NOVEL NEXT Chapter 114 - Private Talk
When everyone steps through the gate, it falls closed behind them, and the delvers have a moment to themselves. Well… mostly.
“Right.” Simon says. “I am assuming this hallway leads to the Bossfight, so before we head deeper in, we should have a little chat.”
“That’s probably for the best.” Allea says, looking pointedly at her doppelganger. Replica shuffles uncomfortably under her gaze, but doesn’t speak up.
“Right.” Simon says when everyone looks back at him, somewhat uncomfortable. “It’s… nice to have you back with us?” he ventures, giving his friend an awkward smile.
“Wait…” “What do you mean?” the confusion in their party is great to observe, but Replica’s discomfort is making my metaphorical heart ache. It’s always hard seeing one of my Doppelgangers suffer when they are revealed. I understand why doppelgangers are the way they are, instinctively primed to not show their true face. It is an understandable defensive mechanism for a people like them, I just wish they could be themselves around my domain, at least.
“It’s nice to be back!” Allea responds. “Now if you will excuse me, I would love my weapon back and to rid myself of this dress before we proceed any further.”
“Oh, uhhh, right.” Replica says and begins to unsling the bow and quiver from her back. She begins handing them over to Allea who greedily extends her arm and takes possession of her equipment once more. “All right. Now for the dress!” Allea begins to divest herself of the fabric while everyone averts their gaze. They needn’t have bothered, though, Allea was wearing her full gear beneath the heavy fabric. Frankly, I’m surprised she could move at all wearing that, though to be entirely fair, her gear consisted of simple leather armor pieces over padded cloth, maximizing mobility. She was probably among the more mobile delvers I’ve ever had visiting, thinking back on it.
Now holding the dress in her hands and clothed in identical garb to the doppelganger standing in front of her, Allea released a huge sigh. Everyone else was looking at the two of them in confusion still, except for Simon.
“Right, it's good that you are more comfortable now. Do we… uhhh… need that?” he said and indicated the dress while looking at the disarmed Allea next to him. Replica looked startled for a second and then went: “Oh, uh, not really? But, uhm, maybe Siegfried would appreciate it if, uhmmm, we remained in character?” “This character is an inquisition agent, supposedly.” the real Allea responded with a huff. “I’m sure swapping to ranger gear is not too out of character.”
That is very fair, I must admit. Of course she wouldn’t stick to wearing the restrictive and impractical gown on a trip to the forest. Replica relented, sensing my approval, and everyone went quiet for a moment.
Using the opportunity, Simon spoke up again.
“Speaking of Inquisition agents.” He turned to Ellie and fixed her with a piercing gaze. “You had an odd reaction on stage there, Ellie. Mind elaborating what that is about?” Ellie was startled, like a deer in the headlight. I could see the internal struggle play out on her face, before she sighed and deflated a little.
“Right. I, uhhh, I will explain, I suppose. But, uhm… What about her?” she asked feebly, pointing at Replica. “Should we really be having this conversation while a monster is in our midst? Looking like one of your friends no less?”
“I can change!” Replica said hurriedly. “Or leave. I don’t want to be a bother, really!”
“No, you can stay as you are.” Allea said in a tone that brooked no argument. “While it's a bit weird seeing myself like that, I don’t mind. Let’s hear this explanation first.”
Everyone focused on Ellie once more, and she squirmed under the attention.
“Well then, I, uhhh, I guess. Ughh, I didn’t think this would be that hard. I’ll just come out and say it then: I am part of the Inquisition. Umm… So are these two.” She indicates the other two bards. “As are most students of the academy. And now that you know it, I have to tell you that spreading this information will have serious repercussions and so on and so forth. You can probably imagine but, uhm… yeah. I have to say it anyway. That being said, you are gonna have to take my word for it, there isn’t some identifier or badge we carry around… that would be stupid.”
That revelation leaves everyone in a daze for a second. Even I had not expected that, to be honest.
“Right, and since you now know, I guess I’ll get to the second point immediately. This dungeon run was organized by the Inquisition to, well, interview you? More or less. On top of
training, that is. I was tasked with presenting you with a quest if I deemed you competent, so I will, but maybe let's wait until after the bossfight.”
So saying, she sets off, the other two bards giving apologetic smiles and going after her, leaving a stunned group of adventurers behind… plus a Replica.
“Right… Well, that wasn’t what I expected, but it seems too unbelievable of a lie to just be something she made up, to be honest. I still don’t know if I trust her, but I suppose we should work together to take down the boss and then hear her out.” Simon says, recovering first. The others agree and begin heading down the hallway.