Dungeons Are Bad Business

Reginald did his best to feign bemusement as Luna carried him into the alley and set him down atop a dumpster.

“Whatever could you want to talk to me about?” he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. It was a losing – if not already lost – battle, but the [Core Spirit] didn’t mind if they figured him out. Heck, he even appreciated the glares the [Witches] gave him as he curled his mouth into a tiny smile.

It got harder and harder to find ways to amuse himself as he got older, so he always tried to take advantage of the little things when they cropped up.

“Did you know?” Luna asked, folding her arms across her chest. The pumpkins in her eyes sparkled, though Reginald couldn’t be certain of the underlying emotion responsible.

He had to choose his words carefully now. While he was rather confident that he knew what the [Pumpkin Witch] was referring to, he didn’t want to risk giving anything away that he shouldn’t. It didn’t do to answer one question but invite a dozen more.

“Did I know what?” he asked, letting his smile widen.

The other [Witch], the [Sister of the Plate] stepped forward and leaned down to look right into Reginald’s eyes. “Did you know about the…the…the…drat! I can’t say it!”

Well, that answered one of his questions, Reginald thought. If the [Witches] were bound by the vow of silence, then the yeti village was still around and Ildor’s magic yet held. Those were both good things, he decided.

“We came across a…across a…shoot, I see what you mean Calico,” Luna said. She frowned, thinking for a moment, then said, “The place where we found your reservoir. We had some questions about it.”

“And where exactly would that be?”

“Don’t be difficult,” Calico said. “I can see from your expression that you clearly know what we’re talking about. Why not just admit it? Do you enjoy causing us trouble?”

“That’s just how he is,” Luna said. “Vee is always complaining about it. Reginald enjoys causing trouble, so I think we can just safely assume he knows what we’re going to ask about and carry on from there. I don’t want to be here all day. I still have to get to the post office and tell my supervisor I’m back, and then do my route.”

Reginald whistled, which was no small feat for an entity lacking lips, teeth, or a tongue. “You’re still going to work today? I figured you’d be taking it easy on account of just getting back, not to mention your chase of the [Golemancer] last night. How’d that go, by the way? I’m surprised he escaped from you and Holly.”

“He’s trickier than we thought,” Luna said. “Has a skill that lets him teleport between mud puddles, which we hadn’t seen before. But don’t worry, we’ll get him eventually. Wait. Don’t try to change the subject, Reginald. Calico and I want to know why you set up that job, knowing what was out there.”

“The same reason anyone offers an adventuring job,” Reginald said. “I needed something and didn’t have the ability to get it myself. The fact that you two ended up being in the party that took it was a happy coincidence, I assure you. I haven’t been to the mountains myself for nearly half a millenia. I certainly didn’t expect you to find the yeti village, but it’s not a bad thing that you did. After all, as members of the city’s coven-to-be, its existence is something you two should be aware of. Especially you, Luna.”

“Why?”

A stray plume of smoke floated down the alley, and Reginald twisted himself back and forth. His smile faltered just a touch. It seemed that they weren’t as alone as the [Witches] thought they were.

“It’s somewhat difficult to explain. Every month, the moons wax and wane, right? From new to full and back again. People are the same. Ideas are the same. Cities are the same, for all that they look different and sometimes take different names. The new replaces the old, becomes old itself, is forgotten or abandoned, and then becomes new again at some distant point in the future. This is just that, but taking place on a different scale.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Luna said.

“You will in time. See, long before this city was called Oar’s Crest, it had a coven of [Witches],” Reginald said, speaking slowly. “Every city did in those days. Before any kid with a sword could summon flames or ice or lightning like they can today, it was wizards and witches who ventured out and brought light to darkness. No classes, no skills, no stats. Just magic.

“The coven protected people from things that existed outside the natural order. They gave advice, treated illnesses, helped with births, held hands for deaths, and did a thousand other little things that matter more than anyone might imagine. They were a force for good, even if they occasionally had to deal with one of their number who lost their way and fell to evil.

“But, as I’m sure you know, they were also jealous of their place in the world. They tried to stand against the tide of progress, rebelled against the gods, and were eventually crushed in the horrific nightmare of fiery meteors, poison gasses, and butcher’s fields that we now glibly call the ‘Coven Wars’. Something easy to write down and forget about. Of course, magic itself couldn’t be eradicated, but Gwalchmei and Pippa and some of their peers managed to create a workaround so that magic could be a part of their precious System. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. In the years after, with people taking so eagerly to classes, levels, and life under the System, the need for a coven vanished, and they all but disappeared.”

Another plume of smoke floated by, this one tinged with just a touch of danger. Watch yourself, it seemed to say.

Message received, Reginald thought, looking back towards the boarding house. “Now, I’m not saying that there’s any danger of the System going away or failing, but things that are old are indeed becoming new again. Perhaps it’s time for our city to have a coven again, eh? You already have three members, unless I’m mistaken.”

Something hot touched the back of Reginald’s brim, and the hat yelped. “I’m afraid that’s all I can say on the matter for now, ladies. My hands are tied. Well, metaphorically speaking anyways.”

Neither [Witch] spoke for a moment, and the hat could see the gears in Luna’s mind twirling.

However, it was Calico who spoke first. “That’s all well and good, but what’s the buried beast? We heard about that too. If cycles are starting to repeat themselves, is that something we need to worry about?”

