Hannah is panicking, and not for the first time since escaping the Dungeon. The only reason she had been able to make it through the interrogations with the Guild and the Church, or 'Debriefings' as they called them, among other harmless names, was because she told the truth as well as she could while hiding one important fact.
She still considers Bug to be her friend.
Yes, she was and is still, rightfully upset with the little Necromancer for tricking her. And of course, the knowledge that Bug is still planning on destroying this city isn’t helping any, not in the slightest… But for some reason, Hannah can’t truly force herself to want to betray the girl or to fully sever their freshly born friendship.
For years now after leaving home, Hannah has had no one that she could turn to. No one that she trusted to not betray her at the slightest inconvenience. No one that she could be open around, and not have to worry about pushing them away.
Bug had been, despite being weird, an easy person to get along with. She didn’t care about Hannah’s sinful attraction to the same sex. Bug just doesn’t care so long as it doesn’t affect her. She set her boundaries and made it clear that so long as Hannah didn’t cross them, that Bug wouldn’t be bothered. And Hannah respects that. Yes, she would have been rather happy if Bug had been open to a more intimate relationship, she certainly wouldn’t have said no to spending a night with her, but honestly, Hannah is just happy to have her as a friend.
An actual friend.
Because Hannah knows, deep down, despite the fact that they had only known each other for a short couple of days. She knows that Bug would be willing to do almost anything for her if she were to just ask, and Hannah would do the same.
It’s weird. She had never had a bond this deep with someone else, except for maybe her own parents in the past. But Hannah knows that she would be willing to do some bad things if it meant helping Bug. Just the same as how she knows that Bug is already planning on giving a visit to a certain town after she finally escapes the Dungeon.
Hannah wants to be there when it happens. She wants to watch that place burn to the ground and for every person responsible for Jesica’s death to suffer at her friend’s hands as she watches from beside her lover’s grave. To have their deaths be her final gift to her departed lover. Maybe if she asks Bug for her help, she’ll get the chance to personally strangle the lives out of Jesica’s parents, those horrible people that had personally called for their own daughter to be burned at the stake!
Pushing down her own rage and her regret at not being strong enough to act on it herself, Hannah continues to try and keep herself looking composed as she sits in a private room with the others, still hanging out with The Green Scarves despite her contract with them already having long been concluded. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had promised to help her save as many people as possible, then Hannah would have already used her earnings to be on the first cart out of here and heading east.
Instead, she is still here a week later, trying to spread word about the inevitable destruction of the Dungeon and the resulting decimation that will follow in its wake. She had already looked up the subterranean maps for the city's sewers, using them to note for the areas where the Dungeon is present under the city.
While the first layer only covers an area of about a quarter of the city, starting in the exact center, a location where most dungeons are located as cities typically grow around a dungeon, keeping their entrance safely tucked away in the middle of town, guarded fiercely like the source of precious mana shards that they are, the second layer is far larger than the first. Far Larger… From what Hannah can estimate based of her maps and publicly available data, the second layer alone doesn’t just fit within the walls of the city, but extends a good distance beyond them.
If the Dungeon were to collapse in on itself, the entire city would go down with it. And being a port city, the damage would be even more catastrophic for anyone living here. Sea water would pour in as the docks and shoreline are consumed, flooding in thousands of tons of salt water and drowning anyone that somehow manages to survive the initial collapse. There won’t be any survivors. Short of the rare mage that is capable of flight or those that manage to get aboard an airship, everyone who chooses to stay in this city will die…
And yet, despite all that. Despite how Bug had tricked and used her in the Dungeon. Hannah still can’t really bring herself to hate the girl… She’ll do everything she can to help minimize the casualties, yes. But at the end of the day? Even if tens of thousands of people were to die at Bug’s hands tomorrow, Hannah can’t honestly say that she would hate the girl…
There is probably something wrong with her head. Maybe Hannah is using the justification of having at least tried to help saving lives to wash her hands of this, but she knows that this isn’t a normal way to think...
Regardless, Hannah wants to help Bug and that is all that matters. She wants to be able to share a cookie with her only real friend again, someday.
