was holding and took a bite, hoping to buy more time as he wracked his brain for a tale that would come close to the one Kruna had told.

Swallowing hard, it came to him. Ah, I know just the one. There was a time when me and my companions were hired for what we thought would be a simple job. Got hired in a small town and we figured a small town means small problems. Boy, were we wrong! Took us a few days of searching but eventually we stumbled into a nest of Goblins. Got into a massive fight, thanks to a little language barrier, but it all got sorted in the end. Then, just when we thought that was that, the ruddy Alderman who hired us had died and the new one wouldn’t pay up. That was when one of my friends went into a rage, tore him apart and then we had to run from the town guards. Derrin told the whole story without taking a breath, letting the narrative pour out.

Did you just tell us about the events of Yemlic? Gnorman asked.

That was literally two days ago; we only just stopped running from the guards and more to the point, we were all there! Kruna added, breaking into laughter.

I’m sorry, but I told you I’m new to this. I don’t have any other stories to tell.

Make something up. That’s what I did, Gnorman said.

You mean you didn’t save that mermaid? Elendiere asked, disappointed.

Heavens no, never even met one. I’m in the same boat as Derrin here, but it was more fun to tell a story than just rehash the one adventure we all shared. Gnorman added, No offence, when Derrin glared at him.

Ah, it’s all right, Kruna said. We can talk about something else, like what are we to do next? Obviously Yemlic is off the table, and I have no idea if they are going to tell other towns what happened. We don’t exactly blend in, so stories about a Dwarf, an Elf, a Human and an Orc running about will get us tagged pretty quickly.

We could head further north. We aren’t far away from the next kingdom. Perhaps any legal issues we might run into will be stopped at the border, Elendiere suggested.

I like the sound of visiting somewhere new. How far is ‘not far’? Derrin asked.

The Elf raised an eyebrow in thought and said, Another two days, given your slower pace. Three at most anyway. If we keep going this way, we will reach a river soon and can follow that up to the next town.

I suppose it would be the safest choice, and perhaps they will have a wizard I can share knowledge with, Gnorman said. That Yemlic place was an absolute bore. Not even a decent apothecary to be found!

That settles it. First light then. Elendiere can lead us to this river. Be prudent to get some fresh water. I’m running light, Kruna said.

I’ll call it a night then, Derrin said, gobbling the last of his meal before unfurling his bedroll.

He listened idly to the others talking, though the last he really heard before sleep overtook him was Kruna saying, You should buy one of those when we reach civilization too. I’m not going to keep lending you blankets to sleep on.

Unlike previous nights when they had been woken up by the guards from Yemlic getting too close for comfort, Derrin slept soundly through the night and naturally stirred when the morning birdsong began to ring out from the trees above.

Gnorman, apparently not as appreciative of the dawn chorus as Derrin, cursed loudly and chanted something in a language that Derrin had come to recognise as the language of the arcane. A few seconds later, the song changed to angry squawks, and the smell of burning wafted from above.

Must you do that? They aren’t doing you any harm, Elendiere said, her tone so hurt that Derrin felt the need to sit up and check that she hadn’t been caught in the crossfire.

I want to get some damn sleep for once without being woken by something unexpected! Gnorman shouted, still lying under the blankets he borrowed from Kruna.

You know we are sleeping outside, right? Kruna said without looking at the bickering pair, her attention firmly on the small cooking pot she was heating over a campfire. And outside is full of random things. If you wanted peace and quiet, you shouldn’t have joined us.

Fine, fine! I’ll leave this nature nonsense alone. I suppose we will be in a town soon, and then I’ll have my moment of peace. Gnorman pulled a blanket over his head, exposing his feet.

With all the noise and breakfast cooking, Derrin decided he would get up too and find a quiet spot to relieve himself. The trees were starting to be more spaced out since they were coming to the end of the forest, which made the act harder. Every time he thought he had located a far enough away spot, he peeked around the side of the tree only to find he could still see the camp. In the end, he settled for squatting behind a couple of particularly large bushes and for once was grateful for his shorter stature.

