"That only powers the cell phone, there shouldn't be any signal inside the labyrinth," responded the elf Trap Finder.
Arthur looked at everyone around him, "Will all of you swear to keep this secret? It isn't just Camelot's secret, but mine."
Iluria the Morlock nodded.
"I'm already bound to you with my heart and soul. I will keep any secret you tell me," uttered Valkyrie.
"We've been adventuring buddies even before we became adventurers. You got my word as a knight and one of your oldest friends," smiled Argent.
"And I'm the other oldest friend, so I'll roll the dice with you any day of the week," grinned Moonglow.
"I gave my pledge. My silence covers this situation. Even if someone were to drug me, I would not reveal anything," solemnly replied Danistrae.
"I've bled for you, that should be enough to show you that I can keep my mouth shut," grinned Bjorn while wiping down the bloodstains on him. He noticed Arthur's worried look and laughed, "I started to use the axe so I need practice. And I dabble a little bit in blood magic. I was using it to increase my strength and strike fear in my enemies, unfortunately, the constructs don't have emotions."
Arthur nodded and explained. "Kelrick is not on the other end of the phone. We use the phone to communicate while I am awake, otherwise, the only time we can talk is when I am asleep. He is... for the lack of a better way to say it... hitching a ride inside of me."
Danistrae nodded, "I understand. He's lost his physical body and is surviving as a spirit and requires someone with a strong enough mana capacity to keep him alive. The Doll's Heart would be why he can stay with you."
Arthur scratches his chin, "I hadn't thought of that, I thought it was me. I already had the Doll's Heart when I met him. That makes sense."
"Iluria, you aren't part of the human world to be classified as an adventurer. What I intend to build here goes beyond being human or Veiled. Would you consider to be a part of Camelot?"
"I think it goes without saying that since we are having my people return. The Morlocks will be co-existing with Camelot. I will wait to give you a formal answer when we have my people back in our labyrinth. I will need to ensure that they will follow my lead or you will end up with an uprising."
"Ok. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Can someone go out of the labyrinth and order us like half a dozen pizzas?" said Arthur rubbing his stomach.
"Pizza?" tilted the Morlock's head. "What's that?"
Everyone grinned and Argent volunteered to go order delivery. Valkyrie followed him to notify the construction foreman of the pizza delivery and ordered enough for them too.
----------------------------------------
After everyone had pizza, they found out that Iluria didn't have a problem with any of the slices. She had one slice of each pizza that had different topping selections. She wasn't as thrilled with soda and opted for water.
They discussed how to bring Iluria to the other Morlocks. After a few possible plans, Valkyrie and Danistrae will escort her to where the other Morlocks are living.
It turned out they were in the New York City sewers and subway systems.
The rest of the group planned to disperse for now and go home. Arthur needed to go back and see his family.
Bjorn left to get some personal stuff and return. It isn't every day that a group owned a labyrinth and he was going to defend our property since the portal would remain open so that it allowed Iluria and the other Morlocks to reenter.
----------------------------------------
"Mom, Dad, Grandma, I'm home," said Arthur. He had removed his gear and left it in Valkyrie's trunk since she had been picking him up and dropping him off lately.
"You are in time for dinner," yelled Grandma Cynthia from the kitchen.
Maria and Eric Crown were in the dining room when he arrived. They hugged and waited for their son to sit down.
Maria seemed to be lost in her thoughts trying to formulate what to say. Eric on the other hand came out with it, "Tell us all about Amy Vanderbilt. Where did you meet her? How did she become your girlfriend? What are her parents like? Just how rich are they?"
Arthur raised his hands, "One thing at a time Dad, and let's wait for Grandma to join us."
Grandma Cynthia came out with a big rectangular porcelain dish that was in the oven. The lasagna smelled delicious and even though Arthur had pizza, he was game to have more food.
"So I can't tell you everything because of the GM rules about some things, but I can tell you the rest," explained Arthur before he filled them in on anything that didn't involve non-humans. They ate while listening and asking questions.
Grandma and Maria smiled at their blushing boy when he mentioned Amy's name or her adventurer name Valkyrie.
Eric listened attentively, he seemed to catch the nuances and half-truths. Arthur could never hide anything from his father. Eric was a human lie detector and was pretty good at reading between the lines.
"So you got alcohol poisoning at the Waldorf?" asked his mother.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"Yeah, I guess a few too many champagnes and wine," he answered, hoping that his father didn't notice the half-truth.
Eric was about to speak when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and frowned. "Excuse me, I need to take this." He walked out to the living room.
Arthur felt relief and shoved a forkful of lasagna into his mouth.
"So when do we meet Amy?" teased his mother.
"Maybe tomorrow or the day after?"
"You should introduce her to all of us. Especially since your birthday is coming up and we will need to invite her to your party," she continued.
Eric came back with a serious face and sat down. "Family meeting," he started.
"A visitor is coming in about fifteen minutes. I want you all to listen to what he says. It is important. Also, Maria, I think it's time to tell Arthur about the past."
"There isn't much to tell," said Maria.
"What is it? Is it something to do with the scar on my chest?"
Cynthia looked at her son and his wife then at Arthur in confusion.
"Yes, when you were a baby you had a congenital heart condition. A doctor at the hospital operated on you to try to fix the condition. They discharged us when you appeared to be doing well. When we got you home, you got sick again. We were just about to call for an Ambulance when a man showed up and he told us he could save you. We think he is from the Veiled. We agreed to it because we were desperate. So he performed surgery right on this dining table. He told us that he had to remove the damaged parts of your heart and replace them. When he was done, you were sleeping soundly."