Regretfully, blatantly lying to the authorities isn’t how she is going to do that. Especially when they had truth divination artifacts to ascertain if she was lying or not. Getting thrown in jail or executed would just be counterproductive. And even if they didn’t have them, Hannah had to be sure that her story matched up with everyone else’s. So, she told the truth.
She stole a trick from Bug though, and that is, ‘So long as I am speaking the truth, then I’m not lying.’
When they had asked her what her personal relationship with Bug was and how she felt about her, Hannah didn’t lie.
“I thought she was nice, and we got along pretty well. I thought we could be friends. But she was using me to get to the boss as quickly as possible. She wanted me to guide her, and I did…”
“And how do you feel about her now?”
“She tricked me. How do you think I feel?”
“Please answer the question.”
“Betrayed.”
The answer hadn’t been a lie. Even now, Hannah is still feeling a little betrayed. But she has honestly already gotten over most of it. After all, Bug never lied to her. Bug told her that she just wanted a guide. Bug told Hannah that she isn’t a good person and that she had killed people before. Hannah knew that she was being used.
So, while yes, she certainly felt betrayed, she is also forgiving because she knows that Bug was at least genuine in her desire for friendship. She also knows that Bug was really hurt at having to betray Hannah’s trust. She could see it on her face as they parted ways in the Dungeon…
Again, Hannah is weird, and she knows it. Maybe her years of loneliness are just making her desperate for any form of companionship, regardless of who provides it... Regardless of all of this, she knows that she should actually hate Bug, but she just can’t really bring herself to do it. She can’t hate the only friend that she has had in nearly five years.
Which brings us back to the present, sitting in a room with the others and sharing a large table with a Noble girl and her maid.
She had hoped that the interrogation would have been the end of it and that she would be able to leave the city with little trouble, but now she is sharing a table with a Noble that has apparently read the records. Information that has mostly been deemed as secret by the Guild.
Yes, they had been sharing the story of what happened themselves, but that had been an altered version of event. The real story, the report, tells of how they had helped the Necromancer escape justice, even if it was done unwittily. If the actual story were to spread, the four of them could potentially end up getting stoned in the street by an angry mob. Hannah of all people understands how unreasonable angry people can be, and she had admittedly got off light in the past.
She can see that the others are thinking similarly to her. They have overstayed their welcome. They need to get out of the city as soon as possible. Goddess forbid if that report were to accidently get leaked to the public.
While Hannah and the others are silently deciding to pack their shit and get the hell out of dodge, the Noble girl is busy reading over the menu, looking intrigued and asking the waitress about different items.
Eventually, she just ends up turning to her maid and asking for help on what to order. Originally, the maid was just going to stand behind her and not eat, but she had told her to join them at the table and eat with her.
The maid quickly places an order, seemingly already knowing exactly what she wants.
“I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger with sauteed onions and mushrooms, small order of fries, and a mug of milk. For my master, please bring out a Boar’s Head classic, small fries, and a sweet tea.”
“Sure thing, miss, and for you folks, can I get you anything else?”
Max speaks for the group and shakes his head. “We’re good on food, thanks. Just some fresh drinks, water for Jakub.”
“Got it! I’ll be back in a bit with those drinks.” The waitress says with a smile and a little forward lean that shows off plenty of cleavage, definitely working to earn herself a good tip. Hannah has to fight to keep her eyes from sinking in between those two barely covered mountains. If it wasn’t for the stress of this situation, she knows that the boys would have been openly ogling her as well.
“Love the waitresses here…” She hears Jakub mutter to himself.
Never mind, one of them got distracted despite the situation. Hannah wants to call him a perv, but she knows that she honestly isn’t much better…
With the pretty waitress gone, the room quickly descends into silence as no one dares to speak first. Everyone is waiting for the Noble to start things off, as that is just common practice. Not to mention that peasants have executed for less, and they aren’t about to try and test this girl’s patience.
So, they wait, Hannah nervously nibbling on what’s left of her plate of fries as she sneaks peeks at the little Noble.
