The paladin’s eyes were glued to the living and breathing pile of rock that was my obsidian fox, not once daring to pay full attention to our conversation instead. When we reached the core room, the monster had made the best impression of a guardian it could, with all of its three tails fanned out and its head raised high in the air as if watching mere ants. Now, however, it couldn’t look more peaceful as it was resting right next to the core, its black and white body blocking the glowing crystal ball from view.
Just telling the man that he was in no way in danger didn’t help, and neither did the presence of the friendly ratkin calm him down. The best I could do was make him sit down next to my nest of furs, but it was clear that the battle he had just had in the geyser room was still waging on his mind. It didn’t help that both of the foxes that had fought him back there had accompanied us to the core room, effectively doubling my last line of defense in strength. Said steam foxes were too busy grooming each other to care about the human, however.
The priestess, on the other side, couldn’t be bothered with feelings of awe and fear. She was too busy taking care of me to mind the potentially dangerous monsters that surrounded us from all sides. Before she had even told me her name, I was already resting on her lap, being petted behind my ears like a small kitten. And just like one, I answered to her attention, with a soft purr soon coming from my chest.
It was only now that she told us her name, Marisa, and the name of her close friend and protector, Alfred, before asking for our own. Marisa happily nodded when I answered her with the name Cilia had given me, before turning to the ratkin healer who readily added hers, seemingly happy to have finally somebody else to talk to other than me. It was only when Alfred finally dared to speak up that things changed and Marisa’s hands came to a sudden stop.
“So Cilia really selected you as her chosen dungeon,” he asked.
“Yes.”
“And you used to be human?”
“Before all of this happened…”
“What exactly happened to you?”
I could only shake my head, not even wanting to think about this topic and my former father. But that hesitation only lasted for a few moments, as Marisa soon later urged me to speak up herself, her gentle hands stopping taking care of me as she did so.
“We can only help you when you talk to us,” she said.
“But-”
“No buts,” she decided. “Tell me what you know about your father’s work.”
“My father’s work…”
There wasn’t too much I knew about his work, as while I had access to the laboratory and library, not a single one of the men and women had ever talked to me about their work. If anything, I could overhear them from time to time, especially when they decided to treat me as invisible, which happened often enough. But even when I connected the dots, there was way too much information missing for me to get a clear picture. I could only make assumptions at best.
“They researched dungeons,” I explained. “My father told me you could pray to a god next to a dungeon core for your prayer to be heard for certain. He told me-”
“That’s utter nonsense,” Alfred’s harsh words interrupted me. “We have temples and shrines for that.”
“That’s …”
Marisa quickly came to my rescue. She told her side of the story, from the very beginning when she was booked by the party to the first time she had seen me and all the way to the creation of the magic circle by my father’s colleagues. She even explained to him how the original prayer was dedicated to Cohold, the God of Dwarves and Wealth, and asked for knowledge and riches. She ended by telling him how it was she who had told me about Cilia’s prayer, hoping that it would prevent the ritual from doing its work. It turned out Marisa hadn’t expected Cilia to personally step in and save me.
“Sounds like he was preparing to sacrifice you,” Alfred summarized Marisa’s words in a single, cruel conclusion, causing not only Fren’s eyes to widen. “What is his name?”
“Henry,” I heard myself answer after a moment of silence.
“No family name?”
“We aren’t from a noble house.”
“That should make it easier,” Alfred judged. “Anything more?”
“He works at the mage’s tower in Abervale. He has his own team there!”
“There aren’t a lot of mages working in the tower. Should be easy to find him.”
I couldn’t help but gulp. “What will you do to him?”
“I will inform the head priest of his crimes. He will know what to do.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“It is likely the king will get involved,” Marisa added with a nod. “Using blood magic is a crime punishable by death or banishment, even more so when it is used on the god’s possession.”
“God’s possession…”
“That’s how they will see you,” Alfred confirmed. “Regardless of who you are or were before.”
“It will work as your protection,” Marisa added. “And so will my status. So don’t worry about it.”
“You will?”
“I am Cilia’s champion, after all!” She answered with a hint of proudness in her voice. “It is my task to teach you and make sure you are growing well.”