When the call of nature was sated and he had returned to the others, they were drinking from wooden bowls and the rich smell of stew filled the air.

Where did you get those? he asked, annoyed that they had utensils now when he had been making do with his hands and sticks before.

Elendiere apparently spent most of the night making them, hopefully while keeping watch at the same time, Kruna replied. Her tone gave him the feeling he had missed out on another heated conversation and he was not disappointed.

Oh, great. Don’t suppose there is one for me too?

Elendiere passed another bowl to Kruna, who filled it up.

His mouth watered as he took the steaming bowl. The fact that there were still bits of bark and moss on it did nothing to slow him as he wolfed the meal. Kruna was proving to be a resourceful cook, and once again he found himself grateful to have been grouped with her. His culinary skills were lacking in any form, and he rather suspected he would have eaten the wrong thing out here and accidentally killed himself in the process. That would have been terribly embarrassing.

When everyone had finished eating, they cleaned up the best they could and packed up.

Right then, which way is it to the river? Kruna asked.

Elendiere wordlessly extended a slender finger to what Derrin could only assume to be north.

All right, please lead on! Kruna said, and the Elf obliged by setting a barely comfortable walking pace.

Not that Derrin lacked the stamina for walking, but it was annoying that she didn’t seem to consider that for every step she took, he was taking two.

The song of birds that thus far remained unmolested by Gnorman and his rotten temper could still be heard in the distance. Derrin imagined they were calling out warnings for their friends of the approaching mage, and the idea made him grin.

It was a pleasant day for their travels. He particularly liked that he had got a full night's sleep and couldn’t hear the sounds of anyone hunting them.

He was just starting to think about what his life could be like in the future, after retiring as a successful adventurer, when his nose picked up the smell of fresh running water. It hit him quite suddenly how thirsty he was, and he managed to pick up his own pace in an attempt to catch up with Elendiere.

Seems like that river is pretty close, he said.

That it is, she replied.

Will really hit the spot if we can get some fresh water. My last flask was stale.

She nodded.

Think we will have time for a quick dip too? he asked, still trying to strike up a conversation with the reticent Elf. I shouldn’t see why not. A chance to bathe could do us all some good.

In freezing cold water? You must be mad! Gnorman called from behind.

It’ll do me just fine, Derrin said.

At least, it would have been fine for him if the river was deeper than his knees.

It had taken another five minutes before they reached the banks, which also marked the end of the forest. Gnorman let out a rather mean laugh when they saw the slow-moving trickle of a river.

Good luck bathing in that, he said, and Derrin pointedly ignored the jibe.

The mud on the banks suggested that at times the river was much deeper but for some reason, perhaps the recent lack of rain, it was down to its current state.

At least we won’t have any trouble crossing it and can still refresh our water vessels, Kruna said.

They replenished their supplies and Derrin took the opportunity to remove his boots and socks and wade into the river. Of course, he made sure to do it downstream from where the others were getting their drinking water, giving him a decent view of Gnorman attempting to use a spell to channel the water out of the river and into his flask.

You know it’s got to be faster to just dip the flask in, Kruna said.

In his distraction, the water that was yet to be bottled splashed on the ground, soaking the wizard’s feet.

Wouldn’t risk getting distracted either, she added, eliciting a glare from Gnorman.

Wouldn’t get distracted if people stopped talking to me when I’m obviously doing magic, he muttered.

Either Kruna’s hearing wasn't as sharp as Derrin’s, or she was taking the high ground as she neither replied nor pushed Gnorman into the river. Derrin probably would have pushed him in for good measure. It wasn’t that he disliked Gnorman but the wizard did seem to be oddly full of himself, considering he was just as new to things as Derrin.

The others finished their water collecting long before Derrin, who was enjoying the sensation of it running between his toes too much to notice.

Are you coming out any time soon? Kruna called. I’d rather not add another day to our travels for you to have a bit of a splash about. .

