Nate’s crossbow bolt sped through the air and pierced into the layered wooden armor of the lead centaur. When they did the layers on the armor, they would switch up the direction of the wood grains, which was designed to foul any arrowheads that might pierce them.

  The two centaurs, with their bows, were able to fire far faster than Nate could. Their initial volley of arrows, surprisingly accurate given their initial disorientation, whizzed past Nate’s head, embedding themselves in the stone walls behind him. The centaurs, clearly experienced warriors despite their initial surprise, reacted with practiced speed, drawing one fresh arrow after another from their quivers.

  Nate did his best to return fire with his crossbow, sending qi into the charging mark after each shot. It still took a couple of seconds, but he had gotten enough practice with the weapon that he had long since gotten the method down to an automatic maneuver.

  Aura, meanwhile, unleashed a torrent of icy blasts, freezing the ground beneath the centaurs' hooves, further hindering their movement.

  “This is… annoying,” Nate admitted, dodging a glancing blow from an arrow. “I didn’t even think to check for enemies camped out around the portal. Usually, they’re eager to leave the area.”

  “This is part of why I wanted to hunt here this time,” Aura explained, her icy breath forming a visible cloud in the damp air of the dungeon. “The centaurs have been acting odd for the last few days. They are not mindless animals, but the beast side of them definitely had more control over their actions for a long time. Recently, it seems as though all the discipline and training they go through has begun to reemerge.”

  “Is that even possible?” He asked, throwing himself to the side as the third centaur got involved in the fray. “I thought we decided that it was the portals messing with their minds.”

  The third centaur, wielding his frankly oversized spear, charged towards Nate. The sheer length of both the shaft and the bladed head made it reach Nate unexpectedly and caused him to throw himself to the side. The centaur had thrust the spear, letting the long shaft slide between his outstretched hand, adding an additional two feet to the attack before he pulled it back.

  Nate debated drawing his kukris, but decided against it. Aura was working to freeze the ground, and that ice worked against him just as much as it did the trumped-up horsemen. Instead, he decided to stay with his crossbow and sent another bolt tearing through the air at them.

  “Their armor is surprisingly tough,” Nate grunted, climbing back to his feet.

  Aura unleashed another icy blast, further freezing the ground beneath the centaurs’ hooves. Before, the ice had been thick enough to hold Nate’s weight, and now it would hold their weight as well without cracking. The centaur with the spear stumbled, momentarily losing his traction.

  Nate, seizing the opportunity, darted forward, dodging a clumsy swipe of the centaur's spear. He reached back and in one smooth movement unsheathed his right kukri, then brought it up and down in a swift, hard motion, aiming for the spot along the neck that had suddenly become vulnerable. The blade sliced along the rounded top edge of the wood armor, drawing a gush of crimson. The centaur let out a gurgle of pain and stumbled backward, clutching at the pulsing wound around his throat.

  As the wounded centaur fell to the ground, bleeding out, the remaining two warriors shifted their attention to Nate. They resumed their coordinated attack, unleashing a second barrage of arrows on him. Nate, however, moved with a practice born from countless dangerous encounters, dodging their arrows as he jumped away from the body.

  ***

  The night had been stressful, but they had managed to gather a few rainbow cores for Aura, along with other items. More importantly, however, the experience inside had given them both a couple of ideas for traps they could work on and test out. Once they had made it out of the portal room, they had begun to see the actual dungeon and the traps.

  Due to how large the size of each room was, they couldn’t attack from the walls, as any centaur with a smidgen of brains would avoid getting close to them. That left the high ceilings and floors.

  It was the same problem they had always faced with the dungeon. The difference now was that they had seen firsthand how the centaurs reacted to the traps they had prepared for them. The soon-to-be-finished upgraded Dungeon Core would help matters as it would naturally change their design and placements some. At the second level, it wouldn’t be a great amount, but on these trickier dungeons, every bit helped.

  Nate explained all of what they had learned to Angie and Lindsay while breakfast was being made, taking the time to also make notes on all of their ideas for later. The day was going to be a busy one as they needed to get the Overlander brought over to a mechanic, or someone who could do bodywork. The door needed a few finishing touches to get out the dings that the dwarves had not been able to fix, as they had mainly been worried about straightening it. Once that was done, they needed to install the arbalests on the roof.

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  They had been talking and came to a decision. When they left Philadelphia, they would be doing it on their own. No more guards or parties. They made the trip more interesting, and less lonely, but they also traveled at a speed far slower than what they were capable of.

  So, they would depend on the arbalests. Since there were three people in the Overlander, there were always two of them who could climb out and man them. Moreover, if they came across a serious pinch, then Nate could store the RV while everyone else went into a dungeon and he hopped on a dirtbike with Mika around his neck.

