Theodore frowned as he looked back at the two individuals with him. This was the first time he had entered Thornkeep Sanctuary in a few months. Well, it was the first time he had been here outside of the few times he had teleported in only to immediately teleport away. He didn't want to disturb Violet's rest and she had been sleeping since the end of the winter season. It was now the beginning of summer, but he could no longer put things off.
The first time he had arrived at the dungeon, he had felt guilty about being so late. He had gotten the notice that a new floor had been added to the dungeon a few days prior, but he was in the middle of handing David over to the guild master. It had taken a bit to sort out a new home, Alice's schooling, and the indentured servant contract between David and the local guildmaster. Since there was a dungeon in the area, both he and Beowulf had been able to teleport back to the Dungeon Diplomat village, to report their success, right away. He had teleported to Violet's dungeon right away after that. However, it had been too late for Theodore to meet with Violet by then.
Since she had been asleep, he had gone back to his village and immediately started taking his refresher course on dungeon management. He had also sorted through all of the applicants for David's replacement and teleported all over the place to put up some more notices. Now, he had, finally, found the perfect individuals to join Violet's dungeon, but he needed her to be awake before they could even begin to discuss the possibility of signing a contract.
Violet was sleeping heavily, enjoying reliving her memories from her past life until a nagging feeling pulled her from her sleep. It had been so long since she had last been conscious that it was confusing and disorienting to be pulled away from the hyper realistic dreams. Blinking her eyes, she looked around the room she was in, unsure what was going on. When she saw the deep purple dungeon core on the stone pedestal above her, everything clicked.
The discomfort from having someone on her third floor pulled at her consciousness once more, demanding her attention. She had no idea how long it had been since she had first gone to sleep. However, as much as she was tempted to panic, assuming intruders were making their way to the dungeon core room, she tried to remain calm as she packed up her bedding and used her [Guest List] skill to see who it was.
Guest List:
Name:
Classification:
Class:
Rank:
Location:
Theodore
Dungeon Diplomat
--
--
Third Floor Hallway
Amara Moonwhisper
Elf
Priestess
F-rank
Third Floor Hallway
Solas Silverfrond
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Elf
Cleric
C-rank
Third Floor Hallway
It seems that Theodore was bringing strange people into her dungeon again. It wasn't a super common occurrence, but this was hardly the first time either. Still, Violet felt herself getting excited as she read over the classes of the two Elves with him. They weren't very high-ranking individuals, but they seemed perfect for David's replacements. Exactly what she had asked for when describing what she wanted to Theodore.
Theodore didn't enter the dungeon core room right away, but knocked on the door between them instead. Violet appreciated his cautiousness in not bringing complete strangers into her sanctuary. She immediately opened the door and greeted them.
"Hello! Sorry I didn't greet you sooner, I was resting."
Theodore smiled knowingly as he replied
"Yes, I'm well aware. I apologize for disturbing your rest, but I've brought some individuals I'd like you to introduce you to. This is Amara Moonwhisper, a priestess, and her husband, Solas Silverfrond, a cleric. This is Violet, the Dungeon Master for Thornkeep Sanctuary."
Amara looked shocked by the lack of title, but recovered quickly as she greeted
"It's lovely to meet you. I apologize, but how do you prefer I refer to you? I'd hate to offend you by calling you the wrong thing."
Solas nodded, seemingly waiting for Violet to answer.
"Oh! It's really kind of you to ask! I actually prefer not to be referred to with a title, but, if you must, could you settle for something simple like 'Miss Violet'? I know that's the compromise I had to settle for with my pixies."
Solas chuckled before bowing, greeting
"It's lovely to meet you Violet. My wife was quite excited when she heard about your dungeon and I just couldn't say no when she wanted to apply to work with you."
"Oh, dear! Don't embarrass me now, you know I wanted to make a good impression."
Amara said. Violet already liked these two. They reminded her of her own husband, Lee, who she still loved quite a bit. It was nice to see them get along so well, but it was certainly bittersweet knowing she'd never get to banter like this with Lee ever again. Theodore gestured toward the dungeon core as he asked
"Do you mind if I check things out while you finish getting to know one another?"
Violet stepped aside, allowing him access to the room before asking the two Elves in front of her
"So, what made you want to apply to work here then?"
Amara was excited as she replied
"Well, I haven't actually chosen a deity to serve yet! Solas chose the goddess of healing a long while ago and has already made it to C-rank and gotten so many class skills while I've stagnated. It's hard to find deities who fit with my own beliefs and don't already have an abundance of followers, so I've been checking out new dungeons to see what sort of deities they choose for a few years now. When I saw the notice for your dungeon, I couldn't help but be interested.
What is the goddess of love and beauty like? She sounds lovely compared to the god of death or the goddess of chaos, but I've never heard of her."
Violet wasn't sure how to answer the woman's question. It wasn't like she could hear the voice of the goddess, she just received quests via the system. Could priests and priestesses hear the voices of deities? She wasn't sure, but she also didn't feel comfortable asking. Seeing her awkwardness, Solas changed the topic as he teased his wife
"You could have accepted the goddess of healing like me. I can understand not wanting to align yourself with such bloodthirsty deities, but there are plenty of more neutral ones like the god of commerce as well."
Amara laughed nervously as she explained to Violet
"I'm not exactly much of a merchant, so that wouldn't have worked well for me. Besides, I want to help people, not charge them an arm and a leg just to find out whether they were born with a class or not. Besides, the goddess of healing has thousands of followers, I wouldn't be able to make a difference. I'd have to follow the rules the higher-ranking individuals in the church make up and I'd be lucky if I could ever level up my class or make even a small difference for the general population."
Violet was starting to really like this couple. Before she could ask any further questions, though, Theodore stepped out of the dungeon core room and asked
"So, what do you think Violet, are they acceptable? I need to know whether to send them away or if we can start discussing the terms of the contract."