This could not have happened at a better time… most of us… on some stupid drugs high off our asses and the cops show up.

"Are all of you doing ok? You all seem kind of out of it." The Elf asked.

"No… we mistakenly took a very potent 'hangover' cure." Root said.

"Ah…. I've heard of that one in this town and a few others… honestly if it was up to me it would be illegal… the disruption it has caused is worse than a night at the Tavern in most cases." The Elf said.

"So I take it you are not going to leave us alone?" Orlo asked.

"Apologies but no, we have questions for your group." The Elf said.

"Wait, are you Seekers correct?" I asked l.

I got a nod for affirmation.

"Please say that out loud." Orlo said

"We are indeed Seekers for the Empire of Cinderwalk." He said.

"Ok just had to make sure…" Orlo said a bit deflated.

"Are you allowed to question us when we might not be in all of our facilities?" I asked, let's see them come up with a defense for that.

"It is left within our purview to determine if we can trust someone's answers. I will also add that as you have come up with that question, it convinces me that yes you are in a clear enough mind set." The Elf said.

I deflated even more than Orlo at those words.

"Nicole, please shut up." Coming from Root as a whisper that only myself and Turnip could hear.

"So Nicole, do you mind helping me understand why a human is deep within the wilderness of the Cinderwalk Empire at such a low level?" The Elf asked.

Fuck me he has good hearing.

Everyone froze at that question, and not just our group but the two seekers as well. I could feel a tension in the air of impending violence.

"Well I got a new class and needed to level it." I said.

That broke our side's tension and the seekers then relaxed as well.

"In the deep wilderness of Cinderwalk?" He asked.

"Yes" I said, he certainly knew something but I felt he needed to prove it.

"How did you get this new class?" He asked.

"Through repeated use of a special action." I said.

"Not through a dungeon correct?" He asked.

"I did not get my current class MacTinker through a dungeon." I said.

That gave him pause, he was expecting a lie. I used Identify him with just a little bit of mana.

Confused Elf (Truth watcher level ????)

Confused Cervine (Bloodhound Level ?? 28)

Ah so that was the Centaur race, Cervine.

And the Elf… four question marks? If I understood Iser's explanation of evolutionary stages that would mean 4 classes with the highest possible being 40, then 30, then 20, then 10. Or 100 levels combined assuming they had not selected a 5th class to start the chain all over again.

"Please refrain from using magic or mana during this questioning." The Cervine said.

Well that answered that question, I had one last option and I started to push mana into my hand.

"Seeing as how we did not inform you of that requirement beforehand we will let it slide." The Elf said, that caused the tension to build again.

The two seekers did not seem to react to my internal mana Manipulation however. If things went bad all I would do is push mana into my limbs and run.

"So why did you come to this area of the Cinderwalk Empire?" He then asked.

Ahhh at that point I think I got it. He could only test my truthfulness if he knew the right questions to ask. He was probing for a way to associate me with the dungeon. I doubt he and his partner had time to go all the way to the town, find the dungeon remains and come back. That took our group over a week by this point and we only bumped into them 4 days ago. Infact now I wondered if that arora light show that we missed could be caused by other things.

"Please answer my previous question." He said.

I was thinking too much. Fuck…

"It was by accident, I did not know I would end up here." I said.

He took a moment to process that and came back even more confused and startled. He was expecting lies and subterfuge but his ability was telling him I was honest.

"How did you get here?" He asked.

"I walked." I said.

That earned a quiet chuckle from him.

"Let me rephrase that, how did you get to the Pyrowalk Empire." He asked.

Fuck… don't help him.

"I was unknowingly transported here after a misunderstanding of a prompt." I said.

Again completely taken aback by my response.

Well the Riftwalker stuff was going to come out but at least I might be able to divert their attention away from the dungeon.

"Did you lie to the Cervine behind me before about your identity?" He asked.

"Yes, the woman's lap I am sitting in is not my cousin." I said.

