The Silver Gate Inn

  By the time the group reached the square, night had draped the village in a cloth of shadows limned in gold.

  The air was hot and humid but there was a cool breeze coming from the mountains. Lanterns hung from eaves and posts, their warm light flickering across the cobbles like reflected starlight. Ahead, the low hum of laughter and clinking mugs spilled out from the heart of the village – the Inn.

  Alex slowed as he approached, just taking it all in.

  The Silver Gate Inn looked even more impossibly perfect up close than it had from the training field that morning. The ground floor was everything the show’s opening montage had promised – fieldstone, broad timber beams, and leaded windows glowing amber. And the steady hum of sound that said adventures start here.

  Above the door hung a wooden tavern sign, double-sided, and swinging gently from a wrought-iron bracket with delicate curls. It looked like a storybook-perfect village inn and tavern.

  Above the first floor though, things started to change. The medieval timber construction of the ground floor gave way to an eastern-style dark wood structure that climbed skyward in pagoda-like tiers, every roof tile gleaming in the lamplight, each flying corner curved like a smile against the glow of the moonlit sky. Tiny guardian statues perched along the ridges, their shadows stretching across the walls as if keeping a double watch.

  There it is, Alex thought, a grin sneaking up on him. Right out of the show.

  He barely noticed the others catching up until Jay clapped him on the shoulder. “Dude. You’re drooling.”

  “I am not,” Alex said automatically, though his voice lacked conviction.

  “Maybe just a little,” Sarah, the last member of their Class A team and a late arrival, said with a laugh.

  Melissa bounced on her toes, eyes wide. “This is the tavern, guys! The tavern. ‘Where Great Stories Begin’,” she said, quoting the Dungeon Inc. show tagline. “Oh my gods, look at it!”

  She pointed suddenly, “And there’s the balcony where Team Wyvern got attacked by those flying, monkey things!”

  Rae rolled her eyes. “You’re such a nerd.”

  Alex noticed that she was grinning and staring just as much as Mel though.

  Melissa stopped suddenly, forcing Jay to jump to the right to avoid walking into her, and slapped a hand over her mouth. She stood there for several long breaths before bursting out, “OMG! There are flying monkey things in this world!”

  Alex laughed. Danny just looked horrified at the thought.

  “I think when I go home this week I am going to rewatch the entire series from the start. Knowing that it’s all real is going to change everything about it,” said Jay.

  Danny looked even worse than before but Rae was nodding in agreement. She started off towards the inn again. Everyone else followed.

  The heavy oak doors swung open just before they reached them, a burst of laughter, and fiddle and pipe music spilled out. A group of women stepped through the door and smiled at them before passing out into the night. Alex led the way inside to a wave of heat, woodsmoke, and the smells of roasted meat.

  The inn was huge, and packed. Long tables filled the central hall to the right and the flickering hearth threw light across faces both strange and familiar.

  “Weekend crowd,” said Sarah as she took in the room from beside Alex. He just nodded. Sarah would know. Apparently she had been living in the village for the past 3 months, employed as a guard. She was a few years older than the rest of them.

  “Let’s try and grab one of the tables near the bar.”

  Jay grinned. “Yes, mom.”

  She gave him a flat look that could have crushed a lesser goblin. “Keep that up and I’ll find you a booster seat.”

  Rae snorted. “I like her.”

  The others laughed as Sarah guided them toward the bar side of the room, where there were still a few empty tables under a massive carved beam that held up a walkway overlooking the whole room. The polished oak bar itself stretched across the left side of the tavern with a dozen or more stools tucked under the overhanging bartop. Most of them were occupied.

  Behind the counter stood the man himself: Tom the bartender, featured in almost every single episode of Dungeon Inc..

  Mel clapped her hands and actually squealed loud enough to catch his attention. He just laughed and headed in their direction.

  Tom was tall, broad-shouldered and muscled, with a neatly trimmed beard and a practiced twinkle in his eye. His sleeves were rolled up, his vest perfectly fitted, and his apron was always pristine. At least in every clip of Dungeon Inc. that he showed up in.

  “Evening, heroes!” he boomed with a voice like rich whiskey poured over charm. He nodded towards Sarah, but then turned back to the rest of them and said, “First time at the Silver Gate Inn?”

  Melissa vibrated with excitement. “Yes! We’re the new recruits! Class A!”

  Alex figured that Tom already knew exactly who they were.

  “Well then!” He set down the mug he’d been polishing and leaned forward on the counter.

  “Welcome recruits. The name’s Tomwell, but everyone calls me Tom. If you need a drink, a story, or advice on how not to die before clearing out your own dungeons – I’m your guy,” he said with an exaggerated wink.

  Jay raised a hand immediately. “Beer. Cold. Large.”

