“Yes, the next step.” Reinhardt sat on one of the beds. “Where do we go from here?”

  Magdi sniffed and started rooting through the wardrobe. “Any this stuff any good?”

  “They are spawned on a Dungeon

  “Old Martje is only

  “

  “We will.”

  “Hey,” Reinhardt clicked his fingers. “Next step.”

  “Right.” Otto sat on the opposite bed. “If you’ve been paying attention, you may notice we are behind the Grand Hall, just beside the Kitchens. As this has been designed along the lines of mid century gothic sensibilities, there is a corridor leading from the Servants Quarters intersecting a Butler’s Passage allowing access to the Grand Hall.” He paused, looking from one attentive face to the other. “We can sneak through the passage, into the Grand Hall immediately behind the high table, grab some silverware, and exit through the mirroring passage leading to the West Wing, shutting the door before the Armours can animate.”

  Magdi pulled out a pale blue tunic. He ran the fabric through his fingers. “Better fabric, but worse styling than anything out of Old Martje’s workshop.” He waved it like a flag. “Too small.” He tossed it at Reinhardt.

  “So, then we are in the West Wing.” Reinhardt ran the fabric through his hands idly. It was terrific quality.

  “Then, we wait in the Butler’s passage and tail the Animated Armours north to the next intersection, take that hall to the left, down to the first junction. The Armoury is down that right passageway. There is a guard patrol that will walk past it from south to west, but both rooms along the passageway are unlocked.”

  “The big question,” Reinhardt asked with a yawn, “is do we sleep here a minute, or press on?” With the beds and the fire and the long long day they’d already had he could feel the fatigue setting in. The most prudent course would be to camp in here and sneak through the hall in the morning.

  “No reason we couldn’t sleep in here.” Otto turned to lay on the bed where he was sitting. “These are rather comfortable.”

  “D’we even need t’leave?” Magdi looked over at them. “We kin sneak thru t’th’Armoury, back inta th’forest t’ find a

  “For a few cycles, that is viable.” Otto had the Dungeons

  “So we can do tomorrow, come back and eat, sleep until and grab another item.” Reinhardt nodded to himself. “Then run back during the day, collect another

  The others considered it. It was a deviation from the plan, but they had planned to be out before Regeneration tonight, doing the run in the morning. It was fine, the third run - a day late, would be fine. They would take the shortest route through the Caves, a straight line through the Forest, double time the Castle and get a third item. They’d each have a magic weapon, or a piece of armour. They may even be able to swing by the on the way out, and get a Nobody else is sitting in the Castle of a , debating the merits of when exactly to up. Except maybe Bruna. She’d be halfway to the capital by now, I wonder how she’s going? She likely would have gotten a just by hearing the word ‘Enchantment’ so many times.”

  Magdi came to a decision, lying down on the stone. “Oh aye. This be rather a comfy patch o’ stone.”

  “It’s a

  His eyes snapped open. He was unsure exactly how long he had been asleep, but he knew exactly what had woken him. A sharp, clear “Shunk, Shunk, Shunk” was getting louder. It occurred to Reinhardt that the guard patrols would have been synched to the . He didn’t know how far from the start of their patrol this room was, but he did know that Magdi was doing his best avalanche impression with each breath. Reinhardt scrambled down and tried to figure out what to do. Magdi was flat on his back, grinding his head into the stone, mouth locked in a rictus grin. He sucked air in through his mouth and nose with the noise of boulders rolling down a gully and forced it out through his mouth like a bellows. He just couldn’t imagine it was anything like “sleep” at all, it didn’t seem “restful” in the slightest. The Dwarf was just as inert as the rock. Reinhardt would have more luck waking up the wardrobe. He debated, for a moment, jamming his now dry socks into the Dwarf’s mouth, but that may well be interpreted as an attack. The marching feet were approaching the door now - he could tell they had turned into the hall.