The Elf man in front of us blinked in confusion trying to process what I just said. The Cervine Seeker Alser seemed maybe a bit relieved.

"You are the same woman I talked to on the road 4 days ago, yes?" Seeker Alder asked.

"Yes" I said.

"You seemed younger then…" he said in confusion.

"I spent last night drinking way too much and am now very hungover…" I said and hoped he took the explanation.

"Why did you hide your identity?" The Elf asked, trying to get back on tropic.

I pulled up my stats and leveled up my cursing to D.

"Because I am not from around here. My current situation is both confusing and complex." I said in response.

I knew what the next question was going to be and I needed it to hit the two of them like a wrecking ball.

"Can you please tell me where you are from?" The Elf man asked.

"Sure" I said in common.

"Northern Virginia, United States of America, North American Continent, Planet Earth, Sol System" I said, in English.

"I am not familiar with that dialect, would you please translate it to a common language?" The Elf man asked initially. I suspect he was unfazed by this kind of tactic as it might be a common method to sidestep questioning.

"I can not." I said.

He paused for a moment.

"I'm sorry, did you say you are unable to translate your home location to common?" He asked.

"Yes." I said in reply.

"Can you translate it into any other languages?" He asked now visibility confused.

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"No" I said.

"Can you give an explanation as to why you cannot translate it?" He asked also starting to get frustrated.

"Yes" I said.

"Please elaborate." He said after a deep breath.

"The proper nouns used in my language do not have any associated words to my knowledge in any native languages on Dirt." I said.

Both the Seekers paused as they processed my explanation… I think it took them several attempts each.

"You are saying your native language is not found on Dirt?" He asked, going from frustrated to now completely dumbfounded.

"Yes" I said.

He looked back at his Cervine partner who looked equally as shocked.

"Who are you?... What are you?..." The Cervine asked dumbfounded.

"Damnit… I am a Riftwalker, and from what I understand that can make things much more complicated. I don't handle stress very well." I said.

A moment of pause.

"Well I was not expecting that…" said the Cervine.

"Are you going to keep questioning our friend here? I think you already realized why she was attempting to keep a low profile." Root said.

"I… no… I apologize for the intrusion. While your origin is remarkable the Empire does not single out individuals due to unique circumstances." He said.

"I thank you for your time." He said then the two left.

After several minutes of additional tense silence with both Root and Turnip concentrating. Root then went to the door and checked it.

"We are clear outside, Iser please check the room for enchantments." He said.

After a moment of looking around and concentrating. "Nothing" they whispered.

"Keep the talk at a whisper and no one outside of this room will hear." Lluvia said.

"Fuck me… that absolutely sucked." I said, a little too loudly apparently.

I got up and started to pace around our small room.

"Nicole, are you going to be ok?" Root asked.

"I don't know… I don't fucking know…" I said as tears started to stream down my cheeks. I was starting to breathe faster as well… definitely a panic attack…

"You handled that far better than anyone would have expected." Orlo said.

"I know and it was razor thin… no smaller. The only reason why he could not ask directly was because they have only heard rumors." I said.

"Rumors of what?" Iser asked.

"Rumors of a large shift of mana or lay lines or whatever… they didn't witness it, they have no proof that a dungeon was destroyed." I whispered.

"But couldn't they just ask you right out?" Iser said.

"I don't know, maybe… it could be a bad assumption on my part but I don't think it is in a 'Seekers' nature to arbitrarily determine the fate of another." I said in reply.

I huddled in the corner for a moment then kind of just slid down the wall and tucked my legs against my chest.

"I… I don't know if I can keep this up… If I had said the wrong words… well I don't want to think about it." I continued.

"Anyone have a bucket I'm about to vomit." I said.

We didn't have time to get a bucket… luckily I didn't have too much in my stomach except for water.

"Let's get you to bed and we’ll get this cleaned up. Lluvia and Orlo can you keep an eye on her? The rest of us can be up in a bit and we can start a rotation." Root said.

