Chapter 3 - Fae are a Mysterious Bunch

***POV Tia ***

I was in a log cabin with several other figures. On the bed was a woman giving birth. By her side was her husband resolutely holding her hand while going pale at all the blood. The midwife was giving her encouragements to keep her pushing the baby out while her assistants helped by providing water when needed and learning by example. My healing magic helped soothe the pain she was feeling.

[Just a little more!]

[Urgh!]

[You can do this!]

[Argh!]

[1 more push!]

[Ungh!]

[Waah!]

[Its a boy!] says the midwife before quickly cutting off the umbilical cord. A bit of magic was used to quickly remove the last bit of flesh attached to the belly button. Luckily, his belly button was an inny and he won’t be ridiculed for being different. Sad, but it happens. No hair adorned his head, but that will come in time.

The midwife held the child for a moment before one of her assistants gave her a brown cloth to wrap the baby in. After the baby was securely snug and had nodded off into lala land, she then handed the baby to the tired and newly minted mother.

[hmm hmmhmm hmm] The mother hums while gently rocking her baby. Over her shoulder, the father looks longingly as his child while thinking about what it means to be a father. Is he ready? Will he do a good job like his parents did for him? Would he stay in the village and inherit their land or will he run off to fight in far off lands. These questions and more troubled him before the mother scolded him.

[Stop acting like a deer caught without its antlers and hold your son.] Says the mother in a whisper.

[Right. I am gonna hold him. Not a big deal. Just carrying a baby. Ea-] Says the father before being interrupted.

[Don’t make me hurt you.] Says the mother.

[Yes dear.] Says the father curtly and silently to not wake the baby.

His hands reach out and slowly but surely grasps the baby. Lifting the baby causes him to notice how small, weak, and fragile the baby is in his large hands. Yet this boy carries the potential to surpass both parents. Unknown to him, tears fall from his eyes while his wife calmly looks on with tears of her own sliding down her cheeks.

After both parents settle down, they turn to the green fairy in the room. She had silently watched the family pour their hearts out while occasionally probing the mother and her baby with magic to make sure they were healthy and no further complications would arise.

[Thank you for all you have done for my family.] Says the father.

[You have no idea how much this means to us!] Says the mother.

[It was my pleasure!]

[I have been thinking and I would like you to be my child’s godmother.] Says the mother. Her words shocked everyone else in the room, but they smartly kept their voices down as they tried to refute her.

[Dear. are you sure? There is no going back after this.] Says the father with a hint of worry in his voice.

[Daughter, you don’t even know this fairy. She could steal your child from you.] Says the midwife in a harsh tone. Her assistants nodded their heads and hummed in agreeance.

[I have made up my mind and I trust this fairy. I must for without her my child would be motherless.] Says the mother firmly. These words silenced her relatives concerns as they all knew health complications during childbirth were dangerous without an experienced priest nearby.

[Are you sure about this? My blessing will make your child different and people tend to dislike those who are different.]

[Yes and I won’t take no for an answer after all the help you gave us.] Says the mother solemnly.

[Then so it shall be.]

With the fairy’s acceptance, the mother began the naming ceremony. A prompt from the father got him to do his part in things.

[I, Jack Demitri Lemmings, as your father I grant you the first name of Xavier.]

[I, Maria Jamey Lemmings, as your mother I grant you the middle name of Ente.]

[As your parents, we welcome you into this world as a member of the Lemmings household.]

[I, Tia Hunter Lily, as your godmother I grant you my blessing. May your life be filled with wonder.]

With each naming, Xavier glowed slightly as mana branded his very soul. It was not painful so the baby was not awakened in the middle of the process. Once the blessing began, however, everything changed. The air itself trembled gleefully as green mana surged forth into Xavier and abruptly caused him to cry out. This caused his parents to grow concerned, but it lasted for only a few moments.

Once the blessing appeared to have finished, Maria began to rock her child and sing a lullaby. After a few minutes, Xavier drifted off into sleep and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that everyone had a moment to assess the situation, they began to notice a mark upon Xavier’s head. Upon his forehead was a tattoo of a green fairy that was dancing.

[Uhm, ma? Is that supposed to happen?] Says the father.

[Hmm, that normally only happens if the godparent is a powerful figure of legend. Equal to a dragon. Otherwise, the only noticeable changes would be a boost to the blessed person’s physique and/or magic.] Says the midwife.

[I actually expected more to happen. I must be getting rusty.] Says Tia with a pout.

