Sidestory: Dorey and Orrick

I've got a lot of odd ideas at times, little things I want to explore, but at the same time, that delays the main story from progressing. And they aren't necessarily long stories. So when I get the urge, I'll be writing side stories for Patreon. They won't be something you need to read for the main story, and won't be on RR. Patrons in the Lonely Lass Tavern and Simple Shepherd will have access to them. They do not count as part of the 20 advanced chapters. Just a small bonus for those tiers.

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One would think that there were only so many subterranean caverns beneath a mid-sized town such as Sedgewick, but the more Dorey and Orrick explored the strange areas beneath the town, the more they learned not to be surprised by anything. Especially since being surprised meant a quick death and a morning recovering from resurrection.

The first two to three levels were a maze of stone passages similar to a dungeon. Over time, the top areas had been sorted into storage areas and straight tunnels that led to the brewery, the Lonely Lass Tavern, and the bar run by Jon and Cham. Heavy doors or stone walls blocked off entrances to the lower levels for now. Plans were being made to convert most of that level as well to housing for some of the workers. Not everyone valued sunlight over a short walk to work. A private set of rooms with cool air appealed to some people. Orrick had been one of the first to consider the idea, and currently, he and Dorey were converting an interesting area into their private residence. The main hall might have been some sort of boss area aeons ago. A stone throne and rotted tapestries that crumbled to dust were the only clues. It became their main work and living area with three smaller rooms off to the side.

The big bonus, and what convinced them to relocate closer to work, was the narrow staircase that led deeper underground. It emerged into a cave with a large pool surrounded by mushrooms of all types. They had slowly learned which were edible and could be used in cooking, and those that were edible only once, giving them a chance to level both their culinary skills and poison resistance. Two varieties of cave fish populated the pond, and Orrick loved to sit patiently and fish. Dorey would stay hidden nearby, waiting for an opportunistic cave mantis from the lower levels to sneak up on him. The fish tasted like fish, but the large praying mantis had a spicy chicken flavor unlike anything else.

Six days a week, they were exploring under Gadobhra or Sedgewick, and pushing deeper and farther out, mapping the areas and making notes of any useful or dangerous flora and fauna. They never quite knew what to expect. Today’s surprise was a meadow. It was a very nice meadow and wouldn’t have made them so nervous if it weren’t two hundred feet underground. They’d been following a medium-sized tunnel of old stonework when it ended abruptly in a well in the floor. A wooden ladder leaned against the wall, going down to a ledge twenty feet below. They noted the location on their maps, and Dorey headed down.

The small ledge was made of wood, just big enough to stand on. Another ladder greeted them, and they went down again. After four ladders, they hit the bottom, and a narrow tunnel only two feet wide was the only exit. Soft light came from somewhere ahead. Exiting, they came to a meadow of lush grass colored a deep green, the same color as the large glowing crystals above them on the roof. Dorey cut some samples to experiment with later. Might be a tasty herb, might be poison, or an alchemy ingredient. You never knew. Aliester was particularly curious about the things they found, and both of them were trying to learn the basic alchemy lessons that he taught to help them with their foraging.

Moving cautiously around the edge of the meadow revealed another area of grass through a wide tunnel. This one was populated by a small herd of albino sedge beasts being herded by what looked like ratkin shepherds. One by one, the cows were brought over to a spot where two other ratkin milked them, and others carried away the thick brown milk to a building. The smell of stinky cheese kept the two humans at bay.

Dorey pulled her mask up over her mouth and nose, trying to lessen the intense fumes. "This is worse than the smell when Betty makes the stuff."
"She only makes a small batch at a time. This looks like a larger operation. Maybe for the dungeon, or the little village in the hollow."
"Interesting, and something to note, but let's not disturb them."
"Sounds good, what next then?"

Dorey looked at her map. "Well, there were the two tunnels we skipped last month. One had that eerie pulsing red light and drumming. The other had the sound of running water and smelled like wet socks."

"Ugh...hated that smell."

"Evil red light tunnel, it is then. And, I'll remind you that it's your turn to head in first. I like how this is turning out."

"Either way, I want to go fishing tomorrow on our day off."

"Good, I promised the Baroness we'd save a mantis for them. Plan on fishing until we get at least two."