Chapter 26 - Public Bounty

After leaving the dungeon I headed back to town and to the guild to sell off what I'd acquired, though with the gold I was tempted to leave it for tomorrow, but my dad had taught me not to put things off if I didn't have a good reason for it. I wasn't going to let laziness stop me, even if I was a bit tired. My constitution was high and my sense was getting higher, but my endurance was severely limiting me. After every fight, I had to take a breather, and water was essential.

I could have done far more in the dungeon if only I had more stamina which was a part of endurance. That was for another time, however. My next stat would be strength so I could head down deeper and not be so worried about not doing enough damage, although maybe endurance was the best choice.

At first, I had been confused as to what it encompassed, but the library had helped clear that up. Endurance encompassed stamina and vitality which was key, and if I ended up picking constitution again, if I could, I would be limited as my endurance would need to be raised. The stronger the body, the more needed to push and allow it to function. Stamina was key, and after strength, it was next.

As I was now, I was fine with going slow. I had enough endurance to last in a fairly prolonged fight, but not one after the other. At least, not without Boost.

The guild was just as busy as yesterday, and like usual the vendors were all so happy to see me. They were more than happy to pay cheaply for the good I brought, and many times people had stopped to ask why I hadn't joined yet. I only said personal reasons which seemed to make them think of something I wasn't aware of.

In any case, I was fine with how things were.

I was just leaving when I stopped at a notice board, more especially the bounty board for jobs outside the dungeon. I hadn't taken any jobs yet, but one of the guild's main sources of income was jobs people could post. It was in fact, right alongside the dungeon as the main thing they did. Winsby didn't get a lot of job notices. The area around Winsby was fairly peaceful, and every time I passed the boards there were only a few on each. As a non-adventurer, I could only take public bounties.

I frowned and stopped as I noticed a rather odd public bounty. It was for a job outside the town concerning a number of missing livestock animals on nearby farms, and a destroyed limber business that had been supplying wood to the town and closeby settlements for years. The job was to investigate and figure out what had happened. The job itself wasn't odd, but I was confused as to why it was a public bounty.

"Jericho?"

I turned at the familiar voice to see Tenna walking over. "What are you doing here? Have you finally joined the guild?"

"No," I said. "Just looking at this public bounty. Is this normal?"

She frowned, confusion evident on her face as she read through, but then something clicked. "Oh, this bounty. No, it's not normal, but this happens when no one could figure it out. I've seen it before on the high-ranker boards, but when jobs like this don't get solved, they make it a free-for-all, but usually only when the person who put the bounty up is desperate."

"How much is the reward?" I asked.

"That's usually on the back," She said, turning it over. "Makes it so people don't just look at the reward and that's it. Damn, twenty gold. By the mountain's heart, they must really want this solved."

"Twenty gold," I said. I could buy some of the better abilities with that, and armor, and have a weapon forged just for me. Tenna must have seen my look as she shook her head. "I wouldn't if I were you. The strongest we have couldn't do it, and it might not even be doable. Maybe whatever destroyed the areas is long gone."

"Probably," I said. "But twenty gold. We could go together?"

Tenna raied an eyertbow. "Jericho, did you not just hear what I said? The chances of us finding anything are too slim to none."

"Yeah, but maybe," I replied. "I don't mind going alone, but…"

"What happened with Lex?"

I nodded.

A thoughtful crossed her features. "Why don't we take the group? We've sort of this a platuqe in our dungeon dives. Also, the guards aren't letting anyone enter the dungeon after tomorrow for a few days."

"What? Why?"

She glanced around, then motioned me to lean down. I did, and she lowered her voice to barely a whisper. "It's just a rumor, but apparently Deviants have been spotted."

I tried not to react, but something in my eyes must have given it away.

"You know?"

"I do," I said, considering whether to tell her or not. I shrugged after a moment. She already basically knew. "I fought a wolf mole on the first floor. It killed an adventurer."

Her eyes widened. "So it is true. Deviants."

"What are deviants?"

"They're fairly new," Tenna said, looking around. "Taboo to talk about, but they're essentially dungeon monsters that don't follow the rules like the others. They do things that seem strange, deviating from their normal behavior and routine. But most dangerous of all, they try to leave the dungeon, by going up the floor."

"But, I thought monsters couldn't leave the dungeon."

"Normal monsters can't, but deviants are the exception," she said, worry clear in her eyes. "Usually they don't make it past the adventures, but sometimes a lot of them come at once. I don't know for certain, but I heard once a horde ran escaped and tore a town about."

That wolf mole had been very close, and thorough the guards and dozens of other adventurers would have killed it, what about a hundred of them? The average person had maybe one ability, most nothin special or even particularly offensive. Some used abilities for their jobs and daily lives. If proper monsters got in, then it would be a massacre.

"Do we have to worry?"

"I wouldn't say so," Tenna said. "That story is probably fake. I've never heard for real about more than a couple coming out at a time. We didn't use to have so many guards watching the dungeon, but it's doubled in the past fifty years since it began."

That was troublesome, but I couldn't worry about it. I had to keep going, although I wondered what would happen if I met something like a floor ten monster on the third floor. I gulped. "So, without the dungeon, how about the job."

"Let's see how many of the others are willing to come," Tenna said. "Lex will. He always wants an excuse to leave the town, but Eloira and Rashid have obligations here. Eloria has her healing and is part of the arcane society while Rashid isn't fond of the forest and has his training. He hates missing training days."

I waited as she sent a message to Lex and the others through chat. Afterward, she invited me to her party. The party and chat functions were very useful, but there was a range depending on certain factors. They could communicate within the bounds of the city and even beyond, but there was a range limit. The dungeon also severely lessened the range of messages. Clans could open up voice chats and had more options.

"Lex will come," Tenna said. I turned from the other bounties I was inspecting.

"And the others?" I asked.

Tenna shook her head. "Nope, just me, you, and Lex. Still up for it?"

"No dungeon so yes," I said. "Meet here tomorrow or at Karra's?"

"Karra's," she said. "Bring supplies with you, enough for a week. I'll go register us for this. I'll see you tomorrow. Just before sunrise. We'll leave early."

"Got it, Goodbye."