[That’s perfectly fine. This was more than I could even hope for our child to be given.] Says Maria while clutching her baby to her chest as if Tia would take back her blessing.

[But we are grateful and if you ever need anything of us, then ask away.] Says Jack with a beaming smile.

[Oh and if you see Jeremy, give him our thanks for sending you to us. Our child might not have a mother without him being nosy.] Says Maria.

[Thank the Mother of Terra!] Says the midwife.

[I will. Bye-bye!] And with a wave I departed from the happy family. It always feels good to help others in need.

*** Chief’s House ***

[So, do you have the goods?] I say to my partner in crime.

[One ‘Rise of the Valkyrie Knight’ coming right up.] Says my new bud, Jeremy.

[Doesn’t it annoy you that I am taking all of your favorite books?]

[It did at first, but then I realized that I can probably get replacements from the dungeon. You are giving out copies right?] Jeremy says while raising a single brow at me.

[I doubt you can take them out of the dungeon, but you can safely read there. As long as you don’t wander off into the budding ecosystem, nothing should be too dangerous.]

[Advice like that can make me a lot of silvers you know.] Says Jeremy with a wink.

[And attract the wrong attention.]

[True enough. Read far too many biographies of survivors mentioning how quickly that can go wrong.] He says while shrugging.

[Just curious, but how many books have you read?] I ask as I find him to be a surprising font of knowledge on this world. A bit too much for a normal child of a village chief.

[That number is either in the 3-digit range or the 4-digit range, but don’t take my word for it.] His eyes glance up as if pondering his life choices before giving up with a sigh.

[You could probably give my brother a run for his money in this incarnation.]

[This incarnation?] His brow furrows as if perplexed by my answer.

[Reincarnation without all the exaggerations.] At my words, his eyes open wide before he quickly pulls out a notebook and pen to take notes.

[Then do you mind enlightening my ignorant self in what reincarnation is really like?] He says with a winsome smile.

[What would you like to know?]

[Are you akin to an all-powerful deity?]

[In soul? Sure. In faith? Not so much.]

[So does that mean you are a walking calamity capable of enacting Ragnarok, the end of times?]

[Not really. It’s extremely difficult to retain any cheaty powers you possess into the next life.]

[Have you stared death in the face?]

[Yeah and he is a pretty swell guy. We have tea together every time me and my brother dies for whatever reason.]

[Final question. In your honest opinion, what is the meaning of life?]

[My opinion can be and most likely is wrong, but I would say growth is the meaning of life. Unfortunately, life grows the most from conflict. Sad, but I have never seen a sustainable society without some form of conflict. Even angels need something to fight to retain their moral stance.]

His pen had quickly jotted down my responses before finally letting it go with a sigh of relief. He shakes his left hand a little to let the tingling abate.

[Hey Tia. We are still friends right? I mean, I am pretty young and weak and a whole bunch of other stuff compared to you.]

[Of course we are friends. Just think of me as an S-Class adventurer with a bit more know-how than the usual sort who reach that rank.]

[Only S-Class?]

[Until the dungeon gets stronger.]

[That may be a while. Dungeons don’t exactly spread like bunnies.] He says with a snort.

[Then use your well read mind to help us grow faster than bunnies.] He looks at me for a moment before shaking his head.

[If we are doing this, then I better get 1st class seating in the dungeon.] Dull-lidded eyes gazed at me as he plainly spoke his response.

[Only if you bring snacks.]

[Deal!]

*** Inside the Core Room***

[I see you are intent on corrupting our nephew and/or niece with these Knighty Knight books.]

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

[It’s not the worst that could happen.]

[Then what would be the worst? Excluding death and imprisonment.]

[Boredom.]

[We already have plans in place to keep everyone entertained. No need to go overboard with it.]

[You are such a conservative! Going overboard is exactly what’s necessary to get the job done and then some.]

[Or completely miss target.]

Our sibling bickering came to an abrupt end as we felt something enter through the apple portal. A man in white priestly robe with pink hearts took his first steps in the dungeon before side-stepping as another person entered. In came a rather small and frail man wearing clothing clearly made from plants and adorned with far too many flowers. The grass embraced his feet like a lover instead of being crushed by his foot falls.

Before he could get out of the way, another person has jumped through and trampled him onto the ground. She looked completely like a goth with all the black clothing, belly piercing, and black makeup. She had calmly walked off to the side to evaluate the environment as if she hadn’t just stepped on someone.