Oh, right, yeah, give me a minute and I’ll be out.

It might be best if we cross over now and follow the river on the other side. In case the guards from Yemlic come back with dogs or similar, they won’t be able to follow us any further, Elendiere said.

The look on Gnorman’s face was absolutely priceless. It occurred to Derrin that the wizard hadn’t given any consideration to the fact that they might need to ford it.

Well, someone will have to carry me then. I can’t risk getting this soaked, it will absolutely ruin the hem of my robe and the colour will fade, Gnorman declared, staring at Kruna to make it very clear who he thought the someone should be.

You really want to risk me dropping you? she asked.

I don’t see how else we are going to manage this. I didn’t prepare levitate today.

Kruna sighed heavily, slung her pack over one shoulder and scooped Gnorman up before draping him over her other shoulder. His protests lasted for a whole second before it occurred to him that this was exactly what he wanted and he went limp.

She took a few tentative steps into the river, always testing the depth of the water before putting any weight on the leg. A shame, really, Derrin thought. Not that he wanted Kruna to fall, but he knew it wouldn’t bother the Orc and it would make for a fun story to bring up in the future when Gnorman got overly boastful again.

Unfortunately for Derrin and his stories, Kruna made it across the river without incident and deposited the wizard on his feet on the other bank before stepping out of the water.

Elendiere waded across and then muttered. Derrin couldn’t hear what she said but saw her mouth moving. Whatever she had uttered must have been magic for the water rose up from her legs as steam and then vanished into the air.

How long have you been able to do that? Gnorman asked.

A while now, why?

You don’t think that would have been useful to mention before I asked Kruna to carry me?

Perhaps, though I think you still would have complained about getting wet. She asked Kruna, Shall I dry you too?

The Orc nodded in both acceptance and thanks for the offer, and a moment later she was also standing in a puff of vanishing steam.

Derrin, feeling that he was about as clean as he was going to get under the circumstances, also made his way to the other bank, hauling his shield out of the water and letting it fall to the ground with a ‘squelch’.

Could you do me too please? he asked, and Elendiere approached him with one hand outstretched.

Since you asked nicely, of course.

He felt his whole body start to warm as the magic did its work. It was pleasant at first, but as the steam was starting to rise, it burned. He hopped about, trying to shift the heat away from him. This caused Elendiere to step back in surprise and stop casting, which did stop things from getting any hotter.

That hurt! he yelped, still prancing about while trying to cool down.

Oh, sorry, I hadn’t thought about how that spell might interact with your armour. Are you injured?

Naw, I’ll live. Thanks for trying anyway, but I’ll let the sun do the rest of the job.

The remaining water that still clung to his clothes and hair was warm now anyway, so it wasn’t all that unpleasant. Only the noise as he moved bothered him, but since it was a nice day, he figured it wouldn’t take too long to dry.

If you are done with your jig, shall we keep going? Kruna asked, grinning.

The others voiced their readiness, and Derrin scooped up his shield before flicking off some bits of wet vegetation that still clung to it.

All right, I’m done, he said and took a few wet steps forwards onto the grasslands.

Chapter 2 - Meeting the Locals

As they walked, Elendiere talked some more about the city, preparing the party for what they might find.

When we get to the border of Morringgard and Koringan, there is a good chance we will be challenged by some guards. Don’t worry though, they should be friendly as long as no one tries to start a fight with them.

Kruna waved dismissively. I don’t start fights, I finish them.

Let’s try to make sure there are no fights at all, please. I would like to get somewhere and not be wanted criminals. We are supposed to be heroes, remember?

I’ll have you know there are several travellers who happen to think very highly of me.

Oh, wow, what did you do? Derrin asked. She was so lucky, he thought with a hint of jealousy. He had barely spoken to anyone on his way to Yemlic.

It was nothing really, but they were very grateful.

Did you fight off some bandits? Rescue their children from an Ogre? Save a pet from a tall tree? Derrin asked, throwing one idea after the next out there as they came to him.

"What? No,