“Sounds like a mother…”
Marisa couldn’t help but laugh. “I am not that old!”
“What happened to your mother,” Alfred suddenly asked. “Isn’t she missing you?”
I could only shake my head. For all I knew my mother had never even gotten the chance to hold me in her hands, yet alone get to know me. It was my father who had given me my former name, after all, a fact he had told me often enough - especially when he was getting angry at me.
“I see …”
After offering that much of an answer, Alfred made himself comfortable on the hard floor and went back to his work of watching my foxes, leaving the stage to Marisa and Fren instead. The former priestess sighed, before making a promise to me:
“We will make sure your father won’t ever try to harm you again.”
“Thank you…”
“Putting that matter aside. What are you planning on doing now? What are your plans for the future? Where are you sleeping? And are you eating enough?” Marisa asked before pointing at the ratkin healer, who was not resting with her back against the sleeping obsidian fox. “And what is she doing here?”
“She is a hostage…” My words came out almost whispering.
“She is… what?!”
Marisa stared at me in utter disbelief before looking at the ratkin, who only nodded in confirmation, seemingly not the least bothered about the fact that she was here against her will - somewhat.
This didn’t change Marisa’s opinion, however, as she went on a full-on rant about how I should cherish lives more, should respect others' freedom, and shouldn’t make enemies by going down a dark path. She even told me about how I would be punished if I wasn’t a dungeon in the first place - with imprisonment and corporal punishment, depending on the severity of the case. With the ratkin being here for several days, I would be whipped for sure!
“I’m sorry,” it immediately burst out of me. “I’m sorry!”
“Don’t tell me, tell her!”
I immediately rose to my knees, only to bow deeply towards the ratkin immediately after, asking her for forgiveness over and over again. Fren could only answer with a stifled laugh, before finally saying something about the matter herself.
“I have been treated worse,” she judged. “Once you get used to all the monsters around and being forced to eat nothing but berries all day, there could be worse places to be trapped at.”
“You shouldn’t be fine with that!” Marisa protested. “What about your family and friends?”
“We messed up and we paid the price,” Fren answered matter-of-factly.
“She took you hostage!”
“We can be happy she let us live. Other dungeons aren’t playing as nice as her.”
“What is she asking for ransom?”
“A special fruit.”
“A fruit,” Marisa asked, before staring at me, urging me to add to the answer.
“I thought it would be nice to have some more variety,” I confessed after a moment of silence.
“You will let her go!”
“Ye- yes!”
After having made me promise such, Marisa nodded satisfied. She then slowly rose to her feet, urging Alfred to do the same.
“I will return after a good night’s sleep,” she said, before helping me to my feet and hugging me close. “The gods know I need it.”
“If the head priest lets you go,” I heard the paladin answer.
“He will have to,” Marisa decided. “I have a duty now. And a place I need to be…”
Alfred could only sigh. “Looks like we have some explaining to do…”
“I am sure we will manage...”
After saying that much, the former priestess slowly let go of me to instead lift the ratkin to her feet. Fren looked at me, unsure what to do, but she soon made her decision by walking towards me and reaching out her hand. I hesitatingly reached out with my own, fearing the worst, but the ratkin only softly smiled while shaking my hand.
“I will return when we are a little stronger,” she promised. “Make sure to have some actual food on the table by then.”
“I- I will,” I promised with tears in my eyes. “I promise!”
After saying our goodbyes, the group of three slowly made their way out of the dungeon with Fren leading them into the network of tunnels. Only once did they look back and wave at me, at least Marisa and Fren did, before disappearing into the darkness for good, leaving me behind. I couldn’t help but walk over to my core, let myself drop into the bed of fur, and hug the glowing crystal ball for comfort, having never felt as alone as at this moment.
At least the obsidian fox was still nearby. It woke up from my tears, staring at me in confusion and possibly already thinking of a way to make me comfortable with the hard, sharp-edged body of his, but it wasn’t meant to be. Before it had even made a step towards me, I had already selected it as a gatherer instead.
“Make sure they arrive at the town safely,” I tasked it, before watching it disappear into the same tunnel the others had taken.
「Escaped Adventurers: 3
Received 0 Dungeon Points
Gained 1550 Mana」
My mood immediately hit rock bottom.