  Grimacing, Reinhardt rolled the Dwarf, grunting a bit with the effort to flip him over, and turned him so his head was wedged in the space under Reinhardt’s bed. The smoothed out the worst of the burbles and dropped the volume to a dull roar. He quickly quartered the blanket from his bed - across two fold, it actually became decently thick, and as he draped it over Magdi’s head and shoulders, he was able to reduce the sound of the snoring to something close to the sound of a two-man crosscut saw. He stood with his ear to the door, ready to draw his machete - but the metronomic steps of the Armours continued past the door and down the hall. He waited until the sound was too distant to reach them before he relaxed. Now the danger had passed, he was beyond fatigued. He got the impression he’d only gotten an hour or so, and awoke with a start at the worst part of the sleep cycle. He’d done it before. It was better to have not slept at all. Luckily, it was still dark, so he placed another log on the fire and blew on the smouldering embers until the flame flickered back into a respectable fire. Lying down on his bed again, he was out before he could finish his next thought.

  He was, extremely rudely he believed, shaken awake some time later. He did feel a little bit better this time around, even if he wasn’t what he would call “well-rested.” Blinking up into the grinning face of Magdi however, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of excitement.

  “Funniest thing,” the Dwarf said. “Woke up this mornin’ on me gut, with my head wrapped up and stuffed under th’bed.”

  “You were snoring loud enough to be heard in ,” Reinhardt rolled into a sitting position. “And a patrol came past at midnight.”

  “Shoulda jus’ punched me in th’head,” Magdi grinned, “that’s wat Ma does.”

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

  From across the room, Otto was finishing lacing up his boots. He began to laugh. “Your mother punches you in the head to wake you up?”

  “Yeah,” Magdi shrugged. “Most mornins.”

  “Well, that explains everything.”

  Reinhardt couldn’t suppress a laugh. It was a good sign, morale was high. Otto directed them to a privy down the hall. The only low point was the lack of breakfast. They waited in the room, discussing the plan and how they were going to bring down a Regeneration of the Dungeon

  It certainly lived up to its name. It was a breath-taking chamber of stone and splendour, crafted not merely to impress but to humble any who crossed its threshold. Vaulted ceilings soared above, their arches of dark wood inlaid with gold-inlaid tracery that caught the light of the chandeliers. Each chandelier was a masterpiece in its own right, an intricate weave work of metal wrought of gold and crystal. The floors were not just honed, but polished to a high shine. A mosaic of deep lapis, pale quartz, and obsidian formed a radiant sunburst directly in front of the High Table. Two long tables ran the length of the Hall, each placement appointed with ornate silverware of an elegant design. Along the walls, towering banners of ancient lineage hung in rich velvets and silks, their threads embroidered with the deeds and victories of the noble bloodline. Between them, columns of veined stone were carved into the shapes of watchful angels. Standing vigil between these columns were suits of gleaming steel, their metal surfaces radiant in the warm light of the chandeliers.

  For a moment, they stood frozen. Only their eyes moved, sweeping the Hall, taking in the grandiosity of the space. Magdi looked at the High Table, all the flatware and settings were made of silver. The greed in his eyes was unmistakable. “Wonder how much they’re worth?” He whispered.

  “You get the Lord’s, I’ll grab the Lady’s.” Otto grinned.

  Reinhardt rolled his eyes, but he knew he’d grab as much as he could on the way through. The advantage of cutlery was that it was small and light, and you could carry a lot of it. “We’ll only have a few seconds, so grab what you can.” Reinhardt tied the arms and hem together of the tunic he’d kept from the Servant’s Quarters to create a makeshift sack. He’d have to figure something more appropriate, especially if they are able to do this every day. They’d be lugging kilograms of silver out of the Dungeon

  They steeled themselves for what was going to be a frantic dash and grab. With a sharp nod, they were off. They sprinted to the High Table, covering the half dozen metres in a moment. Magdi went straight to the Lord’s seat at the centre of the table. He scooped up a pair of forks, a couple of spoons, the knives and the golden goblet. In addition to being gold it was also set with gems, and Reinhardt could hear a low moan from Magdi when he grabbed it. Otto had his satchel open, and simply swept the Queen’s setting as well as the next placement into it. Reinhardt dashed down the table, grabbing whatever he could and tossing it into the makeshift bindle. There was a whisper of movement and a slight rattle of metal and steel. All six Armours turned their helmets to the trio. Reinhardt turned to look at the others and froze. He had just noticed the Armament Composition on the “back wall” of the Hall. It featured a Great Sword, flanked by a pair of Bastard Swords, flanked by a pair of Long Swords, flanked by a pair of Broad Swords, flanked by a pair of Arming Swords - which were perpendicular to the Great Sword, creating a semicircle of blades. They were arranged points inward, all disappearing behind a Heater Shield.