  “Coming right up.” Tom nodded with exaggerated solemnity. “And for the rest of the brave souls?”

  They all ordered – ales, cider, a lemonade for Danny – and used some of their in-world currency for the first time to pay for it. Tom moved like a magician behind the bar, sliding mugs down the counter with a flourish that had them all cheering by the end of his performance.

  When he handed Alex his pint, he paused just long enough to study him. “You look like you’ve had a day.”

  Alex chuckled weakly. “First training session.”

  “Ah. Reach’s tender mercies. That’ll do it.” Tom grinned knowingly. “Drink up, wizard. You’ve earned it.”

  Alex blinked. “How’d you…”

  “Everyone’s buzzing about the new cohort and our first wizard classes,” Tom said with another wink. “Besides, you’ve got the look – thoughtful eyes, that thousand-yard stare of a man trying to calculate spell slots before breakfast.”

  That made Alex laugh. “Yeah. Something like that.”

  Tom gave a friendly tap on the counter. “Well, enjoy yourselves. And if you break anything, make sure it’s expensive. It helps with the budget negotiations.” Then he was gone, moving to another group of laughing adventurers down the bar.

  They carried their drinks back to the table Sarah had claimed under a wall hung with swords and strange animal heads with large horns. The wood creaked pleasantly as they sat and the air around them hummed with the chaos of too many conversations.

  Jay lifted his mug. “To surviving day one without crying!”

  “Speak for yourself,” Melissa said. “My arms cried. My legs cried. I’m pretty sure I’m going to cry myself to sleep tonight.”

  Rae grinned over her cup. “You looked good doing it, though.”

  “Aaaww! Thanks Rae-Rae!” Mel said.

  “Don’t encourage her,” Sarah muttered, taking a long pull from her ale.

  “Well, I’ve never even held a sword before today, so I appreciate it,” Melissa said.

  “So,” Danny said, leaning back, “how about that Local Customs lecture? I thought Reach was intense, but that guy – what was his name again?”

  “Stansis,” said Rae. “Professor Stansis, I guess.”

  “Right! The guy’s like a goofy Indiana Jones.” Danny grinned. “I swear he started drooling when he pulled out that map.”

  “He’s enthusiastic,” Melissa said, trying to be polite. “He just… wanders. I thought the etiquette of the Eastern Empire was interesting until he went off on that tangent of how they ferment horse milk. Blech!”

  “Yeah,” said Rae. “I think I saw Reach facepalm from across the yard.”

  Sarah smirked. “Still, the guy’s got passion and a lot of knowledge about this world already. He’s pretty much singlehandedly filled out the corporate Wiki with information about this world, so make sure you try and learn what you can from him.”

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  “There’s a wiki?” Danny and Alex asked at the same time.

  Sarah laughed. “Yeah, you can access it from your HUDs.”

  “Huh!” Danny said and then his gaze went a little fuzzy as he started flipping through menus that only he could see.

  “Well, at least we’ll learn enough to not offend the locals,” Jay said and nodded towards a nearby table where a group of people sat in eastern finery of brocaded jackets and layered sashes with enamel pins that gleamed under the lanterns. They sat together in a tight group by themselves, leaning forward and talking too quietly to hear. Probably merchants Alex thought.

  “You know, when we’re world-famous adventurers like them.” He jerked his chin toward the far side of the room. There, at a table near the fire, sat Marcus and Elira, laughing with Kade, Hiro, and their new healer – Aila. The Iron Fangs.

  “Oh my god,” Melissa whispered. “That’s them.”

  “Don’t stare,” Sarah warned with a wink.

  “Too late,” Jay said. “My eyes are locked in.”

  “Subtle as a…” Rae looked at him for a moment and then, “...as a six and a half foot tall gym bro.”

  Jay rolled his eyes but didn’t turn away.

  Marcus turned slightly – maybe catching movement, maybe just instinct – and saw Alex’s table all staring at them and smiled. Alex looked away immediately, but heard the sound of a chair scrapping across floorboards.

  Conversations around their table dipped as others turned to watch, and then Marcus and Elira were standing there at their table.

  “You must be the new squad. How was the first day of training?” Marcus asked. He stood there casually with an arm draped over Elira's shoulder.

  Jay stood up, shot up may be more accurate, knocking over his chair. He reached out a hand to shake, which Marcus took. “Wow! Big guy! They have you down for fighter class too?” he said looking up at Jay who was at least half a foot taller.

  Jay just started nodding affirmative, his grin bigger than usual, then finally realized what he was doing when Marcus raised an eyebrow and visibly tried to collect himself. “I mean, no. Barbarian actually.”

  “Oooo! Cool. I don’t think we have a Barbarian yet, do we ‘Lira?” Marcus said and looked over at Elira.