I was led up stairs to my room where I kind of just collapsed onto the bed. I then felt Lluvia press in behind me… it felt nice.

"I can keep an eye from outside if you would like a bit of privacy." Orlo said.

"No please stay… this might sound silly but can you join us on the bed… I just want company…" I asked.

"Sure, I used to do this with my sisters… I get it." They said, and laid down in front of me, there back pressed up against me.

I was sandwiched between two friends, I felt safe.

"I could have died today… that part was not what scares me though… you all would have defended me and eventually would be killed for that as well… I'm fine with my own mortality in some ways but that could have inadvertently led to your own deaths and that is eating me up inside." I said between sniffs of my nose.

"You can't think of it like that." Orlo said to my surprise, I figured it would be Lluvia to first say something.

"You need to acknowledge then move on. Just letting your mind focus on what could have been… well that will make you crazy." They said.

"Ah… I'm already crazy…" I said in response with a small chuckle.

"I know you like to joke but you are not. You sidestepped and diverted two individuals that have years of training in interrogation. You did that while high as an eagle, sitting on my lap." Lluvia said.

"I know and that's insane… one wrong word and off with my head… ok maybe a bit more due process… but the point still stands… and… and I did it without a single skill in subterfuge… it did help I was able to smack them upside the head with a world changing bit of news." I said, starting to giggle.

"Get some sleep, it's been an emotional day, and You've been high all morning and it's barely past Noon. One of us will be with you at all times while you feel you need it." Orlo said.

"Thank you… all of you… I love you all like family." I said and squeezed arms or hands.

"The sentiment is very much appreciated and the feeling is mutual, now please sleep." Orlo said.

I let myself relax and eventually felt the very early stages of sleep take me.

I woke up an unknown time later with no fluffy bird person in front of me. Lluvia's soft body was replaced by a rather scaley and very warm one. Me waking up must have caused Iser to also wake up.

"You are awake, also I apologize for laying down with you. Everyone else was clearly doing it and you seemed more comfortable because of it." They said.

"It's no problem and it did help so thank you. Also you are actually nice and warm…" I said.

"Any idea what time it is?" I asked.

"Maybe 2 hours after sunset. Dinner should still be available from the kitchen." Iser said.

"Yes, food and a little bit of wine." I said.

"Ah yes that reminds me, none of us are allowed alcohol or medicines for the time being. At least nothing that will affect cognitive facilities for a while." Iser said.

"Who's idea?" I asked.

"My idea… Group vote… too much risk with the Seekers around."

"Well that makes things boring." I said tiredly.

"Practice your skills then or experiment with magic… ok don't experiment with magic too much… and I just remembered we have requested you try to not use that shaping ability unless you absolutely have to… You are worse than a nest full of hatchlings, every time you experiment it causes some sort of minor catastrophe." Iser sort of rambled on.

I pulled up my stats to get an idea of where I was currently at.

Name: Nicole Silberschmidt

Race: Human (Riftwalker)

First Class: MacTinker

First Class Level: 8

Age: 29

Health: 120

Stamina: 120

Mana: 120

Resilients: 30

Flexibility: 20

Magic: 30

Skills. Rank

Class Skills(5/5)

Eyedentify C - 26%

Wondering Pather C - 80%

Mana Explosives C - 38%

Bait and Switch. F - 100%

Tinker F - 70%

General Skills (4/5)

Mana Manipulation B - 14%

Homemaking. E - 40%

Cursing. D - 8%

Shape Alteration D - 43%

MacTinker Class points: 4

General Class Points: 4

Hmm I had not considered that and ignored all my notifications over the past few hours. My Bait and Switch skill was a form of subterfuge after all.

"I honestly don't disagree with that last statement. It made me good at testing, however when testing with a computer I can always reset it to a known state." I said.

After a moment of thinking.

"I'm going to list out my skills and ranks. Let's see if we can focus on something." I said, so I listed the ranks of each skill.

