Spoils

Skull and Aqua follow a path within the forest, Aqua talks skull's ear off, if he even had one that is, even with his newly acquired voice he doesn't engage in the conversation. "The plan is that we go into town tonight, so that I can have a bed, and a thick comfy blanket." Aqua daydreams about basking in luxury, Skull meanwhile, has a tired and disappointed look as he walks onward.

The two reach the apex of a hill overlooking a large rustic town called Craid. "There it is, hopefully they got thick and comfy beds." She begins to bounce away in excitement.

"And what are you planning to do with me?" Skull halts Aqua before she mindlessly waltzes in without him. "Oh, I almost forgot that people don't like seeing skeletons walking around." She begins to frantically look around for something to conceal him.

She then snatches the old cloak he was holding and uses it to cover his face, nearly smothering him in the process. "You can use that, just try to not look suspicious." Skull shifts it around to shroud his face but allows eyesight.

When they start walking through town the folk give them glances of mistrust. "Don't think about them, and just keep going." Skull whispers to Aqua as she gives him a look of concern.

Upon opening the door to an inn the man working the front looks up from his chair, his feet propped on top of the desk. "What do you want?" He asks, lowering his hat to cover one eye.

Aqua steps up to the desk with Skull behind her. "U-uh I would like to rent a room."

The man's expression doesn't change as he talks. "Twelve shils."

"O-oh, okay-"

Skull interjected, stepping in front of Aqua "Now now, I know that you're not trying to start anything sir." Skull leads towards the man, peering at him with his dark and empty eyes. "Now, what's the real price?"

"F-five Shils."

Skull slams 5 silver coins onto the desk before taking one of the room keys and walking away. "Come on Aqua, I'm tired of being responsible for you."

The man nervously picks up his money as Aqua gives a brief apologetic glance. "O-okay."

"Hey skull, how did you know about that?" Aqua catches up to Skull, as he opens the door to their room.

"I didn't, I was just able to sense that he was lying."

"Well that was incredible."

The two walk into a small, simple, single room, inside is one plain bed with a thick quilt and two feather pillows lay on it, a used candle lamp atop a short wooden table that sits besides a wooden chair, a broom leans on a bare stone brick wall in one of it's corners, a very small window is held opposite of the pine wood door, across the old and creaky wood floor, dirt has built up.

Aqua looks over to Skull with an expression of dejection.

"Your thick comfy blanket is right there." Skull points to the old worn quilt, after closing the door.

"I-it sure is, I can't wait t-to sl-sleep in it." She slowly walks towards it and hesitates before getting on the bed.

"It's good that cozy isn't my thing, I'll take the chair." He goes and sits on the chair facing the bed.

"Can you turn around, it looks like you're about to watch me sleep." Aqua gives Skull an uncomfortable stare.

"Does this help?" Skull pulls his cloak over his face, obscuring his vision.

Aqua gives out a relieved sigh before speaking. "Yes, thank you. Goodnight, Skull." She moves the quilt on top of her. Skull remains silent as he snuffs the candle's flame.

In the next morning, Aqua and Skull sit across from each other, and begin discussing their next move. "So, we are running a bit low on money, and if people keep trying to scam us, just like last night, it won't last long at all."

Skull examines a small pouch of coins. "And what are you planning to do about that, get a job?" He tosses the pouch back over to Aqua, who doesn't even try to catch it.

"Originally no, but now that I have you, we could take on a dungeon!" She leans forward in her excited enthusiasm.

"I don't suppose I have any choice in this matter?"

Skull crosses his arms as Aqua quickly responds with a hard "no", and a blank expression.

"Can I at least get some decent gear?" Skull groans as he leans back in his chair, before grabbing the broken sword he looted from the goblin.

"We'll see." The two stand up and collect their things before leaving the inn.

After grabbing some breakfast, the two wander the streets of the town, looking for where they can find a dungeon. Skull notices a smithy and decides to check it out, aqua follows behind with mild confusion.

"Hey, what all does this smithy do?" Skull approaches a table with a person who just sold a wood chopping axe.

"Well, we buy, sell, repair or even trade weapons, tools, and armors."

"Can you fix my sword?" Skull takes out the broken sword and Aqua acts like she doesn't know him as he does.

"Looks like there's nothing to be done with this, but we can buy it as scrap or give you a discount on a new sword." The man looks at it briefly, and turns his attention back to skull with a slightly bothered expression.