  “Yeah, I think Chad whats-his-name in the Red Wings group is Barbarian class.”

  “Oh right. I’ve never met him,” Marcus said and then laughed. “Chad’s a great name for a barbarian though isn’t it? One syllable, mostly consonants!”

  “My name’s Jay,” Jay said, just standing there staring. Alex looked at him, eyebrows knit, wondering if Jay was having a fanboy moment.

  “Ah! See, one syllable! Then you’ll make a great barbarian too!” Marcus said and everyone laughed. Jay’s face was turning red, but Marcus was charming and it was impossible to take his comment badly. Marcus was still smiling like a goof.

  “Anyway,” said Elira. “We just wanted to say hi and wish you luck! Maybe we’ll get to take you out on your first run in a couple of weeks.”

  “That would be A-Mazing!!” exclaimed Melissa, who had been uncharacteristically quiet so far.

  Elira smiled at her and then her and Marcus headed back to their table with a little wave.

  Jay exhaled a breath that he had been holding for too long. “We just got acknowledged by Marcus Kane.”

  “Just a matter of time,” Alex said quietly.

  Sarah looked at him. “Until what?”

  “Until we’re sitting over there and everyone’s staring at us.”

  The table went still for a beat, everyone turning to him as they considered what he had said. Alex turned in his chair a little, uncomfortable with all the sudden attention.

  The hum of the room filled the silence until Melissa broke it with a smile. “Then we’ll need better outfits,” she said, raising her mug.

  Jay lifted his mug and cleared his throat. “And, ah, cooler names.”

  Rae smirked. “And a healer who doesn’t faint at the sight of blood.”

  Melissa flipped her off cheerfully.

  Alex laughed, the sound bubbling up naturally. “To Class A,” he said, lifting his mug high. “The next generation of adventurers.”

  “The greatest generation of adventurers!” said Jay.

  “Oh, I know Jay, you can call yourself ‘Brakthar’!” Melissa interrupted the toast suddenly.

  “What?” Jay looked puzzled.

  “You said you want a new name. Brakthar is a great barbarian name!”

  Rae snorted and said, “Yeah! Brakthar the Mighty. You will strike fear into the hearts of Goblins and Kobolds the world over.” She held out her glass again. “To Brakthar the Mighty!”

  They burst out in laughter and clinked glasses. Foam sloshed.

  They laughed and they drank and they shared their backstories. Just like any good campaign that starts in a tavern, thought Alex. But eventually, he was doing more listening than talking and he flicked on his HUD. He really hadn’t had much time to himself with all the lessons they had attended all afternoon.

  He flicked his eyes up to the right to activate the interface. It was a weird experience to be looking out at the world with a field of information and labels between you and everything else. He assumed he would get used to it and it would become like second nature eventually, but for now it was just weird.

  Looking around the room, the first thing he noticed was that many of the people here had little floating diamonds above their heads once the HUD was activated, but they weren’t all the same colour. The table of well dressed locals sitting nearby didn’t have anything above their heads, so Alex assumed the diamonds indicated ‘friendlies’, or Dungeon Inc. employees anyway. And if that were the case, then the different colours must indicate what their roles were.

  He examined everyone more closely. Marcus and his group all had light green diamonds above their heads, while his team all had a darker green diamond. Green for adventurers maybe then. Tom, behind the bar, had a yellow diamond. He noticed a table by the hearth with a group of other yellow diamonds, but he didn’t know who they were. The one in the center of that group though could easily be the village's blacksmith. He had huge arms and scarred hands. So, yellow for village staff?

  There were a few other colours too, orange and violet diamonds and even a couple of people with white diamonds. He shrugged, it would probably make more sense the more people he met.

  There was a red triangle on the side of his vision, and when he focused on it a ‘window’ popped open that listed his team mates names above what looked like health-bar gauges. Nobody was at 100%, but Alex figured that made sense; they had all worked pretty hard today and everyone was sore. He closed the window and opened the menu.

  The system seemed to be pretty extensive really and he’d need more time to go through it, but he flipped through the options until he found an ‘Interface’ menu and opened that. Even here on this submenu there were a lot of options. He scrolled down the list with tiny flicks of his eyes – apparently once the nanobots were done wiring up their bodies, they would be able to interact with the HUD just by thinking about it. He stopped when he saw ‘compass’. It was off by default and he switched it on.

  Instantly a circular compass opened in the top left of his vision. He scowled. Its opacity was way too high and it blocked out a portion of his sight. He looked at the menu and there was no field to change it, but there was a styles menu. He opened it. The circular compass disappeared and became a Headings Compass across the very top of his vision. The letter E hovered within a line of ticks just off on the right of his vision. He turned his head in that direction until the E shifted to the center.

