The Secrets of the Dungeon

You distract the guards, and I'll use the opening to get out!

Owowow... Curse this hip of mine.

Hey, are you all right? You look like you're having trouble walking.

Ah, most kind of you. It's my hip, you see. It acts up whenever I try to carry anything too heavy.

Maybe you should take the rest of the day off.

I only wish I could, but I still have work to do.

Is your job really that important?

I'm one of the palace cleaners. Not the worst of jobs, but it does involve a lot of bending and stooping.

How about I take over for you, just for this afternoon?

What a generous offer. Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?

Of course. I'll get the place sparkling clean in no time.

Ah, what it is to be young... Best keep your wits about you, though.

It's just cleaning, right? What could possibly go wrong?

There have been rumors flying around of ghosts wandering the halls. It may be an ill omen...

Ha! Ghosts?! This might be more fun than I thought.

Heh heh heh... You're either brave or foolish. Either way, you're a strange one, m'boy.

If you say so. Go home and get some rest, I'll clean up the palace, including any ghosts I happen to find.

Thank you so much...

Phew... I thought a little cleaning would be a breeze, but this place is huge. Looks like I'm almost finished. All that's left are the dungeons. All that talk about ghosts... I guess we'll find out if it's true soon enough.

There. Looks like we can call it a day. Huh? Someone's coming...

Phew, I'm taffin' exhausted. What do you think of that magic class, then?

Standards have been falling ever since that "incident," if you ask me.

Aye. No good investing money in something that can't produce results.

Might be time to start thinking about closing it down.

Should've shut it down right when the scandal happened, that's what I say.

Too right. This ain't a playground, why clutter up the place with kids?

Whoa, they don't have to rip into the magic teacher like that. She's a good person, and the kids are working hard, too...

Wh-What the?!

I'm pretty sure that wasn't just the walls creaking.

Don't tell me this place really is haunted? Naw, it can't be... Better check the dungeons just in case.

Yes! I got this one down solid. Let's try a more complicated spell next...

Not the explosive child prodigy again! Hey kid, what are you doing down here?

Yikes! You're that guy.

I thought this'd be a great hiding place...

What are you up to this time? I heard a weird noise earlier...

Noise? I didn't hear any noise. Must've been your imagination.

Come on, be honest. If you're not doing anything wrong, I won't snitch on you.

...All right. I feel like I can trust you. I just have one condition. You've got to keep this place secret from everyone else! Promise me, man-to-man?

Sure. I promise.

I've been practicing magic here, on the sly.

I thought it was something like that. You want to tell me why?

If I try it in class, the teacher gets mad, and there's monsters outside of town.

I know this is only a dungeon, but you can't go around breaking other people's stuff.

But I'm not breaking anything. The cells are enchanted to stop prisoners using spells to escape. I can practice all I want without worrying about causing any damage!

That's impressive, you've really thought this through. You're one smart kid.

Heh heh... It's kind of a family secret. I found the idea in one of Mum's old diaries.

Oh yeah, the magic teacher said she was best friends with your mom.

That's right! That teacher's not bad, but Mum was a bloomin' genius! My dream is to become a great mage someday, just like her.

No wonder you're always sneaking off to train on your own. That's a great dream, but it's okay to pace yourself and get better little by little.

Nope, can't do that. I have to shoot my way to the top of the world and restore Mum's reputation!

How do you mean?

It happened a few years ago. The palace got attacked by a monster. Mum died protecting all of us...

What a way to go...

It's not fair... Why did Mum have to be the only one that died? Even worse, since then people have been slagging her off, saying maybe she wasn't such a good mage after all! But if I can master her spells, they'll all see how awesome she was!

Huh, I guess that explains your habit of rushing into things. Try to rein it in a little, all right? Your teacher's worried.

Yeah... I know Teacher doesn't want me to get hurt, but, Waaargh!

What the heck is he doing?!

The palace guards'll be here on their patrol any minute! We shouldn't have stayed chit-chatting for so long... I need this place, I can't get chucked out now!

Urgh, this is my fault. Don't worry, I'll help you get out without getting caught.

How?

I'll distract the guards, keep them talking long enough for you to sneak away.

That'll work! Stealth's one of my specialties.

Okay. I'll meet up with you again later.

Hey, guys. Out on patrol, huh? Keep it up.

Just who are you? I don't think I've seen your face around these parts before...

I'm a cleaner. Just filling in for the old man, he's laid up with his hip.

The old fella is getting on in years... Hope it's nothing too serious.

Serious enough for him to send a replacement, anyhow.

I see... Been down in the dungeons, have you?

Yeah. Why do you ask?

Heard a commotion down there earlier. We were just going to go investigate, unless you know what it was?

Really? I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary...

Hmph. We'd better take a look.

No, wait! I remember now. I tripped over in the dungeons, sent my cleaning supplies everywhere.

You probably just heard the noise of everything getting knocked over.

Didn't sound much like a crash t'me...

You know what, I'm glad you're here. I noticed something suspicious when I was cleaning the second floor.

Suspicious?

Yeah, when I was out on the terrace...

Sounds worth looking into. Thanks for your report.

Phew.. Wait, you're still down here?!

I thought the jig was up, so I was going to use an explosion to cover my tracks.

Hey, did you forget what your teacher said about using magic responsibly?

When you do use it, you've got to go all the way! That's my motto.

You'll never be a truly great mage with that hot-headed attitude...

We'll see about that. All I've got to do is learn to wield stronger magic than anyone else... Looks like the coast is clear. Thanks for the help!

What have I gotten myself into with this kid... I have a feeling this won't be the last time he gets into trouble.