[Did you really have to jump on me? You could have broken my spine!] The flower man said with frustration as dirt stains literally fell off him as he stood up.

[Then despair at your inability to move out of the way of incoming traffic.] The goth lady says without missing a beat.

[Is that how you want to play it? Perhaps I should change the dye in your clothing and makeup to pink again.] Flower man says while emitting a bit of his divine mana. [Maybe I can even make you irresistibly cute by turning your hair into flowers for a change.] Malicious chuckles leak from his throat at the thought of sweet vengeance.

Goth lady looks at him with a frown. [No flowers and absolutely not pink. Do you know how hard it was to replace the last set of clothing you ruined?] She says with brimming hostility at the memory of their reluctant ride together to this quaint village.

[Now now children. Like it or not, we are all in this together. Possibly forever.] Says the priest of hearts. Goth lady and flower man looked like they swallowed bitter tea as they quickly looked away from each other.

The comedy skit was nice and all, but we had bigger problems. The core had noticed the intrusion and turned its focus away from its ever growing number of creations. Once it got a good sniff of the mana passively being released by these intruders, it became absolutely terrified of how much more powerful they were than it.

[Wait!] [Stop!] We tried to warn the core, but it was too late to stop the inevitable. Its emotions had permeated throughout the entire dungeon. Fear crashed down on our minds before we quickly pushed it down and attempted to coax it with our own emotions. In the meantime, all we could do was watch the travesty through a nifty dungeon screen that live streamed the entire dungeon.

The critters that had yet to truly become monsters had felt its fear and looked towards the disturbance in an eerily foreboding manner. Without even a moment to spare, each and every single critter charged towards the intruders. Each of the intruders had calmly noticed what was going on and patiently waited for the critters to arrive before they started butchering them in an extremely casual fashion.

A wooden action figure in a dress had somehow lunged at flower man with its rapier, but only got entangled by vines for its trouble. [Bloom] He said and it had quickly withered as flowers bloomed across its entire body. Without even taking a single step, he had easily dispatched everything and anything that came at him.

Branches from a tomato plantling attempted to grasp the priest of hearts, but moments before it had ensnared him it had abruptly decided to hug itself and wriggle as if it was the happiest day of its life. The priest of hearts then smiled and snapped his finger towards the plantling which caused it to slump with an exaggerated sigh. It laid there heartbroken with ketchup stains dripping down its body.

Goth lady had walked towards the hordes of critters unopposed and cut them all down with her scythe. Anything that attempted to get close to her would suddenly wail in grief or collapse helplessly onto the ground. The sparrows had it the worst as they all crash landed in a bird pile. It was as if she was pruning a garden rather than fighting.

In no time at all, the ground was littered with corpses that soon began to fade into mana. The intruders were none the worse for wear.

Leaving my brother to protect the core, I moved to confront the intruders. A wooden glaive formed in my tiny hands. It might not do much, but it can at least distract them from the real threat that is our magic.

I flew out of the core room and through the library before I entered the farming biome. Inside, I could see the group collecting some of the monster drops until they noticed me gliding towards them.

[Hi! I’m Tia. Do you mind introducing yourselves before explaining why you are here? The core is a bit concerned about why such powerful adventurers would be here.] I say while obviously gripping my glaive as a warning.

[Oh! It’s the dungeon fairy. Nice to meet you. I’m the Champion of Love, Felix.] He then gestures to his companions.

[You may call me Nicholas, Champion of Blossoms. I like the crop fields, but the core could use a few more flowers for perfumes and dyes.] Nick clearly wanted to say more, but a pointed look from goth lady silenced him for now.

[Name’s Dorothy and don’t you go forgetting it. I champion the Despair within Darkness.] Dorothy says while pointing her thumb at herself.

[That’s nice and all, but why are you here? This dungeon isn’t even ready for the weakest of adventurers yet. Idiots? Sure. But not people who know what they are doing.] I say while tilting my head in confusion. I expected A or B rank tops for checking out the dungeon. Not S-class priests from several churches.

[Tell me about it. I am just here because the Encroaching Darkness could use more territory and resources.] Says Dorothy

[Same for the Mother of Terra. Which is why-] Says Nick

[The same is true for the Heavenly Light.] Says Felix while cutting Nick’s spiel off. [With a bit of careful direction, a dungeon can be guided down a path that is beneficial to our churches.]

[And what would you consider beneficial?]

