Civilization smelled like unwashed armpits and stale ale, but to me, it smelled like victory.
We pushed through the heavy oak doors of the Adventurer's Guild, leaving the blinding sunlight of the surface behind for the dim, candle-lit chaos of the main hall. It was loud. Dozens of people in mismatched armor were shouting, drinking, and arguing over maps. It was a logistical nightmare. It was perfect.
"Table," I said, scanning the room with the desperate intensity of a man who hasn't sat on a cushioned surface in twenty-four hours. "We need a table. And a menu. And a waiter who understands the concept of 'expedited service'."
Seraphina Vane trailed behind me. For the first time, she looked small. In the dungeon, amidst mud and goblins, her tattered armor and wild, dirty hair made her look like a berserker. Here, surrounded by polished breastplates and velvet capes, she just looked… homeless.
She pulled her cloak tight around her shoulders, hiding the duct-taped sections of her breastplate. "Arthur," she whispered, her usual arrogance dialed down to a murmur. "Everyone is staring."
I adjusted my glasses. They were smeared with slime from the Rotting King. "They are staring because we just walked out of the Babel Dungeon looking like we wrestled a garbage truck. Ignored them. Focus on the objective: Food."
I marched toward the reception counter. A woman with bored eyes and pointed ears—an elf, obviously—didn't even look up from her ledger.
"Name?" she droned.
"Arthur Pendergast. And Seraphina Vane."
The elf paused. She looked up. Then the chatter in the hall died down. It wasn't a slow fade; it was an abrupt silence, like someone had pulled the plug on a jukebox.
"Vane?" a voice boomed from the back of the room. "As in the Vane? The catastrophe in silver?"
Sera flinched. She shrank behind me, gripping the back of my ruined suit jacket.
"Ignore the metrics," I muttered to her. "They are just noise."
I placed a heavy sack on the counter. It landed with a wet thud.
"Loot from Floor Five," I told the receptionist. "Boss drop included. I'd like to liquidate these assets immediately for gold. We have cash flow issues."
The elf blinked. "Floor Five? With just two people? And… is that a bag of trash?"
"It is a high-density resource allocation," I corrected. "Just weigh it."