“What does that mean, morality restrictions have been subverted?” Kia asked.

Mr. Harolski didn’t answer, just shook his head.

Kia didn’t feel entirely well. She had a vague sense of dread, non-tangibly. Like the feeling right before you get a cold, when you know you’re going to be sick; you aren’t quite yet, but it’s definitely coming soon.

She didn't like it.

"I don't know. Something about this… feels familiar." Mr. Harolski stared off at the destroyed landscape as though it held some secret he was intent on discovering.

After a while, Kia thought she should probably interrupt his blank staring.

"Should we go back to the city?" she prompted.

Kia liked the city better. Mr. Harolski's territory was even more lifeless and empty than hers. It actually made her feel a little proud of her dead trees and wilted bushes. At least they held a semblance of life, even if they didn't have the reality of it. She could believe they had once been alive, at least, and perhaps they may yet one day live again. These craters were nothing but scars of destruction upon a ruined land. Utterly lifeless.

Mr. Harolski snapped out of his reverie and turned toward her. "Yes. The city. That seems a likely place to get quests." He seemed pensive, troubled, but about what you couldn't guess.

Kia stroked the tiny lizard in her pocket, wishing she could have convinced the flying talking one to join them. She loved lizards. Especially the mythological ones.

Though it had taken them nearly an hour to trek to Mr. Harolski's territory from the ruined city, it took only a few minutes to return. The space between areas compressed itself for their passage, making the trip back easy and smooth.

Kia noticed a rocky outcropping, like a small mountain, where the vines and jungle growth had been cleared away.

In its shadow, collections of humble hovels lay in uneven rows. She would hesitate to call them homes, they didn't seem large enough to be more than a single bedroom.

Sounds of metal on stone echoed up from a low.

NEW QUEST: FREE THE MINERS FROM THEIR ENSLAVEMENT

VINES QUEST UPDATE: SEIZE CONTROL OF THE MINE (optional)

"I guess that's what it means." Mr. Harolski seemed pleased with the discovery.

"But what would we do with a mine?" Kia asked

Mr. Harolski looked at her as though she were crazy. "It's a resource. Right now we have no resources. We're going to be here for a while. This is the perfect place to start."

She followed him toward the entrance of the mine. The guards seemed apathetic to their approach, but once they drew near enough to actually look inside one stepped forward to block their path.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"You're not authorized for this area. Please go away."

"I've come to take control of this mine," Mr. Harolski said bluntly, utterly unintimidated. "I'll speak to your overseer immediately. I have a great many things to do and not much time. Go fetch whoever is in charge of you."

Kia would never have had the daring to speak to someone like that. She preferred to work in shadow, not in people's faces. One more reason it to be thankful she’d ended up with Mr. Harolski in her party.

While they waited for the mine overseer to show his face, Kia looked around. Though the area seemed primitive at first glance, she was sure she saw the blinking laser sights of sentry turrets tucked between vines high up on the rock face. Well concealed, but perfectly capable of taking out any intruders.

She was glad Mr. Harolski had opted for a diplomatic approach. If they'd come in aggressively and tried to take the place over by force, they probably would have been killed.

That still happened? Kia felt vaguely as though she died before. But this wasn't the afterlife. It couldn't be. It felt too normal. But… She had died. Several times? No. That couldn't be right. She was still alive.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

"There are several turrets within view," Kia said quietly. The longer she stared at them the better she felt she understood them, their controls and schematics becoming obvious. "If my past experience is anything to go by, we’ll need a key card to deactivate them."

"I’d bet the overseer has that." Mr. Harolski didn't seem concerned. He motioned for her to be silent as the guard returned with a portly man in tow.

"You have thirty seconds to explain to me why you’re on my land,” the overseer declared. “If your answer is unsatisfactory I will have you shot."

Mr. Harolski step forward, looming over the smaller man. "I highly advise against it. We will take control of this mine one way or another. I am willing to offer you compensation, but only if you cooperate. If you insist on being difficult…" he trailed off but his tone made the threat obvious.

The overseer sneered. "You think I'm intimidated by you? I have been running this place for longer than you've been alive, kid. Go back to where you came from and leave us to our work."

"Our relative age is of no consequence," Mr. Harolski said firmly. "I am unused to being denied. Give me what I want and I will leave you alive. Perhaps even in peace."

"If you harm me, you'll be dead within a minute."

"But so will you."

"I don't care. My existence is not one bounded by such things. You would do well to leave behind your preconceptions of reality."

Something about the statement bothered Kia. She looked away from the argument, trying to think. Was he saying this wasn't reality? It certainly seemed to be what he implied. But this had to be reality. What else could it be?

She felt like she were slowly stirring awake, like the twilight between waking and dreaming where you could tell something was not quite right but not point out exactly what.

Something was different. Something was missing. She was forgetting something important. Maybe Mr. Harolski knew it, maybe he didn’t. But she couldn’t stay in ignorance.

“Are you saying this isn’t real?” she demanded, interrupting whatever they’d been saying - she’d stopped paying attention.

“This is a true experience,” Ivy whispered from beside her. “No one could deny that.”

Kia jumped. “How long have you been there?”

“I am always here. And I always shall be. But you, you will stay a time and then depart.”

“Is this real?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Kia thought she might have a point. “But if it’s not real—”

“Is your mind real?”

“Yes.”

“Then this is real.”

“Oh.” Kia wasn’t quite satisfied, but unsure how to continue the argument.

There was something in that, some contradiction, but Kia couldn’t put her finger on it.

“What has he done?” Ivy asked, looking past Kia to where the two men stood talking. “This isn’t supposed to happen.”

Kia looked back. Apparently the argument had been resolved, because the overseer stood smiling, shaking Mr. Harolski’s hand. He handed over a cardkey and a necklace of silver chains, then turned and walked away.

“I … don’t know,” Kia answered.

QUEST COMPLETE: ERROR

PLEASE WAIT. . . … ……. ……

ERROR RESOLVED

VINES QUEST COMPLETE: SEIZE CONTROL OF THE MINE.

VINE TOKENS AWARDED: 3 (SPEED BONUS +2)

CONGRATULATIONS

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