Lily sat miserably on the side of the road, holding on to her painful hip. She wanted to cry. Widow Hari and Agnetha had entrusted her with this mission, and she was going to fail. She tried to stand again, and again her leg buckled as she put weight on it. How was she going to make it to Mistress Cornelia in High Plantation? And then make it back to the village in time to return the dungeon compass to Bastian before a child gets hurt? They took the donkey too. Thinking about the donkey made her feel more despondent. What will Agnetha say when she tells her that she had lost the donkey? She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.
I won’t cry, I won’t cry, I won’t cry, she told herself. She was a classed rogue, not a baby. Did rogues break down and cry at every setback? No, of course not. They would never get anywhere. If they cried while in a dungeon, they would die a quick death. She was a rogue, she had her stats, and she had a mission to complete. And she had to complete it fast enough to stop Bastian from harming a child.
Even just thinking of him sent a spike of fear through her chest and she shuddered. She was a rogue. She also had the option of simply disappearing. Sneaking onto one of the big ships she had heard docks at High Plantation Port. Shame washed over her at that thought. How could she even consider it? What about her father, Agnetha, and even Widow Hari and Little Harry? What about the children in danger, from the dungeon, and Bastian? Would she abandon her responsibility to them all?
No, that was simply unacceptable. She was part of Agnetha and Widow Hari’s team. Neither of them owed anything to her, and yet they took her under their wings and were teaching her. And as a classed individual, she had a responsibility towards the people in the village, including the children. She would not abandon them.
With new determination, Lily tried to get on her feet again. Her hip still couldn’t carry her weight, but that was okay. Balancing on her good leg, she looked around for something she could lean on. There weren’t many trees on this part of the road, but she would find something. Even if she hopped on one leg all the way from here to High Plantation, she would do it. At that moment a new notification popped up in her view.
New blessing received
The Gods have noticed your determination and they are impressed. You have been awarded a boon to ease your journey and help you complete your mission.
Lily stood frozen as she read the notification. The Gods were still watching her?? How much worse could this day get? Sighing, she got ready to start hopping, only for her foot to slip, and she fell back down on her knees, pain once again sparking through her hip and down her leg. “Aargh!” she screamed out loud in frustration as she rolled over on her back, not caring if anyone heard her. It’s not like there were other people on the road. Bastian’s gang certainly wasn’t going to turn around and come to her aid. And where was this boon she had been promised?
“Hey Gods,” she yelled. “You lied! Where’s my boon?” Sitting up she looked around her wildly. Nope. No handy staff for her to lean on had appeared. The donkey was still gone and she was by herself on the side of the road. And then she heard it. The sound of horse hooves clipping along, and in the distance, a nobleman’s carriage appeared.
<>
From her family’s carriage, Tamrin gazed unseeingly into the distance, as her mind spun. Layne had still neither apologised nor even so much as acknowledged the fact that he had stood her up yesterday. She had expected a message at the minimum, even if he didn’t come to apologise personally.
A part of her was fretting about her day trip to High Plantation. What if he came to their manor to apologise while she was out? Another part thought that would be fine. Let him see that she is not hanging around at home, meekly waiting. He had to see that she too had a life to live, and if he didn’t respect his commitments with her, he would miss out. Like her mother said, he needs to see her having fun without him. It was all part of the strategy.
“Whoah,” she heard the carriage driver call out, as he reined in the horses and they gradually came to a stop. Surprised, she looked around. They were still in the countryside and hadn’t reached High Plantation yet.
“What’s this about, John?” she called out.
“Sorry lady,” he replied. “There is a girl in the road. I just want to check whether all is well with her.”
Tamrin sighed and also got out of the carriage. Indeed, there was the girl looking a bit worse for wear. The kid looked familiar as well.
“Hey, I know you,” Tamrin said. “You are the girl from the beach. One of the Canewhold estate’s villagers, right?”
“Yes, Lady Highreach,” the girl replied and tried to give her a curtsy only to stumble on an injured leg. John reached out and offered her his arm to lean on, which the girl gratefully accepted.
“You sure get around,” Tamrin remarked. “What are you doing all the way out here today?”
“I was sent to deliver a message to Mistress Cornelia at her shoppe,” the girl replied.
“Oh, what about?”
