by Wolfe Locke
Notification: Spell Resisted – Scan
Details: Due to your higher perception status, you have resisted the spell Scan. Details about your status page have been hidden.
"Runners. Collecting information on you. You’re the only one you know. The only one with wings, change makes them nervous," explained Dominic, tapping Luca on the back as he motioned with his eyes towards the small elven children weaving in and out of the crowds. "They relay information and orders to the many of the elven leaders, especially the ones unfriendly towards us, but not much to be done about that. They all do it. The shop keepers, the kids, all of them coming and going on everyday errands, they all keep tabs on us. Wouldn’t want the humans to step out of line.”
"Why would they need to keep track of us? Actually, why are they even here to begin with? Where do they come from?" asked Luca in confusion, uncomfortably noticing the intensity of the stares of some of the elves around him.
"I'm not really sure," admitted Dominic, "but I think it's far more complicated than it seems. I know at the least they act as what you might refer to as NPCs, but make no mistake they’re real, their blades kill, and they hold grudges. They generally resent our presence here."
To emphasize the point, one of the youths around them, an elven boy appearing to be the age of thirteen or fourteen, picked up a piece of the cobblestone road that had broken off and threw it. The rock hit Luca in the face, splitting his cheek open as the rock cut into his skin.
"Ouch, that hurt," complained Luca as he ripped away the blood. "Why didn’t I resist or dodge that one?"
Kevin snickered. "Because it’s a rock, dumbass. You're supposed to dodge it. Or wear something or use something to protect yourself from getting domed." The rest of the group nodded mockingly in agreement. Great, Luca complained to himself. I really do look every bit the part of a new guy.
As if to empathize with the point, another rock went sailing through the air and struck Luca. His response was immediate and unconscious as his black wings unfolded by themselves. A portal opened and a creature of shadow began to pull itself out from the nightmare plane. With an angry snarl, Luca turned to the boy, who had disappeared into the crowd, walking away.
Luca had to fight back the desire to lash out at the humans who were running away in fear. His blood pulsed with rage, feeling an impulse to harm them as they ran away, a desire that was hard to resist. Similar to the unconscious bite of an animal, the hackles of a dog, or gooseflesh on a man. The impulse was harder to resist when another rock hit him, splitting open his forehead as blood gushed freely.
He lost control, and the ground beneath him started to pulse with crimson energy, and the pavement turned dark black. Around the group, the crowd gasped and turned to look towards the portal. Every elf stopped moving, giving the group their undivided attention. The air had become rife with tension. The few humans mixed in with the crowd as well as the demi-humans quickly scattered, running away to safety.
"Aw Christ, now you've done it," complained Kevin, as he hit his gloved fist to the shield he was carrying, causing a sort of metallic hue to come over his skin, adding layers of protection as the angry crowd directed the rocks his way, each of the stones hitting him solidly across his body without doing any damage. Kevin gave a quick look at Luca and explained. "I’m using a tank skill if you’re wondering." Luca felt immediate relief, and the magic that opened the portal to the nightmare realm dissipated.
Unlike the rest of the party, the twins had some measure of protection granted to them due to their elven appearance, but they didn’t want to linger. Calmly they sped up their pace, anxious to leave this area behind them.
Dominic put a steadying hand on Luca’s shoulder, the devil-man trying to settle him down as he leaned in and whispered. "Don't do anything rash," he explained. "They're trying to provoke you. You do anything rash here, they'll have all the reasons by whatever covenant binds them, to strike out and kill you, and none of us is strong enough to fight them off or get you out of here alive if you do." With a quick motion of his hands, Dominic cast a spell that spread a shield over the group, explaining as he did, "The dwarf might be able to incite them to attack him, but the ability doesn’t prevent them from missing and hitting the rest of us."
Luca nodded in understanding, not liking it a bit, but understanding what Dominic meant. Looking at the crowd, Luca scanned every single face that gloated and mocked him, remembering every single person who threw the rocks. I’ll remember all of you, and your time will come. Luca promised this was a debt he would remember to repay.
