Dungeon Runner

Stepping Up, Chapter 90

Quigly shoved the Runner to the center of the room, and the boy looked around at the damaged walls.

They were in the warehouse Tibs used to train his control over the elements, and the walls were scratched, cut, and the parts that had fallen due to rot were improperly covered. What was left of the wooden crates were piled up in a far corner. Jackal assured him that no one would come claiming the building anytime soon.

Tibs sighed as he looked the boy over. He couldn't be much older than Tibs had been when he'd arrived, and after everything he'd gone through, he looked much younger than Tibs felt.

He was named Drasko and was a rogue, as those fell directly under Tibs's supervision, and he'd recently graduated to Upsilon, with their assistance, although Tibs didn't know what they'd provided beyond the armor and weapon. Almost certainly training, but with handling the merchant, the patrols, and his own training, Tibs hadn't had time to help with that aspect.

Not to say of all the papers he had to read as part of making sure the coins balanced.

When he'd asked Jackal to take over dealing with the merchants' accounts, the fighter had laughed so hard he'd fallen out of his chair.

Along with the rogue, Quigly, and Tibs, were a handful of other runners, there to witness and make sure the punishment wasn't so out of scale with the crime. Carina called them the Board of Impartiality.

Tibs hadn't asked what they had to do with planks, but had had to ask about impartiality. She'd explain it meant they would be fair. Tibs didn't know that would be true, but he knew too well how vindictive people were, so having someone there to keep things from getting out of hand made sense.

With them was the merchant Drasko has been caught stealing from, Hanna of Souster. Her shop sold a variety of items to put in houses. This was the first time a rogue broke Tibs's rules.

When Tibs had been informed, Jackal had smirked and pointed out he'd had to knock heads dozens of times already among the fighters to keep them from fighting where they weren't supposed to.

Tibs was annoyed it had happened at all. His rules were fair, and he didn't charge for the assistance they provided, so why had he needed to steal?

"Why?" Tibs asked.

"What d'ya mean, why?" Drasko asked, chest puffed out. "Imma rogue. It's what I do."

Tibs rubbed his temple. Whoever, because he'd found out it wasn't something the transportation platform did, but someone, had woven the magic when the last group of Runner was transported to Kragle Rock had done a poor job of it. All of them spoke with an accent that, at times, made it difficult to understand. If sorcerers didn't demand so many coins, Tibs would have it done again, so they'd speak properly.

"You don't have to steal."

"Ya kidding?" he asked with derision.

"Mind your—" Quigly's arm was up.

"Don't," Tibs ordered. "I'm not going to have someone beaten just because he doesn't know who I am and—"

"I know ya," the boy said with a snort. "Ya the Hero of the Dungeon. Like ya could save anyone." He smirked.

"He saved the town," Quigly stated.

"Don did that," the Runner countered with, and added, in a tone that said he wasn't sure that was true, "he helped."

"I'm still in charge of protecting the merchants." Tibs wasn't arguing over who protected the town anymore, with him and Harry doing it officially, and Don claiming some of it as part of being the guild's go-between. "And who set the rules you have to obey. One of which is the merchants are off limits. We need them for supplies and they need us to sell them what the guild lets us keep. If we don't work together, it's going to make the runs tougher."