Chapter Three Hundred - The World is Diseased, And I Alone Can Cure It

“Rainnewt,” I said.

The man across from me was recognizably Rainnewt. A tall-ish human man, in a well-cut suit and long coat. He clearly had some sort of breastplate under the coat, and he had greaves fixed to his legs too, painted some dark, light-absorbing black that matched the rest of his outfit.

I could only make out so many details. He had a small light hovering around him, but it wasn’t very bright, and the basement’s darkness cast deep shadows on everything.

“Hello, Miss Bunch,” he said.

I glanced back at Awen, who shared a look with me. She tilted her head subtly towards the bomb, then nodded.

I nodded back. I’d take care of Rainnewt, she could work on making sure the entire building didn’t fall down on our heads.

“Are you done planning with your little friend?” he asked.

“Not yet, no,” I said truthfully. “But I don’t think you’re going to be giving us a lot of time to chit-chat.”

One of Rainnewt’s eyebrows rose. He reached into his jacket and I tensed a little until he pulled out a timepiece that he flicked open. “No, we still have a good ten minutes to talk. I do intend to be gone long before that, of course.”

I balled my hands into fists by my sides. I didn’t have anything like a weapon on hand, just... crates and the bomb, and pieces of crates and maybe Awen. “So, did you stop to gloat?” I asked.

“Nothing quite so crass, no,” he said with a shake of his head. “I had a few questions, actually. Perhaps even an explanation. I suspect that we’re working on the same side, and... well, maybe I was a little wrong in how I acted towards you before. So I wanted to apologise too. Sincerely.”

I blinked, then narrowed my eyes while I inspected him.

Bright Clearnote, Musician, level 10, nervous and late

“Bright Clearnote?” I asked, confused.

“Oh,” Rainnewt said. He chuckled, then made a gesture as if brushing off some dust from his suit. “Try again?”

Quincy Rainnewt, Manyfaced Hero, level ???, curious

“Do you have a skill that hides your name?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t be able to infiltrate places very well if the first person with an Inspect-like skill could reveal me,” he said. “This is my real name and class, for what it’s worth. Tell me, did the system allow you to change your name?”

“What?” I asked. “No, this is my name. I didn’t have ears before, but you met me before I got those, didn’t you?”

“Huh,” he said. “So your name is actually Broccoli?”

“Since I was born, yeah,” I said.

He rubbed at his chin. “Wow. Is that a common name where you’re from? Because I’m thinking that maybe we’re not from the same world.”

“Oh, no, Broccoli’s a pretty unique name,” I said. “My parents were hippies.”

“That could explain it,” he said. “Perhaps we are from the same Earth. The World seems to be more than willing to take whomever is willing to accomplish its goals.”

I peeked back again. Awen was sweating as she toyed with the bomb. I noted that Rainnewt was still a good ways away. Was he standing outside of the range of the explosive? “Why are you doing all of this?” I asked.

“I imagine you’re referring to both the destruction of this summit and the war overall?” he asked.

I nodded, then watched carefully as he stepped to the side, then hopped backwards to sit on the edge of a crate. He was very casual about it all.

“It’s rather simple, Broccoli. Well, no, in actuality it’s a complex mess of deep-rooted political issues, long-standing rivalries, and a nice helping of prejudice. But I think I’ve worked out a solution to it all.”

"Did--" I swallowed. "Did the World ask you to start a war?" I asked, horror colouring my tone.

“Oh, no no. The war is just one part of a much greater plan. A phase that I’m hoping will go well. This summit is one of the last steps towards ensuring that all involved nations are primed for what might be Dirt’s first truly massive war.”

“Why?” I asked. “You know that a lot of people will die, why are you doing it?”

“Hmm? Oh, I won’t go into all of the details,” he said. “If you leave here knowing everything, you might ruin some parts of the plan. No, I think I’ll be playing most of these cards close to the chest.”

I shook my head. “I don’t get it. The World asked me to get rid of those Evil Roots. Didn't it ask you the same thing?”

“Oh, it did,” he said. “I’m just being effective about it.”

"You don't need to start a war!" I cried out. "You can destroy the roots without breaking the dungeons.”

Rainnewt blinked. “Really?”

“Yes!” I shouted. “Cleaning magic! You need it at a high rank, and then you can just wipe the root away. It’s worked so far.”

“Oh, that’s fascinating to know,” he said. “Well, too late to back out of my plan now. Still, thank you. I’ll be sure to have the information distributed around; it could save us some trouble in the future. It would be unfortunate to see some of the infected dungeons be destroyed.”

“So you’ll stop the war?” I tried. “Turn off the bombs?” I was practically pleading. If he could just stop all of this, then...

He snorted. “No.”

“We could be friends if you did,” I said. “I guess. I... please?”

Quincy Rainnewt

Desired Quality: Someone who will assist them in taking over the world.

Dream: To save the world in his image.

