Dungeon Runner

Bottom Rung, Chapter 41

"Good," Jackal greeted Tibs as he entered the room. "Now that you're here, we can go over our training schedule."

Tibs looked at his friends, processing what Jackal said. Mez was lying back on his bed, seeming asleep. The cleric was seated on his bed, legs crossed in a way that looked painful, his eyes were closed, and his breathing slow. Was he also asleep? Carina pulled a stone plaque and chalk out from under her bed, smiling at him.

Tibs was not doing what she was planning on training him in. "I am going to train at night."

The fighter frowned. "That's not going to work for us, Tibs."

"I don't need you to train with me," he answered, unsure why they'd want to take part in his training.

"We need to train together, Tibs," Jackal said, "as a team. If the boss has shown us anything, it's that we need to work together, and we have Mez and Khumdar to incorporate."

"Oh, no. I mean I'm going to do my Rogue training at night. It's the best way to not get caught when I steal."

Mez sat. "Care to run that by me again?"

"I'm a Rogue," he said, enunciating the words as he headed for his bed. "Rogues train by stealing."

"No," Jackal said. "The rules are clear. No crime. That means no stealing."

Tibs shrugged and lied down. "Harry said to just make sure I didn't get caught."

"You spoke with Hard Knuckles?" Jackal asked in disbelief.

"My teacher called him over, I think they know each other."

"And he said you can steal?" the fighter asked, still sounding like he didn't believe him.

"So long as I don't get caught. If I do, it's a cell for me. At least I won't lose a hand anymore." That was a definite improvement over the street and how things used to be here.

"But it puts us out of at least a run," Carina said. She had the stone plaque on her lap, and Tibs saw forms that could be letters on it in chalk. "You do remember we need the five of us to go in. We can only get a replacement if you die."

"Which we won't arrange," Jackal stated, looking at each of them.

Carina rolled her eyes. Mez did a gesture with the fingers of a hand Tibs thought was meant to be rude, and Khumdar opened his eyes.

"I'm hoping that is simply some way you have to defuse the tension and not an actual warning because you expect one of us to do it."

"Well," the fighter grinned, "It isn't like I know you all that well. For all I know, you're so obsessed with coins you have no problem killing one of us so we can replace him and go on the run."

Khumdar stared at the fighter.

"He isn't serious," Carina said.

"Jackal likes to think he's funny," Tibs added.

"I am funny. It's you who has no sense of humor. Kro laughs at my jokes."

Tibs looked at his friend. "He's your guy, isn't he forced to laugh?"

Carina snorted, then covered her mouth to stifle the laughter.

"Now that is funny," Mez said, and Jackal glared at him.

"Tibs, I think you've lost track of the dynamics here," the fighter said. "It's you and me against the rest of them. So you should be taking my side."

"That stopped being true when we became a team," Tibs replied. "Now it's all of us against them."