"I'll take the discount." Skull puts the sword on the table, and the man picks it up and tosses it into a pile of poor quality or destroyed items.

"Here, and if you need this one fixed or a new sword, just find me or ask for Benit Casúr." The man places a new sword on the table as Skull sets down some money in exchange.

"Alright."

"Do you by any chance know where to find a dungeon?" Skull puts his new sword away, and catches Benit's attention before he could walk away.

"Hm, I believe there's one south east of this town in the forest, there should be a path leading to it that way."Benit points in a direction leading to the path.

"Thanks." Skull begins to move that way.

"Ah! H-hold on!" Aqua yells to skull in a loud whisper.

Benit continues watching as the two walk away together. "She never got a weapon, that's curious." Benit says out loud, thinking to himself.

"You know this is a good chance for you to train. so you don't have to give me the silent treatment." She quickly runs forward, attempting to move beside and scold him. "And while that happens, I get money." She has a smug smile, and with a gleam in her eye gives skull a little thumbs-up.

The two reach a clearing where the path leads up to a stone brick wall embedded into a hill, numerous explorers and adventurers rest around this hill making sure not to body block the entrance, a hole in the wall resembling a doorway.

"Wow, I've never seen a real dungeon before!" Aqua steps forward in awe.

"Can you be quiet, and stay behind me?" Skull walks into the door way past aqua.

"No to the first part, but yes to the second." She quickly follows after.

The duo begin to descend down a large flight of stairs that share the stone brick design with the walls, torches attached to the wall lights up the descent. Upon reaching the bottom the light from the torches cause the walls of the maze-like rooms to be a yellowish tone.

"Hey, what kinds of spells can you use?" Skull draws his sword in preparation for surprise attacks.

"I have a kind of raise dead spell, but that's out of my focal area, I mainly use water type spells." They walk the strange twisting corridors while talking.

"That makes more sense given your name."

"Actually, it was just a random happenstance." She shrugs.

"Sorry, I'm sure you get that a lot."

"Well, not quite, I'm not allowed to talk about it at all." She nervously itches her cheek as a bead of sweat drips down her face. "Oh! A chest!" She cuts skull off when he was about to speak, as she notices a chest sitting in the center of a room separate from the chaotic hallways.

As soon as Aqua touches the chest it bursts open and lunges at her with a monsterous cry, in its true mimic form. Before Aqua could cry in terror a flash of light soars through the tounge of this mimic.

Blood spurts in all directions as the mimic's tongue goes flying off and it screeches in agony. Skull soars past Aqua, shoving her aside before plunging his sword into the mimic's mouth. It whines in pain as Skull sets his foot against the lower jaw of this chest creature, and he starts to push his sword up, ripping the mimic in two.

With a loud crack the mimic is split apart and pieces of wood and blood rain down, as aqua watches in terror.

"You need to be careful, these places are full of traps ready to kill senseless people like you." He plucks his sword from the mimic as he lectures aqua.

"T-there's something else in there." She approaches the mangled mess of the mimic, as Skull reaches down.

He pulls out the skull of an adventurer, who fell victim to the mimic, as aqua was directly in front of the corpse.

"Aieee!" She stumbles back from the grotesque scene, skull then pulls out a hand full of coins. "W-where did those come from?" Aqua approaches the corpse again.

"Mimics can't digest metal." Skull pulls out a gauntlet with a skeletal arm attached to it, aqua falls back with a scream once again.

"Stop doing that!" She points at skull accusingly.

"Too bad there aren't any straps, I could've used these." He examines the gauntlet, removing the arm that was fused to the metal.

"Those are a dead man's things, isn't it a bit cruel?" She is dizzy from all the spikes in blood pressure, skull turns to her with a scowl.

"I am a dead man!" He gestures to himself suggesting aqua is worse than him. "Forget it, just help me bag the loot."

"This wasn't what I expected my death to be like …" Skull and Aqua continue exploring the dungeon while skull thinks to himself. "Actually I don't remember what I thought it would be like." He rips apart a skeleton's rib cage after it attempts to charge aqua. "In fact I don't remember anything before being reawakened." He takes the armor of various zombie warriors. "All I want is to be dead again." He spreads his arms out, as a massive spider monster leaps at him. "But I have a feeling I should stay." Aqua uses her magic to force Skull to doge, he stabs the spider in the side as It goes over him. " … and keep her safe." Aqua pouts in a cute way, as she releases her magic.