“I’m certain we could be great friends,” Rainnewt said. “Or maybe not. Honestly, it seems our methodologies are far too different for a partnership to work out.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Broccoli,” Awen whispered. “It’s disarmed.”

I didn’t say anything to Awen, I didn’t want Rainnewt to know that this bomb was off. I imagined there were a number of other bombs hidden around the room. “Why are you talking to me, then?” I asked. “Instead of fighting us?”

Rainnewt looked like he was actually considering the question. “You might have been foiling a few of my plans, in small ways, but for the most part I can’t really fault you for that. I’m not entirely unable to put myself in your shoes, you know? Besides, our end-goals are the same. You’ve discovered a new way to take care of the Evil Roots, which... well, I would never have tried, so clearly you’ve proven your worth. Besides, I think some parts of our philosophy match up quite well.”

“I’m not trying to start a big war,” I said.

“No, not that part,” Rainnewt said. “Your level. When we first met you were... oh, I can’t actually remember. That was a while ago, in Port Royal. You still only had one class, you were weak, even compared to the average person on Dirt, but you know what made you different?”

“What?” I asked. Maybe if I could keep him talking, help would arrive? But no, we didn’t exactly tell anyone we’d be sneaking into the basement.

“You were trying to improve. You must feel it too, right? People here can grow! It’s a tangible thing, effort is actually rewarded directly.” He raised his arms, like a priest at the pulpit. “And yet the people of Dirt, with few exceptions, refuse to excel! Do you know what the average level is? I’ve looked into it, both here and in Port Royal. It’s thirteen. Thirteen!”

“Is that bad?” I asked. That was a little bit higher than my own level, wasn’t it?

“Broccoli, it means that most people never bother pushing themselves past their tenth level. A few exceptions exist, but then they tend to stop at the very next tier. Dirt affords people the possibility of infinite growth and instead most people grasp for the bare minimum and just... stop. It’s infuriating!”

“Uh,” I said.

Rainnewt lowered his arms with a sigh. “I’m being a little melodramatic, aren’t I? Forgive me, this work leaves me with no one to talk to for long stretches, so I have a good number of pent up rants.”

“You know, I always give my friends all the time they need to rant,” I said. “I... I don’t know if I can forgive you for everything you’ve done, but I’ve never said no to a potential friend before, if you want. We could work to set things right? Find another way to fix things?”

He smiled. For a moment, I had hope. “You’re not a bad person, maybe,” he said. “Manipulative, but innocently so. Maybe if we had met a month earlier I’d be tempted by your offer.” He bounced off the crate and onto his feet. Then he pulled out his timepiece again. “I’d love to stay and chat, but if I don’t leave soon, I’ll become collateral to my own plan, and that would be a disappointing way to go.”

“You're leaving?” I asked.

“I wasn’t going to stay in the room with all the explosives,” he said. “You should consider running too. There’s plenty of time to make it out of the old palace before it collapses.”

“Wait!” I called out.

“I don’t think I will, no,” he said. “Good luck! Do keep up the good work. I’ll appreciate it, even if the World doesn’t.”

Rainnewt took off at a walk, but his long legs meant he was out of sight past some pillars and crates, the darkness of the room swallowing him whole.

I spun towards Awen. “The bombs, do you think you can take them out?”

“Awa! I’ll try,” Awen said.

“If you can’t, just run. Tell the guards, tell Caprica and Amaryllis and... and everyone else!”

“Broccoli, where are you going?” Awen asked, even if it was obvious.

I grinned at her. “I’m going to kick Rainnewt’s butt.”

I bounced off after Rainnewt, a bit of extra mana shoved into my lightball to illuminate the room around me. I flew past a second bomb, tucked up against another pillar before I spotted him at the far end of the room. There was a heavy metal door that he casually slid aside before disappearing beyond it.

Pushing myself to move faster, I bounced after Rainnewt.

It was probably not the smartest thing to do. Catching him wouldn’t unexplode the bombs if they went off. But then, if I didn’t catch him, he could try something like this again. And if what he said about being disappointed that the people on Dirt didn’t work hard enough was true, then the next time I saw him he’d be that much stronger. I couldn’t let him get away.

I burst through the door and into a long, narrow corridor. It was all stone, carefully smoothed and worked with little patterns. At the end of the corridor was another doorway.

I slid to a stop next to it, then twisted the latch around. It wasn’t locked, but it was really heavy. I had to plant my feet against the ground to push it open. When it finally swung aside, I stepped into another room, then stopped.

My light could only reach so far into the massive, engulfing darkness, but it was enough to make out some of the details of what I was seeing.

It was a city. Or maybe a town. Dozens of homes, all short and squat, along a main road with alleys and sideroads branching off to the sides. Pillars rose up,holding up the uneven ceiling.

An entire town, hidden inside the mountain, and obviously long abandoned.

I locked onto Rainnewt, who was a good ways down the main street of the town.

I could wonder about what I’d found later. For now, I had to catch up to him!

“Rainnewt! Wait! I promised that I would kick your butt!”

***