The antechamber feels different from the rest of the dungeon. We're preparing for our first delve since the dungeon was temporarily closed. Shockingly, we got first in line, but I guess most people were scared off by the stories of giants stomping people into red smears. Teddy is convinced the stories are exaggerated.

  "Everyone has their healing potions, right?"

  "Yeah. You sure it's smart to bring these? We could just sell them, they're worth a few silver."

  Teddy shakes his head, a stern frown on his normally cheerful face. He taps the potion on his own belt as he speaks of a story he heard in a tavern.

  "We need them. There's word that one of the Pioneers almost died, but she survived thanks to a potion. These things could save your life!"

  "Pioneers? Who are the Pioneers?"

  "You don't know? Come on! They're the first adventurers, delved the dungeon and saved a soldier from the red eclipse! The real deal, those four."

  I've never heard the name Pioneers. It's hard to think of them as noteworthy, since this dungeon exploring stuff only started a month or so ago. It's also worth mentioning plenty of soldiers explored the dungeon before the Pioneers, so how can they be the first?

  Will gives us a thumbs up to indicate he's ready to go. Teddy perks right up.

  "We're all set, fellas! Let's get a move on!"

  Teddy leads us to the door. The shimmering barrier lets us pass through it, turning the counter from zero of eighteen to three of eighteen. Forest sounds fill my ears as I pass the threshold. Moss squished beneath my feet, and the dappled sunlight filters down through a vast canopy.

  My eyes adjust to the light slowly. I stand there with an open mouthed stare on my face. These trees are more impressive than I thought, their description doesn't do them justice. Living towers of wood that surpass the tallest structures in Daywark.

  Teddy is the first to shake himself out of his stupor.

  "Focus, guys! We've got a job to do, we can't be gawking like country bumpkins just yet!"

  Will and I straighten up. He's right, we do have work to be doing.

  "I think I see a building. Let's head that way, since the treasure in Green Valley was in a ruin, I'm sure this place will work the same!"

  We move as a group. Teddy leads the way with Will at our middle and I in the rear. The spear feels heavy in my hand, the weapon something I'm still coming to grips with. We've trained with them since they're useful and cheap. I think I should have just brought my hunting bow for this, rather than using a weapon I'm not familiar with.

  The forest smells denser than home. There's a heavy scent of decay mixed with the humid air of life. My ears pick up various sounds, some I know and many others I don't. Distant rumbling quakes put visions of one eyed giants in my head. Those rumors about massive beasts in this forest can't be true, can they?

  "We're here. Keep an eye out for any swarmers, or those big snakes they warned us about."

  Will and I nod, tightening our grip on our spears. The structure Teddy has led us to is a squat stone building. Its walls are broken in several places. A particularly striking tree grows right up against the ruins. Plenty of vines and the occasional orange mushroom grow on the stone itself.

  Teddy is the first to enter. He steps over a crumbling section of the wall. I hold my breath as Teddy disappears into the darkened interior of the building. He returns a moment later with a cautious smile on his face. He gestures for us to follow him inside, and I oblige.

  The interior of the ruin is lit by shafts of sunlight filtering in through cracks and holes in the walls. The air here is a bit musty, with the scent of the forest taking a back seat.

  "It's a bit dark, isn't it?"

  Will comments this as he steps inside. He has to duck his head a bit on entry, but the interior of the ruin is just tall enough for the big guy. Several columns support the roof of the structure. Destroyed and half broken furniture litters the space. Tables and chairs, from what I can tell.

  "The light is fine! Besides, if it gets bad we do have torches."

  "Wish we had one of those fancy lantern stones..."

  Teddy laughs "Hah! If we had a lantern stone we would sell it! They're worth more than the potions, you know."

  It's irritating that Teddy is right. Despite healing potions being life saving miracles, those very rare glowing rocks are more valuable. I imagine its because they're so rare. They make good ornaments too, apparently.

  "Do you see anything useful?" Teddy asks.

  We scour the dilapidated structure for anything valuable. Things are looking grim until I notice a wooden chest in the corner, half buried beneath some rubble. It's got green metal bindings on it. I've never seen that type of metal.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Found something! Give me a hand, guys."

  Will and Teddy amble over to help me out. With the three of us we manage to move the heavy chunks of fallen stone off the chest. My eyebrows raise when I notice a glow leaking out from the seams of the treasure chest. Ignoring that nagging feeling of worry in the back of my head, I pop the lid open.

  At the center of the chest is a lantern fashioned from wood, with a large glowing lantern stone at its center. It's resting atop a horde of copper coins. They're all dungeon coins--that four leaf clover and the lady's face marking the two sides of each copper. Teddy gingerly takes the lantern from the chest and inspects it with furrowed brows.

  "What is it? Anything special about it?" Will asks.

  "This is made with a big lantern stone... I guess it's, well, a dungeon lantern?"

  Makes sense. It did come from the dungeon, and it is a lantern. Our initial surprise at the new object wears off as we realize this might be worth a fair amount. If people pay so much for lantern stones, then how much would they pay for a big one inside of a wooden lantern?