Eventually, the rocks stopped coming as the crowd began to thin and eventually disperse. Happening long before the cobblestone road, they had been walking on transitioned into broken tiles, and those tiles gave way to dirt pathways. The stone buildings of superior masonry were replaced by the wood boards of a makeshift shantytown. I haven’t seen anything this bad since doing night strikes, Luca told himself, remembering the homeless cities he used to drop off supplies at during the holidays.
"What's all of this," asked Luca scanning his surroundings, seeing people mired in filth, much like the situation at the arrival platform, but worse. The sheer sprawl of the misery he saw made him uncomfortable, and it was everywhere. Even more so, it made him self-conscious, watching all the miserable people leaving their shacks and their hovels to come and take a look at him and the Guild leaders. "I thought we were heading towards your compound."
"This is where the magic happens," replied the Gemini twins, finally speaking. Clearly comfortable enough to let their guard down now that they were back among humans. "This is the human quarter, and our guild headquarters is in the middle of it."
"Oh, I was afraid you’d say that this is just about what I had imagined," Luca admitted, his voice trailing in embarrassment. "I had imagined it would be you know… had assumed it would be… well." His voice trailed off, embarrassed.
"A shit hole?" asked Kevin a knowing grin on his very bruised face. That’s good to know. He can still get hurt in that form, thought Luca as he examined Kevin’s face for a second before answering, deciding to be blunt.
"Yeah, a shit hole," replied Luca, "I haven't seen anything like this outside of pictures my mom used to show me from her time with the Peace Corps. She made a big deal of wanting to be thankful for what we had. "
"Cool story," replied Kevin as he pointed out the two-story compound in the middle of the quarter surrounded by wooden fencing. "That’s us over there."
"Kevin, don’t be a jerk," yelled Layla, hissing at the dwarf before looking towards Luca. "Where is your mom anyways? Just how old are you? Did you come here alone?" asked the twins, their voices comforting. Warning bells were going off in Luca’s head, but he didn't know why.
"I don't really like to talk about it. My parents passed away recently." His voice was heavy with faked emotion. It surprised him. He had never had to pretend his feelings before and certainly not sadness.
"Hey, no problem; we've all lost somebody. Let's go inside and get comfortable; I’d like you to meet everyone, and maybe when we're done, you might want to check out the memorial we’ve set up. It helps to mourn and remember the people we’ve lost," interjected Dominic, sensing Luca’s mood souring.
Chapter 11: Lengths and Bounds
As they approached the towering palisade that was the joint Guild Hall, the Gemini Twins went in first as Kevin held the door open for Luca and Dominic. Luca hesitated just outside of the building. His attention was caught by a pair of children who cautiously begged from the bottom of the steps leading into the Guild Hall, asking for assistance in the dungeon, a chance to leach a bit of experience and borrow some Sol for gear. Dominic had to explain to Luca that Sol was the currency of the dungeon.
"Leave it alone, Luca. Nothing good can come of it," commented Dominic from behind him, trying to coax him indoors.
"Can’t we help them somehow? Are most people like that?" asked Luca, his words sounding hollow. It was new for him to see the
relative squalor the rest of the humans were living in, hard to see people brought so low. Every single human he had seen as they walked, these children included, looked hungry and partially emaciated. If not for the magic of the World Dungeon, they would be starving.
Luca looked at Dominic, whose horned head shook in a no. "Things are complicated here, and I know you mean well, I do, but you have to see it from our perspective. We can’t waste the resources on anyone that can’t pull their weight on a dive.
A dungeon is a ruthless place. You’ll need to learn to be equally ruthless if you want to survive. I’m not a monster, though. If you want to give these people the shirt off your back, feel free to do so. Just understand no one will extend you the same compassion, and if you die, so does these people’s only real shot at surviving. You want to help. Get stronger."