"Is he the one coming?" asked Arthur in curiosity.
"No, he came much later. He will explain when he gets here."
The doorbell rang and Eric went to answer the door. He returned with a man wearing a dark green suit. At first glance, he could pass for a human but he was an elf. He wore a hat that helped to not call attention to his ears which were mostly covered by his hair that came to his shoulders.
He sat down in an open seat and removed his hat. "Good evening. I'm sure half of you don't know who I am. Let me give you a proper introduction," he started then paused to utter a few words with a surge of mana.
"I just placed a simple spell to prevent anyone from the outside from hearing us whether by magic or by technological means. I am Lord Forestfog of the Veiled Council. My visit here will cause a ripple in the council should it be made public. Your parents were supposed to not know about non-humans but their exposure to the stranger broke that spell's effect."
"What spell?"
"To maintain a balance between the humans and non-humans, a spell was placed on all humans to misdirect their minds when they encounter non-humans. Either a figment of their imagination, forgetfulness, or the trick of the mind. Your parents can see non-humans normally, they have just been acting like they don't. This is what I have advised them to do. Just as you were able to do when you joined the Guild Ministry and became an adventurer. That part of the spell broke and now you can see the non-humans."
"Not to be disrespectful, but why would you visit now?"
"That would be because of a certain arena fight. It has drawn a great many eyes on you. I came to caution you that your movements might be scrutinized."
"Do we know who or what is watching me?"
"I would postulate that your recent run-in with the Imperium would give you the three that you defeated."
"What run-in with the Imperium?" asked the parents.
Arthur quickly filled them in on everything else that they didn't know about. The look of concern on his family's faces was magnified when they found out about the hobgoblins and the poison darts.
"I don't intend to stay here long, so I will end with this. Know that the GM requires a ritual to close a labyrinth that costs a great expense to do what you do without the need for the ritual or the cost. You may find yourself at odds with the very humans you are working with."
"Can you tell me about the stranger who saved me?"
"I can only tell you what I know. Whoever it was had a very strong mana capacity. Strong enough to hide his presence from the entire Veiled population living on Earth. I suspect that he would be hidden in any of the realms as well. Now, I will take my leave. When next we meet, please act like it is our first time. Some individuals and groups are watching my every move as well."
The elf stood up and placed his hat on his head. He dismissed the spell he had placed around the house and then uttered new words that made him disappear from where he stood.
"Grandma, we might have also gotten the attention of whatever company hired you for that program."
Arthur scratches his head, "I need more information. And I don't have a choice but to reveal this. Kelrick has been living inside of me. I modified Grandma's program which I installed on an old cell phone and added a mana crystal to power it. We use that phone to talk to each other when I am awake." He brought out the phone and turned on the program which sounded like a phone ring and someone picking up on the first ring.
"Hello everyone. I am Kelrick Shatterstorm. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintances Eric and Maria."
"Kelrick, you are still alive!" exclaimed Cynthia.
"Yes, I got lucky that your grandson had a large mana crystal in him that allowed me to move over even after the orc mage's spell that should have killed me. I suspect that I'm actually inside the mana crystal which is why Arthur and I can only speak when he is asleep, until the ingenious boy figured out how to modify the program."
"The program doesn't work without you, so why would anyone make it" mused the grandmother.
"What if the person creating it was trying to trap other people's spirits? Like that movie where the aliens were snatching bodies and making duplicates. What if this program was designed to trap spirits so they can take over those bodies or install a spirit that is on their side?"
"There is another possibility. There are sentient undeads that do not have bodies. Since the world has already had incursions from a lot of different races. I wouldn't be surprised if the undead had snuck in with the sentient ones and they are hiding in bodies, but the bodies are dying too fast for them. So they might be the ones behind the making of the program to sustain their longevity while trying to find people with enough mana potential to sustain them. Especially if they are in regular humans instead of adventurers," postulated Kelrick.
"Do you know a Lord Forestfog?"
"We have met a few times, but we didn't get to know each other. The Elven Council doesn't have a Forestfog, so I suspect that name was made when he crossed into Earth. As far as I know, when the elves entered Earth. I was the only Shatterstorm. And most of the elves that came died around World War II. None of the King's family were pulled through. So whoever he is, he might be recognized as the highest rank or power among the elves that were approached by the Veiled Council to represent them."
"Kelrick, do we need to put a spell on the house or on each of my family to protect them?"
"That would be a decision between you and your family. I would advise placing a protection spell on the house to misdirect unwanted hostility."
"I can do that. I know how to and it will give me practice."
"Go ahead, if you need me. I'll be right in your pocket," chuckled the elf as the phone made the sound of hanging up.
Arthur sighed, "I wonder if King Arthur had problems like these. I'm going to end up stepping toes with humans and the Veiled no matter what I do."
"Whatever you decide to do, we will support you. As long as you make the decision that feels right to you, that is all that matters," said his grandma.
"Do what your heart tells you," answered his mother.
"I'm proud of you son. The new Camelot doesn't need the same King Arthur. In this day and age where you are merging technology and magic, you are the new Arthur. And you already have a queen," beamed Eric and couldn't resist making his son turn a deep shade of red.
Arthur excused himself and began weaving the spell as he walked around the perimeter of the interior and exterior of the house. He even walked up to the attic to ensure that all entrances were covered. The protection he placed would resist any magical attack or intrusion. Misdirect all intruders that were not invited.