  It wasn’t a perfect plan, as it would reveal their capabilities, but this trip to Philly had opened their eyes. The difference in speed between them traveling alone and in a group had been far more extreme than they had initially guessed it would be. Due in large part because of the trailers that were carrying all of their catches.

  They didn’t particularly want to modify their temporary home in this manner, but it was needed if they wanted to continue.

  First, they needed to find a place that would do the work and drop off the Overlander along with two of the bandit trucks. The arbalests would be salvaged from them.

  After that, they would sell those two vehicles, somewhere… Likely at the Licensing Bureau or the Merchant Guild. The second was the more likely option at the moment, as they still needed to visit the guild and had already spoken with the bureau.

  There were a few things that they needed to prepare first, namely discreetly removing the two bandit vehicles from storage. They also needed to remove everything they were going to sell; however, those were smaller and could be done inside the RV. In a pinch, they could also say they already had storage bracelets as well for the smaller items. It wouldn’t be ideal, as their first backup plan, but it was an option, nonetheless.

  If they had to go that far just to sell a few herbs and other items, then their going to the auction in a few days would be nearly pointless. Well, not entirely, there was still a lot they wanted to buy for back home.

  Ostensibly, the goal of this trip was for the three of them to gain experience in different ways. For Angie, that meant dealing with the Merchant Guild and acting as a proper merchant whenever possible. As for Lindsay and Nate, well, their roles were a little less defined. Lindsay didn’t need to leave home to learn her family’s craft, but she and Angie were stuck together.

  Then there was Nate… Strictly speaking, he was the real reason this trip had happened in the first place. Neither of the girls knew what he had said or promised to their parents, only that after meeting with them, they had agreed to modify one of the RVs into the Overlander rig. The inclusion of the two girls had come later as originally it was only going to be him and Aura going. Not that he was complaining about the company or anything.

  Regardless of the actual goals behind the trip, Nate saw no reason not to buy items for back home if possible. The different mounted arbalests and ballistae that could be used on the wall or their vehicles, and if possible, a storage bracelet or two, would be nice.

  If they were going to buy those, then they should also probably buy the materials to make them from scratch, since that was what the city back home truly lacked. And possibly the plans to actually construct them as well.

  “What are you thinking about?” Angie asked, holding Mika in her lap with a map partially opened across the weasel’s back. “Turn here,” She told Lindsay.

  “Just thinking about the different things we can buy for back home is all.” He told them, before explaining his actual thoughts, leaning between the seats to peer at the approaching guild building. “That thing is massive. I thought the one in Richmond was large, but this one is easily three times its size.”

  “Indeed, it is rather intimidating,” Angie muttered, carefully folding the map up and sticking it in the glove-box.

  Wordlessly, Lindsay nodded as she pulled into the covered parking lot and shut off the engine. “Shall we?”

  Each of them grabbed a leather bag filled with herbs, both from the dungeon and their own picking efforts, and exited the Overlander. Just like the guild building in Richmond, this one also had a short tunnel connecting the parking garage to the building proper. At its exit, there was a notice pasted to the door.

  ‘Attention all Merchants: It has come to our attention that structures containing dungeon-like interiors have begun appearing around the portals in certain dimensional zones. At this time, we have confirmed sightings of eighteen twenty, with additional information on eleven of those. Any information that can be provided will be handsomely rewarded upon confirmation of its truthful nature. See one of the receptionists should you possess information of this nature.’

  The three shared a look. “We could tell them about the dungeon back home and a few of the others…” Lindsay said somewhat hesitantly.

  Nate nodded readily. “I don’t see a problem with that. Maybe they can help spread the word that the dungeons are good things and shouldn’t be destroyed.”

  Aura huffed derisively. “I may not have spent years among the people of your world, but even I can tell that you are giving them too much credit on that one.”

  He hung his head and followed them into the building. There was nothing to say, as she was right.

  The group headed to the first open counter they spotted. Several of the other receptionists even had short lines while this one was waiting completely empty. The reason why soon became clear as they got closer to the counter.

  The other receptionists were pretty women, while the one before them was a buff, hulking male. No matter who you were, most people would prefer the pretty women. Only odd new people such as themselves, or those who simply didn’t care, would enter the line of a receptionist with biceps larger than their heads.

  In their case, they were a little bit of all three, and so they readily approached him without a care.

  “How can I help you three today?” The large man asked.

  The Merchant Guild was Angie’s domain, and she took the lead. With a smile, she stepped forward. “Hi, we need to sell a few varieties of herbs, of which we have a decent amount. Then we need information on the auction that is supposed to be taking place in a couple of days. First though, we saw the poster on the door and have information on the dungeons. The first one to ever appear was near our city in Colorado.”

  The man’s eyebrows rose, shifting between skeptical and straight-up disbelief.

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