Tomas

As a Dungeon Core expert and since I fancy myself as a scholar I've decided to attempt to treatise with The Dungeon here known by some as Guardian, others call it the Reaper. I believe my mouth got the better of me in our previous encounters and I might have accidentally put myself in the spotlight the wrong way. The result is that I rarely get the chance to ask the Embodiment of the Core more than a question or two, and since I've drawn the ire of the Voice of the Dungeon, who now flees when she spots me - I can't understand the words that answer me.

Never one to be dissuaded so easily from any goal I set my mind to, I've been attempting to catch Lady Erifis in various places to apologize for my rude behavior. My previous seven attempts were foiled when she turned the corner of a building down a side street and disappeared, or entered a room only to not be found inside it when I followed. Which leads me to a few possible conclusions and none of which make much sense.

First, is that Lady Erifis is in fact the true body of the Core here, some type of illusion cast by the Dungeon, as a means of governing the population... Which is so impossible I immediately took it off my listings. No, Lady Erifis was once a servant of the Former Lord Ricard who had purchased her out of some significant debt that her late husband had carried into the next life. She was among the first peoples to step foot on the Island, and many of the residents claim to remember her from well before the Dungeon Core here was seeded. The only evidence for this claim is her seeming ability to become immaterial like the Reaper does here, or otherwise leaving one area only to appear somewhere else. I'd say it was teleportation, but as I am an Elf, I can almost taste Magick where-ever it is used. No when she disappears there is no remaining Magick in the area, so she either has a skill for it, that doesn't utilize Masaara, being "contracted" as she calls it has given her some innate ability, or we reach my original conclusion that she was a Dungeon Born Entity.

The second theory emphasizes that being contracted by the Dungeon has in fact changed her. To the residents here I've talked with it definitely would seem like it has. She was described by the head of the Mages Guild here on the Island, as having changed drastically. Previously being described as a worrier and somewhat meek in appearance, and very depressed. Gone is that person and I had to ask if Jewel was serious because it seemed like we were talking about two different people. The Lady Erifis I know of is like a boulder, while she doesn't reveal much skin, what I've witnessed is the antithesis of meek. I'm certain if she was equipped with just a weapon she could easily end the lives of any soldier I've ever met. She stands tall, straight, and talks with a commanding tone when needed but other times seems indifferent to what is happening here. When dealing with children she is kind and compassionate, gentle, yet firm at the same time - much like what I've noticed the Reapers' own are. The punishments here for children are much less severe than the adults, more like small corrections in behavior to help them learn and grow to be better rather than painful experiences to terrorize.

My musing is interrupted as I bump into someone while walking down the road lost in thought. I'm a bit shocked to notice that it is Erifis herself, almost as if my thoughts had summoned her to me. "He-" she grabs me as I was greeting her and a pain spurs through my body, it feels like being hit by a lightning spell. The world becomes brighter and then I'm surrounded in darkness, As my eyes adjust to our new surroundings I find myself in a dark room with barely any lighting. The faint amount of light there is here is the glow emanating from the purple flame of the Reaper, and to my surprise a slight bit of glow from Erifis herself, though more pink than purple.

"I-"

My question is cut short by Erifis who just looks exhausted, as she states, with an aggravated tone,"You've been following me, asking people about me and being as He says, a creep." She motions at the Reaper in the room, who makes more groans and clicks as his teeth gnash together. "Apparently also attempting four nights in a row to enter my House, you're here because He thinks you are eccentric, which I agree with, but still wanted to be sure you weren't trying to be more nefarious."

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My mind first goes to what she could be implying and the tips of my ears heat up as I flush with embarrassment. To my chagrin it doesn't go unnoticed and the Reaper groans and clicks at Erifis again who brightens a little at whatever is being said, they turn back to me and stare, I guess it's my time to speak. "I wanted to apologize to you Erifis, and you as well Guardian, Reaper, or whatever title you may deign to go by. I feel as though in the pursuit of knowledge I may have overwhelmed you both and left a bad impression from my constant questions."

So saying, the tense look Erifis had been wearing left her face, accompanied by more of the airy breaths from the avatar of the Dungeon. The faint glow being output from Erifis began to fade then came back brighter as a worried look overtook her. But that faded as well and she eventually spoke. "He has offered to make you a "Contracted Entity" as well, in the end it just means you would be able to hear him and ask the questions yourself instead of requiring a mediator. It's not without it's downsides, I feel like I lose a bit of myself every day- growing more confused between what is here and what isn't. That said I feel amazing because of it, and even though I lost my levels and haven't gained any since I think I have gained more than what I had lost. Neither of us are very clear on what happens, or what changes take place. He keeps saying that "Sym" says that Entities bound to the Core live as long as the Core does... while I have my own issues I still barely understand half of what he says. So I'm open to letting you have the job too, though I'll give you a warning, one I wish I had received."

"Thomas, that is his name, is not a being of this world, He was a normal person in a world very different to ours. He doesn't sleep, and regardless of where you are- what you're doing- or anything else, you will hear him if he speaks, and he speaks all the time. Sometimes you get "pictures" in your mind like Magick vistas- memories that aren't your own. The biggest warning I have for you though, is that while he may have been a human in his last life, he very much is a Dungeon Core in this one. A saying he uses can be applied here. "Like a shark to a school of fish." I've seen horrible things here, felt emotions I didn't think I could feel. Love is up there, compassion, anxiety when people enter the Dungeon, anger, hate and rage at people who break the laws here. I'm still learning how to influence my Will on the surroundings, but if you're here as a contract, anything you want with enough Desire, can happen."

As she finishes her statements on what it's like to be employed a piece of paper appears in the middle of us, floating in the center of the room and giving off a light of its own. I read over it a few times, I've never been one to sign a contract without making sure it isn't something bad. Satisfied that I'm not selling my soul to the God of Temptation Seren, I sign my name and the paper vanishes. Fading away into motes of light from the bottom to the top, the motes flitting off through the ceiling to Gods know where.

I hear him then, and what he says makes me regret my choice, if only for a moment before I blackout.

"Sym said you're going to have to be remade, something about entities past their prime. Anyway it might be painful, but I'll be here for ya little buddy. Thomas and Tomas, whew potato po-tah-to."

Thomas' voice sounded like it matched the body he had chosen to be his form. Deep, hoarse and cold. The last bit was said in hundreds of voices simultaneously some male, some female, am a mental image of two brown rooty plants side by side, so close in appearance I'd guess they were the same thing. This was the first time I'd experience the bleed-over I was warned about by Lady Erifis, the voice of the Dungeon. It was also the last thing I heard as Tomas, the scholar, when I woke from my involuntary moment of unconsciousness I was Tomas, the Dungeon Researcher. According to the skill stones sold by the adventurer guilds I was a ??? Class and ??? Level.

My name was officially....

Tomas, The Dungeon Researcher.

Race: Dungeon Formed High Elf (Contracted)

Age ???

Abilities ???

Skills ???

Masaara 0/0

Will 2/???

Other than the loss of Masaara control innate in all elves there was more than a few questions that were raised by myself when I saw my new information parchment.