At that the girl bobbed nervously, answering, “I’m sorry lady, I’m not allowed to say.”
Tamrin raised an eyebrow. So, the Baron was sending messages to Mistress Cornelia. And it had to be the Baron because she was pretty certain Layne had never set foot in Mistress Cornelia’s shoppe.
This was an intriguing development and one she could use to her own advantage. Yes, she decided.
“Well John, what are you waiting for? Help her into the carriage and let's be on our way again.”
“Oh, thank you Lady, but I don’t need to be in the carriage,” the girl protested. “I’ll be fine on the driver's bench on the outside.”
“Nonsense,” Tamrin replied. “There’s barely enough room for John on there. You will ride inside with me. Let’s get going.” And she turned around and climbed back into the carriage, leaving John to help the girl in after her.
<>
“Sheesh, will you please calm down? I’m telling you it’s not that bad,” Claire said.
“Not that bad?!” the master responded, while Rick looked on with wide eyes. “First you entice children to your dungeon, and now you want to make direct contact with adventurers? It is that bad!”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“No, it is not,” Claire responded firmly. “And for the record, I did not entice children to my dungeon. They turned up outside by themselves. And they are safer here where I can keep an eye on them than in many other places.”
The master shook his head mournfully, then produced a small book and pen from somewhere on his person in which he scribbled.
“What are you doing?” Claire asked. “What are you writing? Is it about me?” The master shook his head, turning his back on her, and bobbed away, still scribbling. She followed behind in her avatar, trying to read over his shoulder. “Deluded? Are you calling me deluded?”
“Claire, Claire,” Rick interrupted, trying to gain her attention. “The master is simply taking notes on his experience; he often does that. We need to focus on our immediate concerns.”
“Fine,” Claire sighed as she reluctantly disengaged from trying to read the master’s notes and refocused on their current situation.
“So, where were we…” Rick continued. “We have Bastian’s gang planning to abduct children, and the village voting on our continued existence which is once again being threatened.”
“Yes, those are our main two problems right now. Although Lily will likely be fine with the help of her friends, we need a plan to help protect the children. Also, Layne has been researching anomalous cores, but from what I’ve seen, just about everything he read about us is bad. This is contradictory to what Agnetha says Mistress Cornelia told her. As the Baron’s son and an adventurer, Layne is our biggest current threat." Claire shuddered. She couldn't believe what she was about to say. "So...," she grimaced. "It is in our best interest to get him to this meeting too, so he can also hear what Mistress Cornelia has to say about the different kinds of anomalous cores.” The thought left a bad taste in her mouth.
“Don’t forget the dungeon compass, though,” Rick added. “Once Bastian has it again, he’ll know that you are still alive and how to get to you. You should start creating defences.”
“Yes, but I also need to balance my defences with the safety of the children. What if one of them enters the dungeon and my control is shut down? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.”
“Which is why we don’t involve kids in the first place,” the master muttered from where he was still vigorously scribbling in his little notebook.
Claire took a deep breath, then said, “Is criticism all you have to offer? Could you possibly suggest something helpful instead?”
“Naturally, I can,” the master replied, snapping his little notebook shut and secreting it on his person. “For example, if you would but consult me, I could suggest that you add a puzzle door after your first couple of chambers and set the unlock mechanism high enough and complex enough that a child can’t unlock it. This solves the problem you have created for yourself.”
It was a good idea and Claire looked at him in surprise, “You’re actually willing to help?”
“Of course. I don’t want to see human children hurt by a dungeon. Even if the dungeon caused it to happen through her own stupidity, it would endanger all other dungeon cores and our system as a whole.”
Claire supposed she should be grateful for the master’s advice. It was hard.
<>
This has got to be the most awkward carriage ride in the history of the world, Lily thought in the uncomfortable silence as the carriage bounced and swayed over the road. At least she got another deception point out of misleading Lady Tamrin about her task.
Lady Tamrin didn’t even ask her what had happened to her. Young Master Layne would’ve, Lily was sure. But Lady Tamrin just sat there looking grim and staring out the window. Finally, they rumbled through High Plantation’s city gates, the guards waving the aristocratic coach through. Their carriage rumbled on until they reached the “one-stoppe booke ande scroll emporium”.