[Fairy dust, magical herbs, and unicorn blood are immensely useful for potions.] Nick states as if reading a shopping list.

[My dust is off-limits.] I say while angrily flapping my wings in the fairy equivalent of flipping someone off.

[Not a big deal.] Dorothy says while rolling her eyes at me. [We brought a live fairy for the dungeon to absorb or contract if you still have a slot left.]

[The core does have 1 slot left.] I say after quickly checking the dungeon fairy menu.

[Good! That just leaves us to discuss the elephant in the room.] With Felix’s words, the other two focused their gazes on me. [What would it take for the dungeon to build, at the very least, a shrine to our deities.]

[Why would you need one? I doubt anyone would come down here to pray.]

[It’s not for prayer exactly. It’s more of a conduit to channel faith in exchange for favors.] Says Nick.

[Adventurers like convenience and deities give them that convenience.] Says Dorothy.

[All it costs is a display of faith suitable for that specific deity.] Says Felix.

[You do realize this is a dungeon and not a luxury resort right?]

[How it is implemented isn’t important as long as it exists.] Says Felix. [Most usually become deadly traps in order to spite people for forcing it to build something it doesn’t want.]

[One of our dungeons turned it into 1 of its greatest death traps, but heavily rewards whoever reaches it.] Says Dorothy fondly. [Our church turned it into a racing competition among the elite. Whoever completes it the fastest gets 1st pick for vacations. Drove the core bonkers though since it didn’t get the reaction it expected. Good times.]

[Luckily some of our dungeons are more tame and less murder hobo.] Says Nick with his eyes on the floor in reminiscence. [I rather not deal with more venus fly traps that leave me covered in extremely, sticky slime even after I free myself.] He visibly shudders in disgust at the memory. [Took me 5 showers to get it all off.]

Taking a moment of contemplation, I mentally consult my brother and the core for their opinions.

[What do you think? I am personally against making alterations to our game plan.] I say to them.

[Can we fight them off? If not, I don’t think we have a choice. For now.] The core’s thoughts were actually… funny. I suppose we aren’t awe inspiring for a dungeon defense.

[We can fight them off, but it will likely overburden our bodies. Not a good idea since they might just send a larger group of even stronger individuals to crush us. Best not to mess with highly influential individuals until we can back it up.] Tua says to us.

[Then what would you two suggest?] Core asks us ponderingly for a safe plan of action.

[It can be incorporated into the 3rd floor.]

[An easier trial for the religiously devout?]

[Won’t help them for the 10th floor.] Tua’s response caused us all to grin. We could even feel the core radiating feelings of a malicious grin. People are gonna hate and love that floor.

[Then we accept. Shortchange them. Build them up early. Greater fall later.] The core says in its preferred manner of broken sentences. Even with knowledge of proper speech, it still prefers to speak in a non-person manner.

[Alright. I will broker the deal with them.]

Snapping back fully into my body, I shake my head to clear out the dissonance in perspective. The champions had waited patiently for me as if used to fairies having secret conversations with the core.

[We have come to an agreement. Your shrines will be on the 3rd floor when we actually reach that point.]

[All of our shrines? That’s gonna ruffle some feathers. I like it.] Dorothy says with a smile.

[Of course you would enjoy the conflict.] Says Nick while shaking his head.

[Conflict is but a means to an end. It’s their suffering that I truly enjoy.] Says Dorothy.

[You must be one of those fangirls for Vicky’s Illusion Show.]

[You act like guys don’t watch comedy either.]

[They are fangirls too.]

[This is not the time for you children to have your back and forth. Tia of the lovely fairies, I thank you for gracing us with your presence. Please take these gifts of ours while we make ourselves scarce.] Saying so, Felix promptly opened the bag he was carrying on his back and took out a covered cage and some herbs. He also placed a variety of colorful feathers on the ground.

Nick and Dorothy followed his cue with a quiet grumble and removed their gifts as well. Obviously, Nick had placed an assortment of flowers and roses while leaving a note detailing what everything is used for. Dorothy, on the other hand, had gifted us with many items favored by goths. Black roses, black booty shorts, a spare whip, green ectoplasm, jack-o-lanterns, a wolf skull, spiked choker, a few seeds that looked more cursed than safe, gargoyle and reaper figurines, vampire fangs, an assortment of jewelry, a butterfly mask, a corset, and mana crystals. Her wide variety of gifts left the men in the group speechless for several long moments.

[How on Terra did you hide so much in that little bag?] Says Nick.