“No,” Reginald said. “The buried beast is dead and gone, sealed away by a [Wizard] without peer. It’ll be another thousand years before its ghost even stirs.”

[Loyalty +1]

[Faith +1]

[Expository Prowess +1]

Well, unless Vee does something monumentally stupid, Reginald thought to himself as he fell silent. But that was the type of thing it was better not to say.

“Is there anything else you wanted to know? If not, we should probably head back. I bet Vee is losing his mind.”

“I have one last question before we go,” Luna said quietly. “It’s about the coven wars. Were you…were you there?”

The last traces of Reginald’s smile vanished.

Nothing more needed to be said after that.

Vee paced back and forth while he waited for Luna and Calico to bring Reginald back. They’d been talking for nearly fifteen minutes now, and he was itching to get to the dungeon and start the day’s work. They’d been lucky enough to earn a bit of a reprieve from paying Sacre back, but Vee couldn’t afford to slow down. The circuit drew nearer by the day, and the [Dungeon Master] was starting to feel a touch of dread regarding his prospects for having everything ready in time.

He coughed, glaring over at Sculla who was steadily puffing away on her pipe. The ogre didn’t notice, or maybe she just didn’t care if she did.

Vee tried to focus. On the day’s agenda was tracking down the twins who’d helped with the slimes during the first snowfalls of winter to see if they’d be interested in working with his light section to clean up the streets before the circuit started.

That’d have to wait until after the day’s runs, though. Vee had somehow misplaced the card they’d given him with their address, and he hoped to find it somewhere in his office. If not, he’d have to go try and find them, which didn’t sound like much fun at all.

After that, he had to pay Brice a visit and see if he could grab a couple of the dunpla figures to bring back to Torres, but the [Toymaker] wasn’t in his shop until well after the dungeon runs were underway, so that would have to wait until evening as well.

What could he get done before heading to Crestheart?

…Not really much of anything, as it turned out.

Kicking a small pebble with his right foot, Vee scowled down the alley and waited for Luna, Calico, and Reginald to reappear. What in Gawain’s name could they be yapping about?

He looked over at Janice, ultimately deciding against trying again to start a conversation. She was visibly seething, twirling her daggers in her hands. Vee idly wondered why she hadn’t accompanied Luna and Calico to go chat with Reginald. She seemed rather mercenary; maybe she just didn’t care now that the job was finished. A respectable mindset, if a bit difficult to be around.

He turned to Alforde, but the armorsoul was fixated on Slammy and trying to dislodge a tiny sliver of dried mud from the weapon’s head. No help for Vee’s boredom to be found there.

Fine. He’d just sit there with his thoughts until he got Reginald back.

It wouldn’t be too much longer, right?

Shifting in place, Vee lifted up the bottles he’d gotten and took a good look inside. The liquid was somewhere between black and blue, though occasionally he caught sight of silver flecks that seemed to vanish if he tried to look at them too long.

The bottles glowed like a bonfire when he tried to use [Third Sight] on them, and Vee quickly deactivated the skill. He swore, closing his eyes and rubbing them. Only after the afterimage was gone did he open his eyes once more.

Finally, Luna emerged from the alley with Reginald in her hand and Calico behind her.

Smiling, she handed the hat back and said, “Thanks, Vee. We got everything we needed. Now if you just give us the money for the job, we’ll be going.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that,” Vee said sheepishly. “Can I get it to you later?”

Luna looked at Calico and Janice, who both nodded. “That’s fine. Just don’t wait too long, okay. The guild has a rule that after three days of non-payment, adventurers are supposed to start charging interest.”

Vee did not need another accruing debt in his life, so he promised to have the payment to Luna by the end of the day.

“Alright, let’s head to Crestheart,” the [Dungeon Master] said. “While we walk, you can tell me how this reservoir works, okay?”

“Sure thing boss,” Reginald said. “It’s really easy, I promise.”

Main Character Sheets:

Vee Vales (Unchanged from last chapter):

Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 30

Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 23

Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 6

Might: 15

Wit: 36

Faith: 25

Adventurousness: 7

Ambition: 15

Plotting: 19

Charisma: 15

Devious Mind: 24

Leadership: 19

Guts: 14

Intimidating Presence: 10

Citizenship: 22

Public Relations: 8

Determination: 4

Persuasiveness: 5

Bargaining: 2

Patience: 1

Competitive Spirit: 1

<3<3 Infatuation <3<3

Alforde Armorsoul (Unchanged from last chapter):

Primary Class: Hammer Specialist (Self), Level 5

Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 17

Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 18

Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 10

Might: 55

Wit: 14

Faith: 28

Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9

Endurance: 29

Intimidating Presence: 12

Heart of a Champion: 13

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8

Vigilance: 9

Vanity: 2

Reginald:

Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ??

#$&Q#$)(@#$#@#$%!@#$##%#%()@#$**@@##

Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 41

Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 19

Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 10

Additional Class: Hyperthymesiac (Self), Level 5

Might: 1

Wit: 37

Faith: 17 (+1)

Ambition: 28

Greed: 24

Deceptiveness: 27

Manipulativeness: 41

$#&*!@!!: !!!

Loyalty: 47 (+1)

Patience: 9

Irritability: 22

Remorsefulness: 17

Expository Prowess: 23 (+1)

[#&%%%@%!#@__--#%]

Hop@#!! @#$@!@#

@#$@%%^

#4^5#*&_!+++#(@$#

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8