Vur groaned and stretched his arms out to the side, all four of them. He cracked his neck and sat up, the blanket covering him sliding down to reveal his chest. He yawned and wiped his eyes with his top two hands and used one of his free hands to grab a glass of water on the bedside table.
I think its going to take a very long ti to get used to this, Tafel said and stared at her husband, her cheek resting on a pillow. Vur used his last hand to stroke Tafels hair, pushing strands of it off her face and behind her ear. Yep. A long, long ti. She sighed and extended her bent legs, arching her back while stretching. You know Mary walked in on us, right?
Vur shrugged. Doesnt matter.
If you say so, Tafel said and rolled over onto her back. She gathered up the blanket and pulled it up, covering her chin while making herself comfortable. Say, what do you want to do next? We ca to the palace because I promised to attend Marys banquet, but we got caught up in sothing ridiculous. At least its over. Do you want to go back to that dungeon we were exploring earlier?
Vur scratched his nose. Not really. It was boring there.
Thats because youre too strong, Tafel said and pouted. Any dungeon crawl is going to be boring for you.
Vur nodded. Then lets stop dungeon crawling.
We cant! Tafel turned her head to et Vurs eyes. Dungeon crawling is the best part of an adventurers life!
Vur tilted his head. The best part of an adventurers life is boring? Why are we adventurers?
A wrinkle appeared on Tafels forehead. Let rephrase that, she said. Getting loot from dungeon crawling is the best part of an adventurers life. We get new equipnt, learn new skills, gain new techniques, and visit places that havent been visited before when we dungeon crawl. Its not boring.
Vur blinked. If you want new equipnt, I can make the dwarves forge so for you. Theyre very good at that, he said and nodded. Im the dwarf king, rember? His brow furrowed. I think? I let Auntie rule the dwarves, but I dont think she took my title away, so Im still king. He nodded again. What kind of equipnt do you want?
We cant do that, Tafel said and shook her head. Its the sa concept as you not being allowed to give Grimmys stuff. Its cheating. We have to find our equipnt on our own.
Vur pointed off to the side at Tafels armor which was made of leviathan scales. Didnt the fishn make that for us?
Tafel coughed. Thats different.
How?
It just is, alright?
Vur shook his head. Because its made of fish? If I gave the dwarves a bunch of fish and they made equipnt out of it, is that okay?
Its not because its made out of a fish! Tafel sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Vur. Theres joy in slowly becoming stronger. You have to start out as a weakling, then slowly progress through the gear treadmill. A newbie adventurer starts off with a wooden sword. Then he gets so leather armor. Maybe hell kill a goblin and get an iron dagger. Slowly, ever so slowly, that dagger becos a sword, then the armor improves, then the sword is made of a better tal that can be enchanted. Its a fun process to see yourself beco stronger. You cant skip to endga equipnt by talking to dwarves or borrowing stuff from dragons.
Vur furrowed his brow. Why not? Wouldnt it be more fun to have the best things right away? Then you can do whatever you want.
Then you beco too reliant on your equipnt, Tafel said. You have to use equipnt that matches your personal skill. Only those skilled enough are allowed to wield weapons made by dwarves. And only those who are good enough to not get hit can wear dwarven-made armor.
Vur lay back down and pulled the blanket up. That doesnt make sense. Wouldnt clumsier people want better armor?
Well, if the armors too heavy, then itd be hard for them to move around, Tafel said after a short pause. They dont have the necessary proficiency with wearing that kind of armor to use it effectively.
Then the dwarves can add an enchantnt to make the armor lighter and easier to use, Vur said.
Thats cheating. Tafel pouted. Her eyes lit up. Oh! Okay, I know how to explain it now.
Go on.
So, adventurers start off in easier dungeons to get stronger because theyd die if they tried harder dungeons right away, right?
Okay.
Tafel rolled over onto her side and rested her arm on Vurs chest, which was covered by the blanket. And easy dungeons are easy because the creatures inside of them are weaker and less intelligent than those inside harder dungeons.
Right.
So, if a new adventurer wears armor way above his league, then hell be able to clear the easy dungeons without breaking a sweat. He wont be forced into dangerous situations, and the experience hell receive will be way less. When he gets to a hard dungeon thats on par with his armors league, hes going to die from lack of experience. Partaking in combat where your life is at risk and partaking in sparring are two totally different things. Soone whos been through many life-or-death situations is going to be way stronger than soone whos only sparred even if their equipnt are the sa.
Vur blinked. But I think youre strong enough to use dwarven-made equipnt?
Tafel shook her head. Im not.
Youre not?
No, and itll be a long while before I am.
Vur rubbed his chin again. Is this just another way of saying you want to go back to the dungeon?
Tafels face flushed. I an, itd be nice if we finished what we started, right? If the chira queen was just a mini-boss, imagine what the boss of that dungeon would be like.
Vur inched closer to Tafel, wrapping one arm over her shoulder. Isnt being there the sa thing as having overpowered equipnt? Theres no life-or-death situation if Im there. Wouldnt you get less experience?
Thats different, Tafel said.
Really, Vur said, his voice flat.
It really is! Theres a difference between having armor that can block an attack that rightfully shouldve killed you and having soone watching over you to make sure you dont die.
If you say so.
Vur! Im telling the truth! It really is different. Tafel pouted.
Vur smiled and crept closer, placing his lips on hers. He drew back and stroked her head, his fingers playing with her hair. If you want to finish the dungeon, then lets go finish the dungeon.
Tafel gave Vur a slight nod, her face bright red. Okay, she said in a small voice. Lets do that.
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