Lucky Magic Shop Clerk by Geoff Dunn

Author:Geoff Dunn [Geoff Dunn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2023-09-19T07:00:00+00:00

32

It was more like ten minutes, but Milo didn’t mind. He’d thought to contact Pops, to let him know he was okay, but it’d only been eight hours. Delvers were only considered lost after two weeks. Whew, long day. He also wanted to warn the Techs about the bounty, but they already knew someone was coming for them. He wondered if anything useful had been extracted from that gnome Beastmaster they’d captured.

Daphne returned without her dad, which was good. Milo would feel awkward enjoying the young woman’s Charisma game while under his scrutiny. He imagined it might be awkward for them, too.

He tried a dumb question. “Your smell power doesn’t work all the time, does it?”

Daphne’s nose wrinkled. “Oh gods, no. It’s an Invocation, and it filters out all responses except the subject.” She gave him an appraising look. “Since you’re curious, let me demonstrate.”

She returned to her seat at the table and placed the bounty sheet between them. She tapped it with a manicured forefinger. “This is a genuine Adventurers’ Guild bounty. However, the paper is nonstandard, the subject is inanimate, and there’s no mention of crimes, just a reward.” She looked up from the sheet at Milo. “Curious! If there’s no crime, then why is there a bounty? Without a crime, isn’t it just a shopping list?”

Milo opened his mouth to answer, but she held up her forefinger.

“This bounty sheet comes from the Karthak AG office, but it was never posted in the common room. I know the building well, and it has a basement. This comes from a second basement, which was a secret to us until now. You emerged from a hidden entrance, yes? Stairs or a ladder?”

Milo nodded.

“This second basement smells of dungeon, but not the Karthak Dungeon—also very curious. In fact, I think it smells of multiple dungeons, but the scent is weak. You came to Karthak from a Portal inside the Crooked Pines Dungeon, yes?”

Milo nodded again. Daphne nodded to herself in confirmation.

“So, sneaky AG is cheating the rest of us, with who-knows-what consequences for the dungeons they’re illegally exploiting.”

“On the nose, Daphne.”

“Gods, Milo. I can’t believe you said that. No more dad jokes, okay?”

Milo held up his hands and tried to look innocent. “So, your power, uh, it’s abyssal?”

“What?” she glared. “No, dark fae, if you must know.” She paused, then gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s okay to trust us, Milo. We know we’ve experienced unusual prosperity, and that might make you suspicious. But we’re serious about our obligation to the public good. And no, we didn’t achieve our success by contracting with demons.” Daphne sniffed. “Karthak clan elders are meeting right now, to decide on what to do.” She gave Milo an edgy grin. “I figure more than half of them will vote to blow the place to bits. You want in?”

“I’m all for destroying it, Daphne, if I can Portal back to Crooked Pines first.”

Daphne slapped her forehead. “Of course! Silly me. I’ll tell Dad at the planning session.

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