"I'm deciding between recommending Shape Alteration, and Tinker. I am worried about you using either for different reasons." They said.

"Ah yes more potential damage to my body through misunderstanding, or accidentally blowing myself up with a new gadget." I said.

"I was not going to describe it like that but yes…" they said.

"I think minor surface alterations like I have done in the past would be safe enough. As long as I don't experiment past that… or if I do I take it very slow." I said.

"Yes, less likely for collateral damage that way. Admittedly the tinkering would be a nice addition for the group. We just have to make sure you only work on 'safe' things." They said.

"Well we can figure that out tomorrow, if I think too much on the subject I am going to want to try." I added.

We got up and went down to the tavern area and got some dinner. After our bellies were filled we headed back up stairs.

"Iser I have a very embarrassing question to ask you." I said.

"Sure ask, I have several for you." They said.

"Are you a man or a woman?" I asked.

"Ah… yes sexual dichotomy in my race is different than in yours. I am male is this why you have been referring to me as 'they'? The rest of the group had switched to it as well after you joined." He said.

"Not sure about the rest of the group but I could not tell…" I said embarrassed.

"That is understandable, Kobolts males and females smell differently. We also have pheromones that are linked to some of the baser emotions." He said.

"I'm honestly not surprised by the smell aspect." I said.

"Yes… everyone here smells so bland most of the time." He said.

"Yeah well I doubt we have the same glands to produce said smells." I replied back.

"Ok, my turn… what was a computer used for?" He asked.

"I knew you were going to ask." I said with a smile.

"At a very high level…. A mix of libraries for information archives. As well as a room full of accountants, or maybe mathematicians would fit better. And all pressed into something that could sit on a table." I said.

"That… that sounds impressive. You used this daily?" He asked.

"I have… had several for different uses. Unfortunately trying to describe those uses requires more background knowledge." I said.

"Will you teach us how to construct a computer?" He asked.

"Yes, I really really want to… it will take time, many years in fact. I also don't have all the information, I can help speed up the process but we will need to fill in gaps." I said.

"Let's start now then!" He said excitedly.

"Too complex, we need help and we need space. But I will leave you with this. It is all based around a concept called base 2 mathematics, where I am from it is called binary." I said.

"I believe it is how numbers are counted correctly? Some species like mine count from 0 to 7, you humans use 0 to 9." He said.

"Yes but the principal is this, 0 and 1. Off and on respectively." I said.

"It is not widely used but I am familiar with it. Are you saying computers use base 2 for everything?" He asked.

"Yes, as to how… it really gets nasty unfortunately. Like I said I would like a small team… and a month just to go over the core concepts…" I said.

"I understand, I think." He said.

"My turn I guess… and yes it's going to be another weird one and please be honest… if you are uncomfortable at all answering the question." I said, he nodded for me to continue.

"Are you interested in me at all?" I asked.

"Yes… but not in the way I think you are asking." He said.

"Your mind is what I am most interested in, another intellectual in this group has been… well engaging." He said.

"I understand that quite well actually. The connection for understanding, learning, and companionship in the form of friendship." I said.

"Yes… you umm… you are too soft for my liking. Also you smell all wrong for me to be interested in other ways." He said.

"And the cuddling earlier this evening?" I asked with a smile.

"My race is very social, when we are very young we group together for warmth and reassurance. You seemed to need the latter at the time." He said.

Iser and I were sitting on my bed my back resting against the backboard while he sat at the edge sort of rotated towards me. I patted the spot next to me, it wasn't the biggest bed but that just made it better for cuddling.

"What do you intend?" He asked calmly.

"Reassurance… I don't want to be alone right now." I said.

We rearranged so he was big spoon and we got comfortable. He was also warmer than Lluvia that's for sure and it felt nice at the moment.

"We need to sleep, we have a dungeon tomorrow." He said.

I had calmed down quite a bit but I could still feel that terror lurking inside of me.