Shifting his feet uncomfortably, Luca had nothing to say. He couldn’t find the words to fit the emotions he was experiencing. Maybe he’s right, but why does the thought of not doing anything right now to help these people make me feel so guilty. Luca looked around, seeing that few of the humans had anything that could pass as armor and fewer than that had weapons. The guild heads he had traveled with seemed to be the exception.
"I know that look, Luca, I’ve had the same one many times. Though not as much recently. That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, like being covered in dirt and you just need a shower. I know that feeling; it comes with being a leader. None of us get to be heroes. We get stuck, making the hard decisions no one else wants to make. It's our job to weigh the needs of the many, versus the needs of the few. One day when you're in my shoes, you’ll understand," comforted Dominic with a world-weary but empathic expression on his face.
"How can any of them survive living like this?" asked Luca, both concern and disgust lacing his voice. "How can they hope to survive? I’ve seen first hand what some of those monsters can do. This can’t be right." Dominic ignored the question, walking into the building with his head low. Either unwilling to answer or not knowing how to.
It was Kevin who begrudgingly responded, still holding the door open, "They’ve seen the monsters up close too, I’m sure. I’m sure of it. We all have. No one here gets a pass to sit. You’ve got to be tough and get tough in this world. Things aren’t fair. Not everyone starts with the same level of power or abilities and gear. For those who have nothing, they can either lie in the streets like these guys have been or go out and to cling whatever chance at the power they can get close to. That’s what you have to do if you want to advance. All of us are just poor bastards trying to survive with the hand we’ve been dealt.
"But," said Kevin as he let go of the door and walked down the stairs, staring directly at the children who had been begging. "Not everything is as it seems either. Sometimes you need to look for the truth and not blindly accept what you see." Without saying anything more, Kevin jumped up into the air and slammed his fist downwards into the ground, sending shocks of seismic waves outwards. Luca tried to interfere but was stopped by both of the twins, who had come back out to investigate what was taking so long.
"Just watch," commanded Keira, though her voice was more sympathetic than Luca expected, and though he wanted to rip himself free from her, he knew it was a mistake he couldn’t afford to make.
The air around the children seemed to ripple as they begged Luca to save them, and as if they were made of glass, cracks began to appear. With a shrill shattering sound, the image of beggar children was dispelled. Underneath the illusion, a panicked middle-aged man appeared. Sloppy-looking but well-nourished, this man briefly tried to explain himself before running away as fast as his legs could take him. No one bothered to chase after him.
"Is that why you told me not to bother?" asked Luca bashfully, seeing that the group had come back for him. "Because it was a trick? A con?"
"Honestly, no," admitted Layla. "Kevin just assumes everyone begging is a con man. But it wouldn’t be the first time that attitude has failed him and got somebody hurt. Like Dominic said, it's complicated. Just try not to be so naïve."
The Gemini twins and Dominic gave each other knowing glances. They had all been similar to him once, idealistic in the absence of harsh realism. This was something Luca would need to learn. No matter how powerful he might grow to be, if he died before he reached his peak, it wouldn’t matter. Even if Kevin was right, or at least right some of the time, his speech didn’t sit well with Luca, and Luca bristled uncomfortably, irritated by it. He could recognize a lecture when he heard one, and he hated being lectured.
Some things needed to be experienced personally. The dungeon, in that sense, was a great equalizer. Those who dared did. All who resided within the dungeon had learned firsthand what Luca still had yet to learn. Chase strength or die, no one within the World Dungeon could thrive by being weak. No one gets ahead by being content with where they are.
That Luca didn’t respond wasn’t lost on Kevin, who followed up on what he had been saying. "I'm not trying to be harsh, but you need to prepare yourself for how things are. We've been here since the beginning, and I’ve already seen hundreds of people die. I’ve seen just as many people I thought were solid burn out and say fuck it. Imagine seeing that, the light just sort of die in a friend's eye and have to watch them quit to lie down and die in the street like these guys. We’ve been grinding for months doing what we can just to keep each other and our guildmates alive. Once you start going with us on dungeon dives, you'll see what I mean. The dungeon doesn't care who you are, who you were, or how shitty your life might be. The weak die, that’s it."