  It was this shield that captured Reinhardt's attention. It was two feet wide across the top and just under three feet tall, stopping just shy of being a Kite shield. It was quartered in red and white set in opposition, with a charge of a rampant lion, crowned and embossed in gold. A dark steel berm reinforced the edges. But the thing It with an internal light. The white shone with a pearlescent sheen, the red was chromed and reflected the light like burnished metal, the lion may have in fact been real gold - and the detail in the sculpting was flawless, appearing so lifelike it was amazing there was no roar emanating from its maw. The crown was perfect and had tiny rubies set into the fixtures. Reinhardt had no talent with the Aether nor skill with the Arcane, but he could the shield. “Otto…”

  The mage looked up, saw where Reinhardt was looking and spun, hands up as though expecting an attack. As his eyes fell upon the shield, he seemed to freeze, locked in place.

  “That’s it!” he squealed. “A Magic

  He dashed forward, eager to get to the item. However, even as tall as he was, he was still a good two feet too short. Behind them, they heard a loud “SHUNNK” as all six Armours stepped forward in unison. Together they turned and began marching up the sides of the Grand Hall. These were not only higher quality than the ‘Guards,’ they were slightly taller. Their stride was longer and they moved more smoothly.

  “Magdi!” Reinhardt yelled, “Help shift this!” Reinhardt grabbed the throne-like chair from the Lord’s placement. He began dragging it towards where Otto stood transfixed by the Shield. Magdi grabbed the other armrest and they manhandled the ornate chair into position. Otto stepped up onto the seat, put one foot on the right armrest and his left foot on the high backing. With a grunt he lunged up and grabbed the

  The first Armours had reached the High Table. This pair held wicked halberds, and they lowered them as they stepped around the table.

  Otto climbed fully onto the upright back of the throne, pushed upwards and twisted the , popping it free of the block it was mounted upon. The sudden lack of resistance caused Otto to fly backwards, crashing to the ground with a thud that forced the air from his lungs. He rolled and struggled to suck in a breath.

  Magdi and Reinhardt grabbed Otto under the arms and hauled him up. With the first Armours so close, and with such a long reach, they couldn’t really go sideways, back to the Butler’s Passage, or its twin leading to the other wing. The next set of Armours had reached the table, this pair wielding Arming swords and Shields - identical shields to their magic shield, but worn and aged. With nothing else for it, they pushed Otto over the top of the High Table. Reinhardt vaulted the table and slid across it, sending unclaimed cutlery and plates flying. Magdi dropped to the floor and rolled under the table, popping up with his weapons already dancing around. Otto rolled off the table and fired off a . It splashed across the breastplate of the nearest Armour. It didn’t

  The last pair of Armours started to come across to block them from moving from the table. This pair held massive zweihanders, and they began to move figuredo, arms up, sword points aimed at Reinhardt. Magdi roared and leapt at a shield wielding Armour, bashing the shield aside with a sweep of the block splitter and chopping down simultaneously with his hammer. The blow smashed into the Armour, denting the breastplate and driving the construct to one knee. Before he could press the advantage, The zweihander on his side stepped across and swept the sword in a broad stroke. Magdi ducked away and yelled in frustration. Reinhardt had his machete out, already forming a warding pattern, parrying the shield wielder’s blade and giving him a moment to slide back away from the Armours on his side. The zweihander on his side stepped forward and spun his arms, bringing the zweihander around in an impossibly fast, broad sweep. It blasted through his parry as Reinhardt threw himself to the side.

  Otto Static Charge, hitting the Shield wielder and Halberdier on Reinhardt’s side. Both Armours did a momentary jig, and Otto stepped away to cast at the three Armours facing Magdi. Reinhardt heard the “ZAP-zap” as he hit two other Armours. He heard a clunk and a clatter as Magdi capitalised on the distraction and seized the initiative. The Armour with the zweihander in front of him stepped across the line of his escape, blade flashing. Reinhardt had no time to reset his guard, and had to dodge back awkwardly. The blade, sweeping past his eyes, caught the light from the chandelier overhead. As he watched the light run up one side of the blade, he only had one thought.

  “”