Alastair woke on a boat. He didn’t know what the day would hold for him. Perhaps Flor would go off on her own, or maybe they’d need to attack the mayor again, this time with a more comprehensive plan. We caused a bunch of destruction as it was. I don’t think anyone expected that.
He went through the motions of skipping the cut scenes and manacles. I really should watch those. Maybe if Flor and I take some time apart, paying attention to those will be a distraction. He considered the many other things he could explore as distractions around West Shilgrave. Maybe head out to the farms and visit that farmer dude.
As the manacles fell off, Flor showed up. “Let’s go get brekkie slop,” she said.
They walked to the prison tavern, so consistent and solid. Horace served them but didn’t look any different than any other day. He wouldn’t know we nearly beat up the Mayoral procession, would he?
Flor ate quickly, then urged Alastair to do the same.
“Just tell me what you want me to know, already.”
“Whoa, there buckaroo. Let’s get you a temporary rage reduction then I’ll consider introducing you to the Mayor and his Lady.”
“What?!” He looked around and then lowered his voice. “We fought them just yesterday.”
“Once is enough. We now have a token that allows us access to the manor. Lady Rosa said she couldn’t access the city interface but would force the Mayor to do so when we arrived today.”
“Doesn’t he despise us?”
“He shifted back to a neutral disposition. Probably as a character reset when you killed each other.”
“How did you convince the Lady to trust you?”
“We talked. On the ride back to the city. I figured we wouldn’t be able to enter without her help, and it wasn’t likely if she despised us, so I told her about the search party and what happens if they head up to the Keep.”
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“She believed you? Like, did you guess a bunch?”
Flor took a calming breath. “You constantly assume I’m incompetent. I know that’s not really what’s happening, but it’s how it comes across. It’s been much more consistent since we’ve been here. So, I need you to know that I was serious. When we wake up on that pier tomorrow, I’m going in my direction and leaving you to yours. And I’ll continue to do so until I feel comfortable that you have sorted your biases. You can start now, but that won’t change my plan. You can nod for understanding.”
Alastair considered, then nodded. “It’s… I don’t want this.”
“You have to earn me, Alastair. You always have. By your actions every day. Whatever happened in this game, the artificially induced rage burned a hole in my trust in you. You have to earn it back. It’s possible. I’m not lost forever. But you have to work so much harder.”
He nodded again. “So we have today to do what? What else did I miss?”
“To answer your other question, I told Lady Rosa that she and the Lord Mayor become missing if they go to the keep. A search party is set out if they don’t return to the city on time. And that I had no idea what that meant, but it couldn’t likely be good. Lady Rosa escorted us through the gates. She even dropped Irving off at the Angry Onion. Hopefully, he was able to greet his sister there. Then Rosa took me into the Manor. She introduced me to Assistant Three Helena Lara. I was shown a room with a jumbled-up city map. Helena explained that there had been something off with how things were working, and normally they would be corrected by moving pieces around on the map. However, only the Mayor can do so, since he has the city key. When I described our daily resurrections, Lady Rosa and Assistant Helena shifted to disposition Neutral Plus, and then Rosa gave us the token to access the manor grounds. This morning we have to convince the Mayor to give us access to the map interface, complete whatever associated puzzle, and then we should ‘Complete the city.’ I know that’s a bit to take in. So tell me what you think?”
Alastair was puzzled. He felt obligated to check in on Irving but wondered if their day resetting meant everything Flor had just said was overwritten. Surely whatever Lord of the Keep would still demand his daily sacrifices, even if the Mayor’s party didn’t return. Would a neutral disposition affect the fencer that Flor had faced? He had only caught parts of the fight but was thoroughly turned on by her cunning and prowess.
“Do…let me check.” Alastair pulled up his interface. He was still a Scribe 0. He had zero coins and health potions, but still his tunic, headband, and dagger. “It’s like I was resurrected exactly as I died yesterday. Minus money.”
“Yes. I woke with added rage this morning. I don’t have any health potions but I’m not sure we had any before we attacked the procession, and I didn’t loot the guards because I didn’t want to insult Lady Rosa.”
“So…hmm. What do you think? Can we do some quests before going to the Manor?”
Flor sighed. “How about we test tomorrow’s separation? You go do chores and I’ll meet you at the manor in a little bit?”