The Mage With the Stupid Tattoo (Dungeon Core Academy #6) by Alex Oakchest

Author:Alex Oakchest [Oakchest, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-09T22:00:00+00:00

We waited until nighttime. Shadow and I left the tunnels and emerged into the wasteland, where we found it covered in darkness. The moon was a pearl in the sky, bright enough to cast a white glare. I felt betrayed; the sun was an annoying, shiny prat, but the moon had always been much more discreet. To see it lit up like this? I felt like a friend had just stolen my last biscuit and eaten it in front of me.

“Why you, moon? Why you? I trusted you!”

“What?” asked Shadow.

“Never mind. Let’s get moving.”

It had been harder than I expected, convincing Shadow to come with me. She seemed to be worried about it. Not her usual self.

“Who’ll look after my hounds?” she’d said.

“I think they can look after themselves.”

“Someone needs to keep an eye on them.”

“Tomlin?” I said.

Tomlin eyed the dogs. They loved Tomlin. They loved to run at him and jump up excitedly, almost always knocking him over.

“I…err…have things to do, Dark Lord.”

“Do? What things? We aren’t in the dungeon. You’re on a forced vacation.”

“Things, Dark Lord.”

“You’re an absolute chump, Tomlin. And I say that as a friend.”

Gulliver raised a hand. “I’ll watch them. I had a pup when I was a young boy. I called him Lester. My best friend for years, especially when my older brothers left home. The first story I ever wrote was about Lester, actually. Dad said it was a load of sentimental tripe.”

“I thought the first story you ever wrote was about your first girlfriend?” I said.

Tomlin put his hand up. “Gulliver told Tomlin his first story was about sharing, and that was why Tomlin should give him his last piece of gingerbread.”

“Seems to me like Gull’s first story changes depending on what he needs at the time. But thanks, Gull. It would be great if you can watch the hounds. Shadow, let’s get moving.”

And so, lacking a reason not to, she came with me. I could have just ordered her to, of course. As her master, I could give a command she could not refuse. But I was trying to do things differently.

It felt counter-intuitive to leave everyone else behind. Especially when we were going into a nest filled with giant insects. My reasoning was that if it came to a fight, we couldn’t hurt the insects anyway. All we’d do was just swell their numbers if we hurt them.

Whereas Shadow was the stealthiest of us all. If anyone had a chance of sneaking through a nest, it was her. And I was a core, and thus had a natural navigational instinct in underground tunnels and tombs. Once I had spent enough time trying to find the nest, they would kick in. I was the best-placed of all of us to discover it.

Under the cover of what little darkness the treacherous moon allowed us, we crossed the wasteland. Yondersun was way in the distance, only visible because of the mana lamps glowing at the top of their posts. I couldn’t see any movement, but we were too far away.

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