Chuck woke up the next morning, cleaned up, and got ready for the day.
1,740DP was added to his account after 100DP was sent to Gareth. His total was now 3,700DP. Not bad but not good. The razor stag needed 8,000DP, and the boss bear needed 20,000DP.
When he went into the kitchen, he found that the four employees of his dungeon were up and in the dining room.
"Crumb, let's start breakfast."
"Crumb make eggs!" The goblin shouted out excitedly.
Apparently, his scrambled eggs from last night were a success because both Lady Stone and Uncle Scooter nodded when they heard the goblin volunteer to make eggs.
"Just do one egg per person this morning. We will also have pancakes and bacon. Oh, and I will take care of Gareth's breakfast."
Crumb nodded and got started. Chuck kept an eye on him and pointed out a few things to help the goblin perfect the eggs. Since there wasn't anything too complicated, breakfast was done in 10 minutes and served with a glass of orange juice.
"Mmm, this food is really good." Said Lady Stone.
"All that is missing is some ale or mead." Uncle Scooter added.
Chuck wasn't a fan of alcohol with breakfast, but it was true that he lacked in the drink category. They would run out of orange juice tomorrow. He could buy more from the dungeon, but it tasted better and was cheaper when they could get things from the wild.
Since the vampire liked the sausages so much, Chuck began the preparations to make a lot more. That way he would be good for a week or two. As he did that, Crumb cleaned up the dishes.
When finished, Chuck considered his drink issue. The distillery and bar additions were on his wish list, but he would finish the defense of the first floor before that. So, they wouldn't appear for a while.
"What would you like us to do while we are here?" Lady Stone asked.
"Well… Once we get guests, you can take the orders and serve the food."
"Hmpf, Lady Stone. There is no need to serve others. It is beneath you. There must be something else." Said Uncle Scooter.
Chuck Shrugged. "Gareth is pretty much the manager of the dining hall. He will seat the guest and keep an eye on security. Crumb helps me in the kitchen. Other than that… Oh, my friend should show up today and he will be building a farm. You can work on the farm if you want."
It didn't really matter to Chuck. He knew his restaurant wouldn't be busy right away. He was already over staffed.
"Lady Stone. I can work in the fields and serve customers. We can find something else for you."
"Okay, what are you good at?" Chucked asked.
She thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. "I am good at drinking, gambling and arm wrestling."
Uncle Scooter's faced blushed as he lowered his head. After her response he really didn't know how to help her out anymore.
"Serving customers, it is." Chuck decided.
"It shouldn't be too bad my lady."
"Master Forest, I went back out last night and investigated a bit. In the northwest I found 4 dungeons. One at level 14, and ownerless one at level 5, another at level 7 and an ownerless dungeon at level 10. I marked them on this map. I believe you said your friend was coming from the northwest. On your way to meet him you may be able to clear a few of them out."
"Great, good work."
"There is another thing. I recognized the area we are in. There is a town not too far away. Maybe fifty miles at most. A have a few family members living there. If you like, I can send them a couple of reservations through my familiar if you are interested."
"Yes, yes, that is a great idea. No one knows we are here. We have to get the word out somehow."
"Then I will see to it later."
"Good, Good. I won't forget your help."
Chuck looked at the map and found that both the owner less dungeons were near each other. It would be possible to hit both on the way to meet Kyle. The level 7 dungeon was also somewhat nearby, depending on the timing, he may be able to do that as well. But right now, he had no interest in going near that level 14.
He was already making plans in his mind. If he picked up two dungeon cores, he should be able to add some room to the first floor so Kyle could set up a farm. It was also likely that Kyle would have a core or two. Everything should be able to work out.
Chuck then prepared sandwiches for lunch. Since only he and Crumb were heading out, he left the rest in the refrigerator. He had given Gareth privileges that allowed him to enter the kitchen and showed him how to reheat things with the oven. The three staying behind could take care of everything else from there.
"Alright Crumb, let's head out."
The chef and goblin left the dungeon heading northwest. Chuck had just talked to Kyle and found that he was also heading out.
It took an hour for the pair to reached the hills. They then took a slight detour west. After 10 minutes they came to a set of large double doors in the side of the hill. 10 small gray stars formed 1 large star.
This was the ownerless 10-star dungeon. Having the dungeon master dead mean that it would be a bit easier, but this was in no means a defenseless dungeon… or maybe it was, who knows, they hadn't entered yet.
Crumb drew his sword and the two entered the dungeon.
Torches hung along the wall. Unlike the previous dungeons Chuck had been in, it was not made from rough stone. The floor, walls and ceilings were actually made from carved stone that was laid like tile. They walked further through the hallway. After making a turn, they came to an intersection. They could take a large hallway to the left, or a narrow hallway to the right.
The large hallway seemed to be well traveled while the narrow one was covered with cobwebs.
"Let's try to the right." Chuck suggested in a whisper.
Crumb nodded and then headed to the narrow and rarely traveled path on the right. They quietly made their way down the path until they came to an obstacle.
A wooden door blocked off the passage. Crumb reach out and tried to turn the handle, but it wouldn't budge. The door was locked. There was a small metal grate on the door that allowed people to look through, there didn't appear to be anyone on the other side.
Chuck went forward and tried to press the door with his shoulder, hoping that it was just jammed. It wasn't, but the door did bend a little bit when he exerted his strength. He got an idea.
Who knows how long the dungeon master has been out of the picture. There was a good chance that most things in the dungeon had become worn down and hadn't been repaired in ages.
"Crumb, see if you can pry the door open with our sword. But do it quietly."
Crumb looked at his sword, not sure where to start. Chuck guided his sword and pushed the point in the place where the door met the frame. He suspected that the lock would be in the area as well. If they could break the lock, or the part of the door/frame that the lock was attached to, it should swing right open.
The goblin understood what Chuck was trying to do. He lowered his stance and pushed on the sword like a lever. He then let out a small grunt and…
*Snap*
The wood broke and let out a noise that rang through the hallway. The pair waited but didn't hear anyone rushing towards them. Taking a closer look at their work, a portion of the door frame was broken off.
Chuck could see the locking mechanism, but everything was still held in place. The door wouldn't open. The hole was six inches wide, more than enough to stick in the tip of his knife.
He spent a point of mana on bloodletting.
He pulled the knife out and saw the locking mechanism had a shallow cut made into its sturdy wooden lock. He stuck the knife back in and did it again. This time the cut went halfway through the lock.
Crumb stuck the tip of his sword in the opening and then pulled down with all his might.
*Crunch*
The locking mechanism broke. The door was still stuck shut, but with a few shoulder bumps, the broken lock dumped onto the ground and the door swung open.