I enter a tunnel.

It's quite a large tunnel, considering I can fit through it easily. Actually, perhaps not. I'm fairly sure this was made for regular sized people, after all. I keep crawling. My gown is getting dirty. I probably could have sold this for good money somewhere. I keep crawling. Damn, this tunnel is really long. Also, it's beginning to slope downwards at a rapid pace. That's ... cool? Where does this lead? I keep crawling. Goddamnit, where is the end? I've been crawling for a good five minutes now. The throbbing from earlier is coming back with a vengeance, and I'm tired to boot. Finally, after another minute, I see the light at the end of tunnel.

Crawling through, I emerge into a large room, filled to the brim with gold, silver, and jewelry. There are quite a few paintings as well. Hey, I'm rich! Or not, seeing as there's no way I can carry all this out. However, there's this weird sense of ... incompleteness? I look around and there's empty holsters everywhere. Display cases open. Unlocked and opened boxes. It's like someone was here before ... yeah, no shit. Who else would have opened that trapdoor at the surface? They probably took most of the really useful stuff. Hmm. I think I'll spend maybe ten minutes or so trying to find something that's portable and looks expensive.

Some time goes by.

...I just realized I have no way to check when ten minutes are up. It's maybe been five? I found some fancy daggers, but everything else is too large to not hinder my movement. Hmm. Perhaps I'll take some gold with me, then. I poke around some more before uncovering a small wooden locked box. It looks somewhat fancy, with red lines running down the sides. I bend down and examine the keyhole. It's rather small ... the key I took off my dead father is also kinda small ... there's no way, right?

I try unlocking the box and it opens! I find a small mirror, about the size of my hand. Huh. Why would anyone lock a mirror inside a box-

Connecting.

Affirming Patron.

Words start appearing on the mirror. I start feeling tired? No, I was already feeling that. Sluggish? No, more like drained. Also, my hand is pulsing green. Welp. I throw the mirror across the room. It continues to display words.

Patron found.

Accessing utility options.

Utility options turned off by Patron.

Safe mode enabled.

Right as I'm about to fall asleep, my drained feeling goes away, and I stare at the mirror. The previous words disappear from its surface, and new ones replace them.

Skills:

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Disguise

Enhancement disabled.

Classification paused.

Messages from Patron:

None.

The mirror stops. I gingerly approach it. Is it worth picking up? The draining feeling might continue. The mirror flashes.

New Message from Patron.

Display? Y/N

Patron ... Patron ... what the hell is a Patron? Ah! I remember now! The red man said he was my Patron! He probably won't kill me! I push my hand against the Y. The mirror flashes once more.

Nice job surviving! I noticed you didn't use your skill. It would have probably helped. A lot.

Gee, thanks. Would if I could. I frown. How do I respond? Can I just talk? "Um ... can you ... hear me?" My voice is really hoarse. I didn't notice before, but it's like this body hasn't talked for a while.

I can hear you.

"How ... was I ... to ... use the skill?" Talking hurts. I wheeze for a bit before stringing together my next sentence. "How ... do ... I-" Damn, I need to vomit. I swallow and continue. "Get out of ... here?"

Alright, look. You have a connection to me. You can draw power from me, and the connection molds that power into a useable effect. That's your skill. Just draw on that connection.

"You didn't ... answer my other ... question." I think I'm getting better at talking.

My advice would be to head for the orange side of the woods. You'll find the ranger there.

"O-Orange?"

Yeah, the orange side. Though, you'll probably need to use your Disguise skill, so figure out how to do that first.

"There's no ... orange side. The forest is complete- com-" Damn, I'm coughing again. I can't do this word. "The forest is ... all green."

No, the orange side is orange.

What the hell?

"Can't you give me ... any other des-des-" Can't do long words. Right. "Can't you tell me ... anything else?" Best I can do.

Take the mirror with you. It'll prove very helpful. The orange part of the forest is to the .. hold on a second ... left of the path.

So, the left part of the forest? I wasn't heading that way originally, but I guess I'll go that way now.

Figuring out how to use skills will be absolutely crucial later on. I usually teach my champions how to connect with me through dreams, but your soul is far too weak for that. Delve into your consciousness and try to sense the connection - I'm pulling on it now.

I frown. I really hope this won't take too long - I'd assume Goldy and friends would come back here, if only for all this gold. I close my eyes and focus on myself. There's nothing. I can't feel whatever he's talking about. A twinge of pain resonates from my stomach. Am I hungry? Again? I feel another twinge of pain. Wait. This doesn't feel like hunger. Is this it? I concentrate on my stomach. No- I concentrate on the thing near my stomach. I can feel something from there. It's like it's connected to something. I can't tell what it is, only that it's there, because the connection seems extremely weak. I pull on it, and open my eyes. Nothing changes.

You did it.

"I can't feel ... anything ...?"

You're disguising yourself to blend in with your environment. You're harder to notice. It's not something you can perceive, however.

Ohhhh...

"Should ... I bring ... anything else ... with me?"

The dagger on your hip, the mirror, the box, and some gold. My previous champion's wife took most of the artifacts with her.

Previous champion's wife? Wait. I still haven't asked, but "Who am I?"

You are Zenith, the seventh prince of the Azin Empire.

Huh. I have some more questions, but I'll ask the mirror them later. I should really be leaving now, lest Goldy comes back. I take the mirror, place it back in the box, and take the box with me as I leave the large room back through the tunnels. This little venture was very worth it - I now have a source of information!