There Lady Tamrin opened the carriage door, motioning for Lily to exit.
“Thank you Lady Tamrin,” Lily said, giving her a respectful nod as she got out, slowly putting weight on her injured leg.
“Yes, yes,” Tamrin replied. “Remember to tell Baron Canewhold who got you to Cornelia’s.”
And she pulled the carriage door closed behind Lily. The carriage rumbled off.
<>
Tamrin relaxed, leaning back against the carriage cushions. What an awkward ride! she thought to herself. But, she supposed that was only to be expected. What does one chat about with a serving girl anyway? At least the Baron will know that she did a favour for him.
It wasn’t long before the carriage stopped in the women’s outfitting shopping district. Tamrin had a mission, and she needed a new wardrobe. She had the right idea with the specially customised dress she wore to Cathy and Jeremy’s brunch, and a few more outfits in that style would be just the thing. She may even purchase another jewel or two to go with these new outfits.
Yes, Layne would never know what hit him.
<>
The shop’s bell tinkled as Lily hobbled through the door. Her hip was starting to feel better. Resting it in the carriage with Lady Tamrin was quite helpful, despite the discomfort of the company. She made a mental note to ask Agnetha about constitution and health, as she had heard stories of adventurers with enhanced physical recovery. Now that’s something that would’ve been useful on the road.
The emporium took her breath away. It had more books than she had ever seen before, stretching from the entrance deep into the building. It was hard to say how large the main room was, and it still had other doorways leading into more rooms too. It was spectacular.
“May I help you, miss?” a young man asked from behind the sales counter.
“I, ah, yes please,” Lily replied, aware of how dusty she must be. She held her hands close to her, to make sure she didn’t dirty anything in the emporium by accident. “I was sent here by Agnetha Broombottom to speak to Mistress Cornelia.”
“Of course,” the young man replied. “If you’ll just wait a moment, I’ll go and fetch her.”
<>
What followed was the slowest, most excruciating hours of Lily’s life. Mistress Cornelia took Lily and Agnetha’s request seriously. Mistress Cornelia was fully willing to come down to the village to explain anomalous cores to the villagers. Her assistants immediately jumped to harness her horses to the shop’s travelling wagon, which Lily stared at with an open mouth. She had never seen anything like that either. Its exterior was decorated with all kinds of woodworked patterns, painted in bright colours. “Cornelia’s travelling booke ande scroll emporium,” a sign on the wagon’s side read. Having seen her fill, Lily snapped her mouth shut and urgently hobbled over to Mistress Cornelia.
“Oh,” Mistress Cornelia said after Lily had explained. “We need to go incognito.” Lily didn’t know what “incognito” was, but she hoped and vigorously nodded.
“Maurice!” Mistress Cornelia called, and a smaller, more simple cart was rolled out of the wagon house.
And then it turned out that Mistress Cornelia needed to take a few books and scrolls with her. So that she could look up things if necessary. She just needed a moment to collect them all. It wouldn’t take long.
Lily stared as the “few” books multiplied and the afternoon shadows started stretching out as the noontime sun passed its mark. She wondered whether there would be any room left for them on the cart once it was fully loaded. She even risked a quick prayer to the Gods to bring this ordeal to an end and help her get back to the village soon enough to prevent Bastian from harming any children.
Finally, finally, the cart was loaded and they were ready to leave.
As they passed the shop gate, Mistress Cornelia gasped. She had forgotten a book! She’ll go fetch it, it will only take a second.
“No, it’s okay,” Lily soothed. “I’m sure we’ll be fine without that book. It’s only us villagers there.”
“Are you sure?” Mistress Cornelia looked at her through eyes weirdly enlarged by the round glasses she wore.
Lily was sure. It would be fine. They could go.
The cart bounced out of the shop’s yard, almost losing a book. Lily leaped on it and secured that pile under the tarp. They were on their way.
<>
The blue elemental fluttered around the Ice core in distress. No, just Ice. That’s what it says its name is. No one said anything about cores thinking they have names in her schooling. And it’s not following the program. She finally got it to ingest life-force after she managed to convince it that the “cold” should be part of him. Yes, him. It thinks it’s male too. She told it that cores don’t have gender, but it didn’t believe her.
She needed help.
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