  Teddy voices my thoughts better than I.

  "We should sell this!"

  "Agreed. I need to bring home some coin, or my sister is gonna make me quit doing this and help out with selling fruit instead."

  "I'm on board if you both are, I need a paycheck."

  We do a final sweep of the room. There's nothing else of note, so we bag the coins for smelting into usable copper and take the lantern with us. Hopefully this will get us enough coin to make being an adventurer profitable. None of us want to admit it, but it's not a well paying occupation.

  Teddy steps out first, and I'm right behind him. He stops and I nearly knock the guy over. I curse, having to stop Will before he barrels right into me.

  "What the hell, Teddy? Why'd you stop?"

  He makes a shushing sound. I go quiet, but my expression is one of irritation. Will can't see what's happening outside just yet. Teddy points up to the tree growing beside the ruin. I follow his finger, looking up at the tree with an impatient frown.

  The branches are moving. Not because of any wind, or an animal, but seemingly on their own. The large thick branches high on the tree are bending down like many arms. I want to bolt back into the ruin, but Will is blocking the way.

  "What's wrong, guys? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

  I stumble through my words as the tree starts to uproot itself. Teddy falls flat on his ass as huge gnarled roots rip themselves up from the earth. The ruin shifts noisily as the ground is torn apart around it. Chunks of the ceiling start to collapse, and Will looks panicked.

  "Guys, let me out! This thing is coming down!"

  "There's a fucking tree and it's alive, Will!"

  Will practically tackles me as he leaps out of the ruin moments before a chunk of it collapses above him. I fall on my back with Will crouched beside me. He looks up at the tree in shock as dirt cascades down. We've heard the stories of giants, but this wasn't what we imagined.

  The tree monster groans softly as it moves. It isn't a voice, but rather the creaking of wood as it bends and flexes. It looks like it has a warped face hollowed out of its trunk. The face twists with an unreadable expression as the tree shakes the earth off its uprooted self.

  "W-We have to run!" Teddy whimpers.

  Slow and massive, the tree starts to walk with its knotted root network. My heart leaps into my throat as the thing's body moves dangerously close to us. At this rate we'll be crushed. I scramble to my feet alongside Will. The tree is getting faster as it moves.

  "Get up, Teddy! Come on!"

  Will and I have to grab Teddy to get him to his feet. His legs are shaking something fierce, so we carry him by each arm. The tree's low creaking sounds louder as it gets closer to us. We trip on a large branch. The three of us are right back where we started, except a few feet away from the ruined structure.

  "S-Shit, I don't wanna die!" Teddy whines.

  "I should have taken a bow, damn it!"

  "Fuck it, I like men! I'm gay!"

  Teddy and I give Will a confused look as the tree monster bears down on us. I guess he's been keeping some stuff from us, and he wants to get it off his chest now that we're about to be trampled to death.

  I turn back to the tree to see something I hadn't expected.

  It isn't moving to crush us at all. The tree is slowly shuffling its rooted limbs along the ground parallel to us. It's ignoring us, like we're of no importance to the giant thing. The three of us sit there in shock, staring at it as it trundles away.

  The sounds of the forest return. Birds chirp like nothing happened, and the distant thundering of such creatures continues sporadically. Teddy and I turn to Will.

  Will coughs awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with us.

  ~

  The sound of people talking and shuffling feet breaks my concentration. I sigh, standing and marching out of my office to see what the fuss is about. The counter is beset by adventurers demanding they be helped, their eagerness a shock to my system.

  Just yesterday everyone was leery of the dungeon, saying it was too dangerous for the pittance it offered in rewards. Now they're all chomping at the bit? What happened?

  "P-Please stay calm, Sir, we will reserve you a slot!"

  "You already said that! I've been waiting for nearly half an hour, lady!"

  I step in, giving the man a hard look that makes him shrink back. I put my hand gently on Lily's shoulder, looking between her and the rabble in front of her counter. The other aids are doing their best to process requests.

  "Lily, speak to me, what's going on?"

  Lily looks completely lost as she opens her mouth to reply.

  "W-Well, Miss Hawthorne, I haven't been able to get anyone to explain the rush!"

  Sighing, I step out from behind the counter. A good shout is enough to get most of the adventurers to shut up long enough for me to get a word in, my voice ringing out through the guild hall's interior.

  "HEY! Why are you all here? What happened to the dungeon being not worthwhile?"

  The men look around as if they aren't sure if they should say. One young man finally fesses up, more forthcoming than his peers.

  "I heard some boys found a fancy lantern in there and got a whole gold for it, so I want some myself!"

  Another man with a bushy beard scoffs, gesturing as if that isn't why he's here. He eagerly turns to shout his reason for being here to me.

  "It's not the lantern, it's the story! Them boys survived a giant! All they had to do was keep away from it and it left 'em well enough alone!"

  Damn it. New items were found in the dungeon and sold to a third party, not to us.

  On the bright side, this is good news for the profitability of the guild.