NOVEL NEXT Chapter XLV (45)- Questionable Motivations
Chapter XLV (45)- Questionable Motivations
Mort perched on his shoulder while Kizu sorted through all his supplies. The monkey appeared especially interested in the abundance of dried fruit Kizu had been ordering at meals throughout the last week. Kizu had never intended to eat it himself. He had been stockpiling it for Mort, and it had been good foresight, as he wasn’t certain if an owl monkey would be able to consume the potions he had stolen from the kitchens.
Feeling satisfied about his preparations. Kizu stuffed it all into a pack. The only equipment remaining was the wooden box holding the enchanted items.
He slipped the necklace over his head, the weight of it around his neck now familiar. The book he studied carefully. Every day the passages in the World Dungeon shifted. He decided to spend the rest of the evening studying the current layout. Once midnight arrived, he would take his leave.
While he studied, he kept Sojan in the wooden box. He still hadn’t decided whether or not to take the dagger. A bloodthirsty weapon could jeopardize the mission. But it was also the only real weapon he had. His offensive spells were still weaker than an average first year. And the dagger knew things as well.
What really ended up convincing him to bring the dagger, wasn’t its usefulness, but the thought of leaving it behind unsupervised. If he was gone for too long, faculty would undoubtedly search his dorm. And they would only find it if Basil didn’t root it out first. Better to do damage control prematurely and take it with him.
When he heard the distant chime of a clock hitting midnight, he packed up his book and took a deep breath. He could do this. Mort hummed supportively from his shoulder as he left the dorm behind.
Upon reaching the door into the dungeon, Kizu ducked under the stairs and began setting up his divination ritual in his usual little study nook. While he worked on drawing the complex ritual with a piece of chalk, Mort scampered off. Kizu wasn’t worried though, he knew Mort would be back before they needed to leave. Instead, he focused on the ritual, pinpointing and studying the location of his sister for almost an hour, trying to burn it into his mind while also flipping through his map book and doing his best to find the spot there too.
“Hope you don’t mind me crashing this party,” Basil said, panting as he rounded the corner. Kizu knew it was Basil from the smell of his perfume, though he looked unlike any previous version of himself. He had the blond hair and blue eyes of a Tainted but without the scales. Mort, the treacherous monkey, sat on his shoulder. Mort cocked his head and smiled at Kizu.
“You’re not coming,” Kizu said. He didn’t need anyone else with him. Especially after seeing what his friendship with Harvey got him. Better to go at it alone. Better for them, better for him.
“You aren’t going to get rid of us that easily.”
“I won’t get rid of you, but I don’t have the rations for more people, it would be silly to go now” Kizu explained. “Wait, us?”
Ione poked her head around the corner. “I’m very irritated with you, just so you know.”
Kizu rubbed his temples. Of course, Mort hadn't just stopped with retrieving Basil. “Why are you here?”
“I still want to learn more about the vampiric spawn. I told you this already, researching monsters, especially magical ones, increases my summoning versatility.”
“And it’s now or never,” Basil said. “You’re not sneaking off without us again. I already sent the headmaster a letter explaining your plans to break into the World Dungeon. You think you’ll get another chance after this with the faculty breathing down your neck?”
Kizu closed his eyes and let out a breath in frustration. “Why do you even want to go? Ione’s reasoning is insane, but it makes some sort of sense. What’s in this for you?” Kizu asked, defeated.
“Personal reasons,” Basil said flippantly. He flashed him a smile of perfect white teeth and winked at him.
“You are not dating my sister after this.”
Basil gave him a wounded look, as if offended by the objection. “Why are you so convinced I have some ulterior motive beyond wanting to help my dear friend?”
“What was your plan with the door?” Ione asked, examining it. “It looks locked tight.”
“Might as well just break it down now,” Kizu said with a sigh. “Won’t make much of a difference. Thanks to Basil, they’ll know where I am no matter what I do.”
Basil rolled his eyes. “No need to be so dramatic.”
The changeling put his hand against the doorknob. A click followed a moment later and it creaked open. Basil raised his hand, some flesh protruding from his palm in the shape of a key.
“Just a moment,” Ione said. “I want to summon something.”
She lazily snatched the chalk out of Kizu’s hand and began scribbling on the ground to the side of his divination ritual.
A gecko the size of a pony climbed out of her summoning circle. It was proportionally longer than a normal gecko, an extra two legs accompanying the additional length and slimy flabs of loose skin hanging over its sides. Ione flopped onto its back. Then she pulled its skin flaps over herself like a blanket. They appeared to secure her in place.
“Okay,” she said with a yawn. “Your monkey woke me up. I’m still exhausted. My summon will follow you down into the dungeon. Don’t wake me unless it’s an emergency or you found a cool magical creature.”
“Mort broke into the girls’ dorms to wake you up?”
“Eh, of course not. I almost never sleep there. I was under a bench in the cafeteria.”
Kizu asked her what she was talking about, but she ignored him. It took him a moment to realize she was already asleep.
“Well then,” Basil said cheerily. “What are we waiting for? Let’s head down. There’s a damsel in distress down there being held by bloodthirsty monsters.”