  Nice he thought. Even better, he noticed that there were small diamonds on the compass that indicated the direction of his teammates. He imagined this would be super useful when they were ‘out in the field’ as Reach called it. He was going to have to spend some more time to learn what else the HUD could provide.

  As he flipped through the menus again, trying to find another interesting feature, he was distracted by motes of dust floating in front of his eyes like they were being highlighted by the light of the HUD. He almost raised a hand to wave it away before realizing that it was something else entirely.

  He watched as soft golden motes of light began appearing and floated around the table in front of him. He looked around the room and realized that they were everywhere. They looked to be drifting along in the air currents, but the more Alex looked the more he realized they were all moving in time. No matter where he looked in the room, the motes were all moving in the same direction.

  He blinked, motes? He looked down into his cup of ale, it was only his second and still mostly full. The golden motes shifted around the cups on the table too but no one else seemed to notice. He stared at them, trying to focus on one. He turned off his HUD thinking it was some artifact of the system, but the motes remained pulsing faintly and sliding across the room. He noticed that when they touched his hands they… stuck, for a moment before moving on.

  He frowned, trying to focus on one – but the harder he looked, the dimmer it became. When he blinked, the light returned to normal. He knuckled his eyes and when he looked again the motes were back, but very faint.

  “Too much already?” Jay asked.

  “Huh?” Alex looked over at him, and then realized what he meant. “No, just… tired I guess. It was a long day.”

  “And you weren’t feeling well when we arrived last night,” said Jay, looking a little concerned.

  “I’m good. But I’ll probably head out after this one,” Alex said and Jay nodded.

  Melissa stood suddenly, clutching her new lute. Apparently she could play several instruments, but was best with a guitar. She had been strumming the lute all day to get used to it. “Okay. Don’t hate me. But I’ve been practicing my chords on this and I think I’ve got something.”

  “Oh no,” Rae said.

  “Oh yes,” Sarah countered with a smile and raised her mug.

  Tomwell looked over and asked if Mel wanted to use the stage. She nodded back, looking a little nervous, but Tom just grinned as he moved across the room to stand in front of the small raised platform. He didn’t get up, just stood in front and, in a voice loud enough to cut across the room, said, “Ladies and gentlemen, a debut performance from one of our brave new heroes!”

  Cheers erupted from the nearby tables. Melissa stepped up onto the small platform, took a deep breath, and began to play.

  The melody was soft, familiar – Country Roads by John Denver – but with a tempo and lilt that somehow fit this world perfectly. The notes shimmered through the air, warm and wistful. Patrons began to hum along. Even some of the older adventurers joined in by the second verse.

  Alex leaned back, mug in hand, and just listened. For a brief moment, he forgot everything else – the exhaustion, the bruises, the impossible reality of this world. The song felt like a bridge between everything he’d known and everything ahead.

  When she finished, the room erupted into applause. Melissa curtsied with exaggerated grace, beaming.

  Tomwell leaned toward her as she returned to the table and with a charming wink, stage-whispered to her, “If the adventuring thing doesn’t work out, just let me know, Miss Bard.”

  She laughed, breathless, and rejoined the table amid cheers from the team.

  Jay raised his mug again. “To the bard!”

  Melissa grinned. “To surviving our first day without dying!”

  Rae snorted. “Low bar...”

  “So far…” Sarah said.

  Rae looked at her for a beat and then answered. “Right, so far. Then I guess I’ll drink to not dying!”

  Sarah smiled and, noticing that Alex seemed to be lost in thought she reached over and clinked her glass against his. “Good first day,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Alex said, staring into the amber of his ale. “Good first day.”

  The golden motes danced again at the edge of his vision. One drifted toward him, hovering over the foam. For a heartbeat, it glowed brighter – then winked out.

  Alex hesitated, then smiled faintly.

  Maybe it was the light. Maybe it wasn’t.

  Either way, he was starting to think there was more to this world than the cameras had ever shown.

  Tomwell keeps the Silver Gate like a promise instead of a business. Warm bread, cold ale, and a fire that never goes out. After days spent in the wilds, or worse, a gnarly dungeon run, it's the best thing in the world to come home to. Tom doesn’t do dungeon runs, but he knows exactly what we need when we come back from one.

  He listens more than he talks. Knows when to ask questions and when to just keep the mugs coming. He knows everyone and everything that happens around the village and always has the perfect advice when you need it.

  There’s a reason why the inn has become the cornerstone of both this village and the show.

  Personal Journal — Sam Turnth; Fighter, Steel Wings

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  Dungeon Inc. // RECRUIT DIV.

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  ? ━━━? THE STORY CONTINUES… ?━━━ ?