[Not my fault you men don’t know how to pack things properly.] Saying so, Dorothy walks away and jumps through the apple portal.

[Women truly are mysterious beings.] Smiling, Felix follows her out through the portal.

[Mysterious my foot!] Nick scoffs as he steps through the portal.

As soon as the intruders left, we had to make a final decision. So I flew back to the core room to speak in person rather than in our minds.

[So, what are we gonna do with the cage? You gonna use your final contract slot or do you want me to go stabby stabby.]

[Tia, be nice. Fairies are supposed to help each other when in need.]

[The dungeon comes first and contracts aren’t guaranteed to be loyal. The sparrows are simple minded enough to be ignored. A fairy can be harmless, annoying, and/or downright toxic to the dungeon.]

[Speak first. Decide after.] With the core’s response, I set about removing the cover to see the final intruder for the day. Inside was a small, winged boy that looked similar to us. The exception was his gray skin that has not been touched by magic. He isn’t-

[Hey sis, he’s clearly not a fairy. All fairies are magical.]

[Then what is he?]

[A pixie.]

[Our non-magical cousins.]

[Physically stronger than fairies.]

[More violent than fairies.]

[Embodiment of the saying, “size isn’t everything.”]

[I don’t get it. They wanted fairy dust but didn’t give us a fairy? I can’t just turn an apple into an orange.]

[Technically, you can.]

[Evolution is the name of the game.]

[It’s like the saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side.”]

[A pixie can sacrifice their physique for magic.]

[A fairy can sacrifice their magic for physique.]

[But why would someone give up what they know for an unknown?]

[Then let’s ask him and find out.]

[Hey cousin, why were you captured by mortals?]

The pixie twitched at our words and looked at us with anger. Understandable really. I wouldn’t want to be caged and then sold off or possibly killed by an all devouring piece of crystal either.

[Why bother asking if you are going to enslave me anyways?]

[Slavery? We have no real need or want of something like that.]

[Lies! I heard you make a deal with those blasphemers!]

[Woah! Calm down cuz! We aren’t going to force you into anything.] My brother’s reply caused the pixie to frown. [All we want is to hash out an agreement and then you can go about your business. It’s not like contracts guarantee loyalty. At best you would just feel encouraged to remain within the dungeon for the increased power, mana, life span, and revival opportunities. Nothing more, nothing less.] My brother explains to the pixie.

[With that being said, can you give us your name?] It took a few moments, but he finally decided to at least give us his name.

[My name is Maui of the Spooky Tribe.] He tells us.

[Well then Maui, mind telling us how an illustrious pixie such as yourself was caged like a fledgling bird? Pixies aren’t exactly easy to catch. Much less keep your eyes on.] A frown formed on his face as Tua directed a question at him.

[The stupid heart guy was consecrating our home. It was either face him in battle or lose the land we thrived on for centuries.] In his distress, sobbing noises began to leak from him. [We tried. We really did. But we were just a joke to him, for all that our bodies are blessed with a physique that is deceiving for our size. It was only after he finally grabbed me that he stopped destroying our home.]

His lips quivered as if remembering something even worse. [When I looked back to my family for help, they just looked at the ground instead of helping me. My family, my friends, everyone I ever knew and loved just watched as I was pixie napped.]

We quickly embraced him from the sides. Amongst the fae, family is sacred. Thus we understand his pain to be severed from his.

[There there.]

[It will all be okay.]

It took a few minutes of giving him a group hug, but he finally calmed down and cleaned his face. He didn’t want to talk about his loss anymore and we wouldn’t bring it up.

[Are you fine to continue?]

[I am good.] The small sniffle I heard left some doubt, but I wouldn’t challenge him on it. Men deserve some dignity.

[Then to make things simple. What do you want out of this arrangement.]

[What do you mean?]

[Contracts are malleable to an extent.]

[Take the sparrows for instance.]

[The longer they guard the dungeon, the more mana they are provided.]

[It’s a pay by the minute kind of deal.]

[But you don’t have to guard anything.]

[Or live in here if you don’t want to.]

[So, what do you want?] He pondered on his answer for a few moments, before his mind latched on to something with ferocity.

[Power. Enough power so nobody can cage me again.] He hissed his reply in a manner that almost threatened to spill water down his cheeks.

[That is acceptable.] Tua began to write out a contract on his system interface. [Just as long as you remember that power alone can’t make you happy.] He finishes his nugget of wisdom just as a contract was offered to our cousin.