Stumbling Up: A Loser's Guide to Progression - [Bonus Chapter]: [Loot Drop] for Richard

Richard watched as Rhi Voss talked to Meredeath, explaining the role she was taking upon herself.

It was almost poetic that he'd been relegated to unimportance, sitting on the remnants of a granite pillar as a mere audience member.

Richard replayed the scene from the afternoon.

“And you, Cole. Do you need a [Sponsor] as well?" Rhi's voice whispered to Cole. The old hag had smiled at the yellow slug as she continued, "You have earned it. I couldn't bring myself to kill Tilly after Lael's death."

Richard's vision had gone red with rage. He quivered, wanting to launch from Tandy's shoulders. How dare she!

Cole had looked at him then, his eyes cold. The gills on the side of his neck flapped, struggling to deal with unhydrated air. Richard couldn't meet Cole's gaze. He'd looked away, ashamed for the first time in a while.

Cole had to have responded, but Richard hadn't heard. Rhi probably dampened the air with some magic. She'd lost a lot of her power over the years, but no one could truly challenge her here in her domain. It's what kept him locked up for years.

Richard glanced up to Meredeath, learning from her and possibly Cole’s new [Sponsor], holding a single green flame in an outstretched hand.

"You're back," Ter Lance, the skeletal warrior, ambled up. Still clad in Rhi's illusion, he looked like he once had, strong and young and full of purpose.

Yes, fate’s a bastard, isn’t it?

The tall warrior leaned against the pillar casually. They'd been friends, once. Even when that friendship ended, the two understood Rhi better than anyone.

"Can't say that I'm happy you're back," the skeletal warrior said, stating the simple truth.

The feeling is mutual.

They stood silently for a moment, as green flames flickered around Meredeath's daggers.

It's been a while since I've seen the green flames of Niyatgra.

Ter Lance shifted, his armor groaning in protest.

"It's good to see her engage with the world."

As much as Richard wanted to, he couldn't agree. Rhi waking up and participating in the world was about as unlikely as him taking up arms. If they were both drawn back into the conflict, then things were much more dire than anyone expected.

Or maybe it was just centuries long boredom.

Rhi looked over at Richard again and gave him a much too obvious wink as she waved Cole over, cracking some unheard of joke. Richard would have bristled if it hadn't been for the decade of experience he had trapped in a cage with hundreds of other banana slugs trying to pretend to be something he wasn't.

I'm not sure what it means.

Ter Lance looked at him through the slits of his now-full helm. Richard could make out two dots of green fire burning within the knight's mask.

"It's movement. Change. Maybe I will be able to rest." The skeleton's voice sounded tired.

Richard had known Ter Lance as a man. They'd been friends, then rivals, then something else? Theoretical immortality did that. It softened the edges of childhood grudges. The warrior had made sure to keep the captive slugs, including Richard, well fed and hydrated. Richard had always suspected the man had known which of the slugs had been him.

What have you been doing for the past five hundred years, if not resting?

The knight gave a hearty laugh, earning a dark look from Rhi. Both of them ignored her, even if they had taken notice of her flashing eyes. For once, she wasn't a bone of contention between the two.

"You really haven't been paying attention. The Incursion is here. That was no lie. I've been fighting and losing ground for the last fifty years.” Ter Lance’s words burned.

Richard coiled tight, his mind leaping to defend himself.

Had he been that oblivious? Getting around was hard for a slug. He couldn't keep tabs on everything, everyone.

But he'd been trapped in Rhi's prison for a decade. Ignoring the 'fight' happening right under his tentacles. Had he been that out of touch?

He'd been shocked to see the [Corrupt] guardian. It happened from time to time, but on the cusp of the [Trial Dungeon] portal?

Then Tilly. Poor, old Tilly. She had to be the oldest Tidemaw in existence, protected by Rhi's magic. Most wild Tidemaws were killed before they got even half Tilly's size. Her [Corruption] was surprising, but at her age, even a bite from a [Corrupt] mouse could have infected her.

The water dogs had been rough, although their [Corruption] had been new. They'd been Lael's pets, good-natured and playful. They'd been lucky the dogs' [Corruption] had been so new. Otherwise, they might not have been so influenced by Leo's axe.

How close are we to losing it all?

Ter Lance shifted again. He bent down, rubbing the leg that had detached during the fight.

"You wouldn't expect it to hurt, but reattaching the limb with magic aches for weeks," he said. His bony hand rubbed on his bony knee, breaking the illusion of armor and fine clothes.

We are not what we once were. Nothing was. Richard wished he'd realized that when he was younger. He'd wasted so much time trying to reach for... the goal, he'd forgotten to enjoy the journey.

"We're closer than we were yesterday. And I'm getting tired. She is, too," Ter Lance said, leaving the obvious unsaid.

Which is why she's doing this. Richard watched as Meredeath's eyes began to glow as she swept her gaze around the palace, examining everything in a new light.

Ter Lance fumbled in his satchel, pulling out the glint of something tiny and metallic. It caught Richard’s attention immediately, as hope swelled in his chest.

"I have a gift for you. I found it when we first captured you." The [Death Knight] held out a tiny item, sized for a slug. Richard's heart leapt. He'd received the boon ages ago as part of a quest reward and had been lost without it for the last decade. It'd almost made imprisonment unbearable.

He slimed forward, taking the gift from Ter Lance in his mouth. The slug marveled at the familiar taste in his mouth as he adjusted it to fit snugly over his tooth. With a snap, the [Tooth of Holding] snapped into place.

Richard mentally raced through his alchemical inventory. Stacks of the [Mundane] flew through his mental filing system, white pine, black pine, jack pine, lodge pole pine, short needle pine, each tree species he'd met carefully kept. Each plant, including yarrow, plantain, lacewing, dandelion, basil, tomato, beet, oregano, and curry, was stored meticulously by root, leaf, flower, and stem.

Even the rare [Everleaf] he'd kept from the last [Evertree] sat still, carefully preserved.

It's all still here.

Richard didn't bother suppressing the wonder in his voice.

"Yes, quite the collection you've got. On brand for a slug."

Richard looked up at Ter Lance, tentacles extending in surprise.

You had this the whole time? That meant what? The old [Death Knight] had known who Richard was the entire time?

The knight nodded as he watched Rhi. Neither of them was willing to say the truth out loud within her domain. Richard ran his tongue along the tooth. It felt good, like a piece of him had been returned. Like, taking on the world with a couple of farm boys wasn't so crazy.

If Ter Lance could defy his mistress after all that time, then perhaps there was hope for the world yet. With a thought, he turned the cap bone-white, hiding it from the world.

I guess it's time to get to work.

"The work never ends," Ter Lance replied, his judgment obvious.

The fight, for those who cared and mattered, never ended.

How much could a slug matter?

How much could a couple of losers make a difference?

Meredeath's boots lit up green. The glow reflected in Cole's eyes as he watched.

Maybe even a slug had a part to play. Maybe there was hope yet.