She is very pretty and well groomed. Even though she hasn’t named herself yet, Hannah can already guess that she comes from a very well-off family. With her long blond hair that cascades down her back to end in bouncing curls like a golden waterfall, to her delicate face and supple neck, the girl looks like a doll. Her body is lacking the curves of an adult woman, and Hannah is certain that she is probably younger than herself by a couple of years, probably a fresh graduate from a university or even younger still. With the war robes she is wearing, Hannah can’t get a clear picture of her build, but she gets the impression that this girl knows how to use her body, the steel mace hanging from her belt being a good indicator of that. She is clearly someone who is strong enough to club someone’s skull in if needed, but she also has the Field of a mage respectfully tucked around her body. She feels like water wetting your clothes and soothing your wounds. Not a particularly powerful Water Mage from the feel of it, but someone who has been trained in healing magics. Even further signs of her Noble lineage and clues towards her being part of a more powerful family.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
What family would have any interest in us though? Anything they wanted to know; they could just learn by consulting the Guild…
Hannah realizes that she had been looking for too long and decides to quickly look away, the maid catching her attention. She is staring at Hannah…
Tall build, medium length dark hair, small, faded scars on her face, and a shapely chest that really fills out her maid outfit, the pretty maid gives Hannah a little smile that instantly sends danger signals racing up her spine and into her brain. Hannah quickly decides that her plate fries is very interesting and looks down.
Sam scoots over to sit a bit closer to Hannah, reassuring her a little with her presence.
Eventually, the waitress returns and sets out fresh drinks for everyone, leaving with a promise that the food will be out shortly.
Once she is gone and the door is shut, the Noble girl reaches out and takes a curious sip of her tea.
“Oh, that is sweet! But why is my tea cold?”
“Milady, sweat tea is served cold. It’s a drink that is enjoyed by laborers working on a hot day.” The maid politely informs her.
“Oh, fascinating. Weird, but it tastes pretty good.” She comments happily before taking another sip.
Another sip later and she is setting down the refreshing drink, a happy hum escaping her lips before she gets to talking.
“Now then, I guess we should start with introductions. Pardon my not having introduced myself earlier. My name is Catherine Raingarden, third daughter of the Raingarden estate. This is Zenith, my maid. It is a pleasure to meet you, members of The Green Scarves and their guide.”
The fact that her maid is also clearly her guard goes unmentioned, and Zenith herself doesn’t bother to correct her.
Max responds for the party, bowing his head to the girl before introducing everyone.
“My name is Max, beside me is Jakub, Sam, and then Hannah. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, milady.”
Hannah doesn’t forget to give a little bow as her name is being called out, but on the inside, she is panicking. She had read into what had happened, what had set everything into motion, gone over the original bounties before they were updated with the one platinum reward.
This is the girl that Bug pissed off! The one that she killed the guards of! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! She knows that we helped her. If she decides to get some of her revenge against us, we won’t be able to do anything but run. Not against a Raingarden!
Hannah is sweating now, her heart pounding in her chest a mile a minute as her enhanced eyes start to dilate and hyperfocus in a single fry, getting a very clear view of a piece of salt.
If anyone had noticed her freaking out, they don’t comment on it, Catherine simply continuing the conversation with a smile like nothing is wrong in the slightest.
“Well, it is lovely to finally learn your names. The report had them unfortunately not listed. Oh, please don’t worry though, I have no intention of spreading any information that is contained in it. The Guild Master would be rather upset with me if I did so. Really, I am already worried that my meeting with you might already make him upset with me.”
“If that is case, then do you mind if I ask why, it is that you chose to seek us out?” Max asks her.
“Mmh, nothing much, I simply wish to learn more about what happened in the Dungeon, between you all and that little monster.” Catherine states without dropping her smile, though her anger does manage to show though for a split moment as she tightens her hold on her tankard, the wood creaking slightly in her grip.
Max bows his head a bit, rubbing at the back of his head with an awkward smile on his face.
“Ah… Milady, I do believe that we already put everything into our reports with the Guild and the Church. It was even done with a truth-”
Catherine interrupts, still speaking in a polite little voice, her smile still on her face.
