LogFAQs > #898484867

Errata: I get points off for misspelling Hanagamas in the last big post. And more points for basic grammar goofs. *shakes head* Got to work on that.

The Night Before (2)

"A real thief doesn't let himself be intimidated by stories," Koga said, holding up his tankard for P.O. to refill. "That's what the boss at the guild told me. If you're looking for treasure, real treasure, you can't let anything get in your way. You've got to find out the truth, and then you've got to take it back with you. So --" He took a deep breath to steady himself as the alcohol made him see double. "-- I thought, what the heck, why not? I'll go for the biggest treasure there is, and in the biggest dungeon! The boss didn't try to stop me, either. He just smiled, shook his head, and wished me luck. That's it."

Darico replied, slurring his words, "Thieving's the easy part, boy. Anybody can pick something up and take it. If you're talking dungeons, thieving's the very last thing you'll be doing. You've got to get through the traps, the monsters, all of that, and all without getting lost." He sniffed loudly. "All right, then. Tell me what you've got, then. Ever been to a dungeon before? Even once? Is that why you're so confident about this one?"

"Nothing this big," Koga admitted, "but the boss hired me out for a party that went into the Goblin Caves of Al Godra. Eight of us. Leader thought the whole place'd been mapped, but wanted to make sure." He blinked his eyes, trying to clear the bleariness. "Found a false wall. Knocked it open. Figured we'd find what the Goblins had buried down there." He tightened his grip on his tankard. "Turns out it was a demon's tomb. I mean, we got out, and we brought back some loot like the boss had never seen, but only three of us made it back. Guess I'm lucky one of 'em was me, huh?"

"Funny," Darico said, wiping his nose on his sleeve, "I heard about that party. Didn't think one of 'em was you. That was, what, three or four years ago? You're still young now. You'd've been a kid back then, huh? That couldn't've been easy for you." He sighed. "Still, don't you think this is just ... a bit bigger than Al Godra? A bit?"

"Hey," Koga replied, resting his chin in his hands, "after the stuff I saw down there, I'm ... not afraid to die. Really. I saw our Cleric get torn to pieces by mummified hellspawn." He closed his eyes. "High Elf. Prettiest girl in the world. That's what I thought at the time. And they ripped her apart. She wasn't even dead yet when they --" He choked up. "I haven't been the same since then. I just keep taking bigger and bigger risks. I don't care how I die. I just hope it's not like that, screaming for help while everybody else just ... cuts and runs." He shook his head. "I didn't go back and help her. Probably would've died if I had. I did the smart thing." A sigh. "Still doesn't feel like the right thing."

"Thief shouldn't have a conscience, boy," Darico grumbled. "That's how you get killed. You did the smart thing. If you wanna live, you'd better keep doing the smart thing. Don't worry about the right thing. When you're an adventurer, there isn't one. You've got to step on as many people as it takes to --" But Koga had fallen asleep, his head on the bar. "Damn it, kid, I'm trying to give you good advice here." He finished off his ale. "Ah, well. You do what you think you have to do. Things go the way I think they will, you've got a good, clean death coming long before you see what's really down there."

Next to him, Koga saw the Cleric dying in his nightmares, as he always did.
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-- I Abibde / Samuraiter
Laughing at Game FAQs since 2002.