"Alright, I get it, Kevin, thanks," Luca responded rudely, trying to cut off the conversation. That's not the kind of person he was. That's not how he was raised. Luca thought of his father and how the man had died saving him. The last thing he thought was that his father was weak. His father had been one of the strongest people he had ever known.
Layla spoke up. "That's enough, Kevin. No need to give away all the details before he joins. We don't want to scare him away now, do we? He can find out, as you like to say, just how shitty things are once he joins us.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. "No, I guess we don't. I wasn't trying to scare him. Just, well, you know how things are." He looked at Luca with a harshness that said what words didn’t, "You and me are done." Whether Luca realized it or not, it was a look that implied he had gained an enemy.
"Yes, we do know how things are," replied Keira in irritation as she pushed open the Guild Hall doors and ushered the rest of the group in. "Now, be quiet and behave, Kevin. Don’t talk out of turn on matters that aren’t your place to discuss."
Luca was thankful for an end to the conservation and followed behind Dominic as the Gemini twins entered first, followed by Kevin in the rear as they entered the rough-looking wooden palisade. The wood of the building appeared grey, warping slightly due to the sun, and from inside now that he was closer, he could hear loud, boisterous laughing and aggressive yelling. I guess this is it then, can’t back out now, he thought to himself as he entered the building.
From the entrance, Luca saw that the main floor doubled as the recreational center of both the Legends and Chaos guilds. Long tables divided the room as seated patrons drank deeply from frothing mugs of beer imported from the surface, or in an apparent parody of well-known brands. Trails of smoke wafted up from glowing embers around the billiards tables in the back.
Yet, for all the evidence of a lively social gathering, Luca was only met with silence. Every person in the room had stopped doing what they were doing. Whatever partying, camaraderie, and revelry had been going on instantly stopped, replaced by openly hostile looks directed his way as the entire room filled with guild members from each of the guilds edged their hands towards weapons, ready to attack him at a moment's notice. Luca’s blackened wings stirred all of them into action before being waved off by the guild leaders.
"As you can see," commented Dominic dryly as he passed through the doorway o
nto the guild floor, "Our guilds take security and the presence of strangers seriously."
Luca tried to pass through the same doorway but found his wings didn’t quite fit, eventually having to duck under the doorway to keep up with the group. Awkwardly trying to maneuver his wings, that even when folded up against his back had proved to be somewhat of a problem. His struggle elicited a round of ill-meaning laughs from everyone. His embarrassment broke the tension aimed at him, even as undercurrents of hostility could be felt, and suspicion of him clearly remained.
"Easy there, Luca," said Dominic with a laugh as he turned to help Luca get through the doorway before looking towards the joint membership of the guilds with the look of authority, signaling the lot of them to quiet down. "Everyone, this here is Luca. He’s going to be joining our little family. If you get the chance to make sure to go ahead and introduce yourselves sooner rather than later. We want him to feel at home in our guild family. He's a prospect, and we are very interested in him."
Towards the back of the room by the stairs leading up to the guild offices, a big man with a bushy trimmed beard wearing riot gear sat his beer down and shouted through his hands. "Hey, newbie. Chaos blows. Go big with Legends. I’ll take you out and power level you to ten if you join us in Legends. You can even be in my squad. I’m John the Younger."
A series of "Ooooohs" and "Boos" were shouted across the room. Dominic and the other guild heads rolled their eyes as all manner of formality broke down. To Luca, the whole affair seemed surreal but had normalcy to it that he craved. They’ve already convinced me, admitted Luca to himself. I want this.
A thin-looking woman in a plain-looking black jumpsuit that was tight on her body, hiding her features beneath protective armor, raised her head up from the table and spoke. "If you think you can keep up with Chaos, you can join my team. I'll do more than power level you to ten; I'll teach you how to use weapons, not just one of them, but most of them."