“Yes, I am aware. But I want to hear everything from your own lips. Not from a piece of paper. I want to hear your everything about that creature, how it talks, how it walks, fights, everything it ever said and done, and everything you can think to add. I want your personal opinions on the beast, and to know how likely you think it is to succeed in its plans. I want everything.”
Hannah goes cold in the face, her mind rushing to find an escape route. Even if this Noble girl doesn’t have a truth diving artifact on her, which is doubtful as those are horded greedily by the Church, Hannah has never been the best at lying.
Max swallows down his own nervousness, the others having gone similarly stone faced.
“We will be happy to tell you everything that we know, milady…”
“Excellent, then let's start with how you met, tell me exactly how everything went down from beginning to -"
A knock at the door interrupts and the waitress is soon to open the door, waiting exactly three seconds before doing so as to give people enough time to stop talking. She enters with a big smile and a tray of food balanced on one arm, not minding the tense atmosphere in the room one bit.
“Here we go! One double bacon cheeseburger, a Boar’s Head Classic, annnnd here’s your fries. Can I get you folks anything else while I’m here?”
“No, we are good.” Zenith answers for the room.
“Arighty then, I’ll give you folks some privacy then. If you need service, just ring the bell by the door!”
With the waitress walking out, her hips bouncing seductively with every step, Hannah finds herself wishing that she would have taken her with her. And not because the waitress has a great rear… She just wishes that she could be anywhere other than here right now. Hells, even the mushroom and Undead infested Dungeon would be a preferable alternative!
Meanwhile, Catherine is taking a curious bite of her cheeseburger, her eyes lighting up with shock and delight as her mouth floods with new flavors and fatty meat.
“Oh! Oh, my! This is delicious! Zenith, why don’t we eat these more often, this is amazing!”
“Because they aren’t healthy milady. These will go straight to your thighs if you eat too many.”
“They will? Oh, I would rather that my thighs not get any bigger…” She says as a whisper to herself. “But… Just one every now and again wouldn’t hurt… too much, right?”
The adventures decide to not interrupt her as she is clearly enjoying her meal. Sharing quiet looks with each other while they have the chance, they try to come up with a way to get out of this alive.
Worst case scenario, they might be fleeing the city a few days earlier than originally planned. Potentially as wanted criminals…
----------------------------------------
Catherine wants to curse as she leaves the Boar’s Head with less than satisfactory results. At the end of the day, she is hardly an interrogator, a skill set that was only taught to her eldest siblings. She had considered trying to force information out of them through physical violence, maybe break a couple of fingers, but she could see how on edge those adventurers had been. If they, at any moment, thought their lives were in danger, they would have turned on her and potentially tried to kill her.
As much as Catherine would like to believe that her status as a Noble will protect her in most situations, she isn’t dumb enough as to believe that it would protect her from desperate enough people…
It would be nice if she could threaten them with execution, but the Guild Master has already made it quite clear to her that those four are under his protection… The desire to kill them is certainly there, just knowing that they had a hand to play in helping that little monster is already enough to make Catherine want their heads on a pike.
Taking a calming breath, she forces herself to think a little more rationally.
Killing them would accomplish nothing anyways… It would be nothing but short-term gratification and be nothing but trouble for me. Could always arrange for an accident to happen, but… Haaaaah…
Once they get far enough away from the tavern and its delicious but unhealthy food, Catherine asks her maid a question.
“Zenith, what did you think?”
“They are hiding something.” She says simply, not breaking stride as she matches her master’s pace step for step.
“Mhm, but what? The guide in particular seemed the most scared out of them. What are your thoughts on her?”
“She seemed especially nervous when asking about her relationship and thoughts about the Necromancer.”
“Yes, she never really answered the questions, just giving the same ones that were in the report, almost word for word. I don’t trust her.”
“Yes, milady. She is clearly hiding something.” Zenith agrees as she looks down a dark alleyway and sees a homeless person getting mugged. She doesn’t comment on it, simply taking note so as to keep her master away from the area.
“What would you like us to do about her?”
Catherine puts her finger to her lips and thinks.
