{-Verity-}
Neville’s voice was rather grim when she heard it over the charm say, “Verity, I’d advise returning to the entrance.” She was nearly dreading going there, wondering what could have possibly warranted such a tone.
But when she got there, she understood—to an extent. It was a mortal.
And an extremely chipper one at that.
“Oh, look at that! I’ve rambled to you about my thesis, but I have yet to introduce myself! I’m Professor Askel Visindi. And what about the two of you?” He caught sight of Verity and his smile grew wider. “Is this another one of your friends, too? Come on over here, let’s all get acquainted! It’s not very often I get to see other researchers out in the field.”
“Unfortunately, we’re not researchers…” Jacqueline mumbled. Her awkwardness was overwhelmingly clear—she always got like that when a mission unexpectedly led to a mortal. “And our names are something that are probably left untold…”
“Nonsense! You’ve ought to be here for something, and I’d very much like to put names to these faces! Besides, if you’re willing to help me, I can include you in the special thanks of my thesis—even if you’re not researchers. This is a big investigation, I assure you. If I make enough, I’ll even ensure some of the royalties are sent to you.”
“We don’t need the money, either…”
Verity sighed. “We might as well talk to him. Annoying mortals like this aren’t going to go away.” She dismissively glanced at the researcher and said, “I am Verity. It would be pointless for me to tie myself to a house that I have long since given up on.”
Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say, because it seemed to spark his curiosity more. Luckily, Neville was able to fill in before the researcher could ask any questions.
“We are Neville and Jacqueline Florent,” he said. “Though I would advise you to turn around and find a new place to focus on your research. There are many dangers here that one such as yourself should not involve yourself in.”
“Oh, but isn’t a little bit of danger on par with the course?” One thing was clear: this Askel guy was way too enthusiastic. “No one makes discoveries within the comfort of their own home! They’ve got to get out there, push the limits of what we already know! Besides, my thesis revolves around a place like this. You know, this might be one of the only ruins remaining from the times of the Commandments. Can you imagine? It was such amazing luck that I found it when I did!”
“This ruin is no longer stable,” Neville tried calmly. “There are too many unpredictable factors, ones that people like you aren’t going to be able to handle. You cannot write your thesis if you are dead.”
“No, but someone ought to be able to learn from my example, won’t they? I left plenty of research back at the inn, with express instructions to send them back to my home if I do not return. I prepare for these kinds of things, you know.”
“I would strongly advise against going any further.”
“Well, then, let me ask this. If you are not researchers, what business do the three of you have here? You don’t seem all that different from me. In fact, you might have more numbers, but you seem laughably unprepared. I don’t see a single bag or kit among the three of you!”
The Messengers looked between each other. Verity hoped that her expression made her standpoint quite clear; she felt the only way to get rid of this guy was to force him out. Of course, both Neville and Jacqueline were a bit too soft for that, so of course they were going to have to come up with some other solution…
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“We didn’t travel far from where we came,” Jacqueline said. She was terrible at lying. “Since we didn’t need to go very far, we didn’t bring anything with us.”
Askel tilted his head. “Well, that can’t be right. There’s no town for a few days out from here.” He considered it for a moment, and seemed to come up with a solution. “Ah! You’re trying to save face, aren’t you? Pretend like you have things under control so that you don’t have to worry me? If that’s the case, then never fear! I always come prepared with more than enough supplies. Good to see the old habit finally getting some use!”
“You shouldn’t worry about us,” Neville remarked. “Without going into too much detail, we know exactly what we’re doing and what we need to do it. You, on the other hand, are about to endanger yourself with things you have no hope of understanding. If you wish to see tomorrow, you will leave now.”
Verity sighed. “You tried that already, remember? Things like that aren’t going to get through this guy’s thick skull.” She turned her attention to Askel, making sure he knew that she was dead serious. “I think we should just kill him.”
“What?” Jacqueline squeaked. “Of course not! If we interfere with mortals, then we might just end up causing more problems.”
“At least it’s a problem that’s not going to keep evolving to be a pain in the ass.”
Askel, rather brightly, pointed out, “I can’t help but notice you just referred to me as a mortal. Is that some new trend among people your age? I suppose the younger generation always does view themselves as immortal, no?”
The more this guy talked, the more Verity seriously debated killing him, and making up some excuse to get away with it.
No matter what, though, it was clear that Neville and Jacqueline had no idea what to do from here. So, knowing that nothing was going to get done, Verity sighed and said, “We can go and ask Kiri. This definitely complicates things, and I don’t think we’re going to be able to talk some common sense into that guy.”
All but proving her point, Askel asked, “Who’s Kiri? Is that another friend of yours? You’ve got yourself quite the group of travelers!”
“Kiri’s a friend, yes,” Jacqueline said nervously. “But we can’t talk to them while you’re here. Would you mind… staying right there for a little bit? Or at least, don’t wander very far..? We’ve got to go for a little bit, but we’ll come back as soon as we’re done…”
“Ah, of course, of course! Take all the time you need. I’ll do my best to stay right here, but you never know when the urge to explore will kick in! Oh, I know, I’ll write down some notes about what I’ve found so far. That’s bound to be important for my thesis—even if it’s not, the extra documentation can’t hurt!”
Deciding that was enough, Verity practically dragged Neville and Jacqueline out of the mortal’s earshot. She was still quiet, though, when she touched the charm and said, “Kiri, there’s a mortal here. A really stubborn and annoying one. What are we supposed to do with him? I don’t think ignoring him is going to get anything done—especially not if he learns something about this place.”
There was no immediate answer, but there was no reason to be concerned about that; if Kiri was busy, it wasn’t unusual for them to take a little longer to respond. But a minute or two passed, and there still weren’t any answers.
“They may be busy with the others,” Neville decided, “or a Fos that didn’t know they were on a mission needed their help. It’s likely nothing to be concerned about, at least for the time being.”
Jacqueline nervously shuffled. “But that means that we’re left to figure out on our own what to do with Askel. We don’t have specific instructions about what to do when we encounter a mortal on this mission—we shouldn’t risk doing something we’re not supposed to.”
“One of us could head back to Sanctuary,” Verity offered. “Have a quick chat with Micah, get our orders, then come back.”
Neville considered it for a moment, then shook his head. “We shouldn’t risk him seeing us going or coming back from Sanctuary. It’s more likely to lead to a negative outcome, especially if he wanders.”
She muttered a curse. “You’re right. Him seeing us doing that would be just as bad as him finding something he’s not supposed to here…” Out of begrudging curiosity, she glanced over to where he’d been. “And speaking of, he’s wandered off already. I guess our mission has changed to babysitting until we can do what we actually came for…”