Maxwell deGloria

Having Gio home had been a great source of joy for Max and his family. He finished up his paperwork in record time, hoping to get home earlier than usual to capitalize on the few days that they had their eldest child back from school. He sent out a quick message to his wife over their [Matrimonial Bond].

“Div, I’m leaving work early. Need me to pick anything up on the way? Lemon-poppyseed bagels?” Maxwell thought.

His wife’s usual chipper tone was dulled slightly coming across the bond.

“No honey… but so you know, Gio has your father’s notes all over the kitchen table. I just wanted you to be prepared.” Divina responded.

Maxwell frowned lightly.

Again? I thought going to the magic school would make him less interested in those notes…

“Thanks for the warning, honey. Be there soon.” Maxwell replied.

_____

True to his wife’s warning, Maxwell was greeted by the sight of his father’s notes strewn all about the kitchen table, in piles seemingly organized yet disorganized at the same time.

“Dad! You’re home! I know it’s not your favorite subject… but I was hoping I could ask you some questions about Grandpa’s dungeon.” Gio said, in a careful yet excited tone.

“Anything for my not-so-little wizard. What do you want to know? I think at this point, you’re more knowledgeable about that puddle than I am.” Maxwell replied. His reservations about the subject were either ignored or discarded upon seeing the look in his son’s eyes.

“Well, I was wondering if he ever took anyone else with him. My guess is no, but It’s harder to verify something that he didn’t write about.” Gio asked.

“No. He was absolutely determined that if he brought other people in, they would ruin whatever it was that he thought he’d find there. I’m assuming you found the paragraph about the relic?” Maxwell replied.

“I did… but I don’t know how he concluded that there would be a relic related to beauty in a dungeon full of water and venomous wolf-people. It doesn’t make sense, and he didn’t cite any sources.” Gio answered.

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“That’s because it came from a skill. When mom got sick, he took some sort of… special restriction or something from his class, if I remember correctly. I never got him to read whatever his system said to me, and he was very cagey about what exactly it was that he did to get that piece of information. Several people told him that skills like that aren’t necessarily fully reliable… but he never wanted to hear that. I think I’ve told you the story after that a bunch of times.” Maxwell said.

“Grandma died, Grandpa changed, and then shortly after that, you never saw him again,” Gio replied.

“Yep,” Max uttered.

Maxwell pondered for a moment, battling with himself over what he should say. On one hand, He probably didn’t need to say anything. On the other, If he didn’t say it, and something happened, he wouldn’t forgive himself.

“Gio… I hope you’re not planning on going in there. My father, for all his faults, was an incredibly talented adventurer. He used to guide people through the [Vodyanitsa] in Carniola… He was more than just accomplished. He was famous enough that I had to change my name to stop people from trying to come to bother me about him.” Maxwell said.

“He used to go into the Vodyanitsa? How have I never heard of this?” Gio demanded.

“Because It’s not a good thing. The tribes of Carniola don’t want people going into that dungeon. The holy swamp there is very blessed if you are welcome to tread upon those grounds. It is also very cursed if you’re an intruder. My father was an opportunist who didn’t care for any cultural rules like that. You’re trying to sidetrack me. I don’t want to lose anyone else to that dungeon.” Maxwell said, visibly struggling with his words towards the end.

“I’m… to be honest with you, dad… If I am right about this dungeon, it might be safer than how I think I was expected to get the sigil I told you about. I think my mentor was lightly pushing me towards going into a different scary lair of monsters to get this thing I need… but he couldn’t directly tell me to do that. The only advice he gave me was that I should plan extensively for whatever I was going to do… so I’m doing that. I am planning everything that could go wrong with all of my choices currently. I have a lot of bad options right now.” Gio said.

Maxwell thought for a moment.

“If there’s one thing I could suggest to you, kiddo… don’t go alone. My father’s greatest mistake was that he never involved anyone out of fear of… something. Don’t let your preconceptions of how other people will react to you limit you from asking for help. I’d go with you… but I think a non-combat class like me or your mom would probably only slow you down” The burly man said.

Gio looked into his eyes for a moment, studying him. Maxwell held his gaze.

“You know? I think I’ll keep that in mind. I love you, dad.” Gio said.

Maxwell hugged his son tightly.

I hope I don’t regret telling him all that.