“Do we have it my budget to keep some men watching them?”
“For a couple of days, at most. A week at the longest, though the quality of information would be lower.”
“Mhm, do it. I want to know everything that is going on with them, including a record of everything they have done and everywhere they have gone since leaving the Dungeon. If they do anything, I want to know immediately.”
Zenith asks her master next, “Should we send in a request for more funds? At the rate we are going we will be dangerously low before your next allowance arrives.”
Catherine can’t help but to chew on her fingernail at that, an old habit from childhood creeping up on her. “Nnnn… Part of why I am even doing this is to show that I can be independent. If I keep going back and asking for help at every turn…”
Zenith bows, “I understand, milady. We shall make do with what we have.”
“Mhm… On the subject of my family, has there been any word yet on if they will be sending aid, to try and help the city in this disaster?”
“Unfortunately, not yet milady. I have yet to receive any letters from your family.”
“Haah, really, I doubt that we will get any. Silest is under Silvercrest’s holdings. I could easily see my father letting this city be destroyed as a way to weaken his rivals…”
“Perhaps you could convince him to save the people as a show of goodwill? To help with your family's image.”
“Doubtful. Our image with the people wouldn’t be changed much by helping or not, not in any tangible way that would see immediate results that my father would care about. If he were to act, it would only be to get the Silvercrests in his debt, and I don’t see them coming to us for help until the situation becomes truly dire.”
“And by then, it would already too late, correct milady?”
“Yes… I just wish that we had some kind of lead that we could use to get ahead of this situation.”
Zenith lets out a little giggle, catching Catherines attention. “Well, we did learn at least something about your target that we hadn’t before. It apparently loves cookies.”
Zenith continues to giggle, whole unaware of the turmoil going on in her master’s mind.
Cookies! Again, why do they keep coming up today!? That dream… What could cookies possibly have to do with any of this!?
Unsurprisingly, this and a couple of other little things was all that Catherine could get out of the adventurers and their guide. The rest of the party hadn’t even been aware of the cookie thing, only just now learning that the little monster, Bug, has a box of fresh cookies that she carries around in her space storage. The fact that a Gremlin of all things has access to such a rare and valuable type of magic is still baffling to Catherine. Space Mages are the most sought-after type of mages. Their ability to keep items fresh and store goods makes them incredibly valuable, especially the ones that are skilled enough to be able to store entire caravans' worth of trade goods.
And yet this damn Gremlin is using it to keep her cookies oven fresh…
She still finds it hard to believe that she could have more than one element of magic. The vast majority of people only have the one they are born with, like Catherine’s water. Special cases might be born with two, and especially skilled mages might become able to branch off into neighboring elements. Catherine still dreams of the day that she might be able to use ice magic after all. To go even further, many rumors suggest that the Demon Queen is capable of wielding three elements, maybe even more.
But from what the reports are saying, and from what she herself had seen, this Gremlin of all things, can use Necromancy, Nature, Body, supposedly Ice, Space, and whatever that spell was that forced Catherine to feel pain like her entire body had been dipped in acid. She can only pray that it wasn’t the forbidden Soul magic, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it is…
Caught up in her own thoughts as she walks back to her hotel, Catherine catches a smell of something sweet, her gaze pulled upward from the sidewalk and her boots.
‘Special Sale! Box of a Dozen Cookies, get them while their FRESH!’
An advertisement in the window of the very bakery that she had walked past earlier today, written in bubbly words with images of cookies floating around the words.
The words spoken by the monster in her dream comes back to her unbid, “You should have just given me a cookie…”
“Milady?” Zenith asks as she observes her master who had suddenly stopped walking.
“Zenith…”
“Yes, milady?”
“Let’s buy a box of cookies…”
Zenith has to hold back her smile, excited at potentially getting to have a snack that she has only had on two separate, very memorable, occasions. One of the many perks of being a Noble’s maid.
“Yes milady! What flavors should we get? Might I… Might I pick one?”
“Yeah, yeah, sure…”
Catherine has no idea why, but she has a feeling that cookies are about to be a very important part of her life, and not just because they taste good.