Chapter 21. Ilrune

This was the first big drop we had ever seen together, and we hadn’t talked about how we would split up this kind of loot.

Warren Janica typed to me. Maybe you should go for the Cauldron. Witch is a powerful Job, and those rituals can do some major area of effect damage.

I already have a magic-using Job that I can’t use. Shouldn’t that go to somebody who will put it to better use?

Janica grunted her displeasure.

“How do we split this up?” Rowan asked. “Do we roll for it?”

“Before we get crazy,” Henry said. “Let’s talk about our quest. Historically, the Dungeon Seed was packaged with all the ingredients necessary to plant it. That included five uncommon or better items, like the Witch Hazel, and something that can be made into a boss. I’d bet all my silver that the Cauldron would make a boss. Should we consider waiting to distribute these things until after we steal the seed? Just in case the extra ingredients aren’t included.”

I saw his point. With only seven days to find all the requirements we needed, this might speed up the process. The less time it took to complete that quest, the better. Then I could get back to my original plan.

“I’m okay with that,” I said. Rowan and Cassandra agreed.

“I think you should keep the rare items,” Henry said to Rowan. She shook her head. “Cass and I haven’t had a chance to sell anything yet. My inventory is getting really full. Why don’t you keep them?”

“You okay with that Warren?” Henry asked.

I nodded. “That’s fine. But can you split up the Silver?”

“For sure,” Henry said, handing me my cut. Twenty-five Silver. I still needed 871 Silver to make my weekly quota. Six days to go. More importantly, I needed to establish a reliable way to make consistent income. If I had to kill elite harpies and put everything at risk week-after-week, I was bound to fail eventually.

“Where are you going to plant the dungeon core?” Ilrune asked.

Everyone turned to him. I had forgotten he was there. Ilrune had a way of fading into the background.

“I don’t know yet,” Henry replied. “The quest implies that we need somewhere with plenty of space to let it grow. Why? Did you have an idea?”

Ilrune didn’t answer at first. His eyes scanned Henry’s, as if searching his soul. He turned to Janica. “Fairy,” she started, “what do you know about the Great Mistake?”

Janica stuttered, caught off guard by the question.

“I don’t mean to be accusatory,” Ilrune said. “Quite the opposite. But please, tell us what you know. I’m curious if it's different from what I know.”

Janica sat upright, gathering her strength. This was a trigger for her, rooted in shame. “Twenty years ago,” she started. “My race was recruited to help the Central Kingdom with a major project. We were called to assist from all four zones, and so hundreds of us traveled to Central City. Fairies are a people that can combine our strength into singular, powerful spells. But we’re also a people who will only do so for great reasons. The Council convinced our leader, the Queen, to cast a spell that would provide heat and power for the tens of thousands of citizens who lived there, many of whom were poor and lived in squalor. A person living in the slums could access that power, providing basic necessities to their family. For free. I was one of the hundreds of fairies who helped a Grand Ritual that tapped into the mana flows below the city.”

I stared at Janica, as she spoke, but my mind wandered. Back in Detroit, millions lived in poverty. Much of the urban area had concentrated so densely people lived in towers a hundred stories high. Sofia and I lived on the 18th floor. The poverty line was considered anything below floor 40. We spent nearly a third of our income on utilities. If fairies were to show up in Detroit and cast a spell that gave us free power, Sofia and I would worship them. It would change our lives. Whatever shame Janica felt over the results, I respected her for trying.

“The Ritual took us the better part of a week. Back then, mana regenerated at normal rates. In stages, we gathered and deposited mana into different energy silos. We pulled mana from the land, rested, and repeated. When fairies work together, we create a collective mind. I lived in semi-consciousness during that time as our queen directed our efforts. It was draining, grueling work. But it was also beautiful. In the end, we completed the ceremony and, for a brief moment, we were able to see the fruits of our labor. People connected their homes to access points, and we saw lights turn on all over parts of the city that had relied on fire for centuries. And then, moments later, the ground shook in a great earthquake that opened the land right through the middle of Central City. A great chasm. Not only did it undo the work that we had done, but it broke mana channels everywhere. Since then, mana has stopped working all over the continent.” Janica sat back, and bowed her head down. “Somehow, we failed everyone. And we will do one hundred years of penance to make up for it.”

“That’s terrible,” Cassandra said. She moved to put her arm around Janica.

Janica looked up, startled by the gentle contact.

“Maybe it’s not your fault,” Rowan said.

Janica didn’t answer.

“You did the right thing,” I said. My jaw tightened. I needed her to hear how important it was. How much something like that would have meant to the people. “People in our world don’t do things like that. Or can’t. It was brave.”

Janica looked up at me. It seemed she felt my intensity because she matched my demeanor. She nodded.

“I don’t think it was the fairies’ fault at all,” Ilrune said.

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Eyes turned to Ilrune.

He sighed. “I’m from a little town up north called Feygrove. Just inside of the Northern Zone, but way off of any main roads. When the Great Mistake happened, we also lost our ability to use mana, but not completely.”

Henry seemed to perk up at this, and Janica’s eyes went sharp.

“Mana does regenerate in Feygrove. But much much slower than before.”

#x200e “So you think we should plant the dungeon in your town?” Henry asked.

“No,” Ilrune said. “I would actually beg you not to. Wherever you plant that dungeon, it will attract people from all over. You will transform that location into a bustling city with cutthroat competition, guilds, adventurers, warriors, thieves, and those who wish to profit off of those willing to risk their lives in the dungeon. Our people live away from main cities on purpose. We have a unique way of life, and it would destroy our sweet town.”

I hadn’t thought of the Dungeon Seed in this way. As a magnetic force so strong that it would draw people from everywhere. But it made sense. Dungeons, in games, were places where adventurers invested their energy and resources because of the gear, fame, and experience that they offered. Which attracted others who sold to and profited off of those gamers. There had to be some way to take advantage of this knowledge.

“Then what were you suggesting?” Henry asked.

“If our little town was affected differently than other places,” Ilrune said, “then maybe understanding why could help find a cure, or at least a cause. Maybe there are other places like our town.”

“Can you tell us what makes your town different?” Henry pressed.

Ilrune shook his head. “I don’t know. But I will say this. If I really wanted to learn how mana channels worked, I would go find the oldest, widest selection of research and knowledge that I could.”

“At the Central City Library?” Henry asked.

Ilrune shook his head. “I’m sure there are some large, ancient tomes in that place. But no. There is an ancient school to the far North West once called Edreru University. Now it is called the Spectre Academy because people have reported seeing ghosts of professors walking its grounds. Its stacks are said to be fifty floors deep into the ground. It was once a place where scholars from Human and Elven societies gathered to teach, learn, and do research on every topic. If I wanted to figure out what really happened, I would go there.”

Ghosts, ancient schools. Great. That’s just what I needed— more danger and a long journey.

Henry looked doubtful. “Wouldn’t the scholars have already published their findings about what happened?”

Ilrune sighed. “That would be impossible,” he said. “The entire place was powered by mana. When the Great Mistake happened, the infrastructure shut down and everyone below the ground level suffocated.”

Cassandra let out a gasp. “That’s so… disturbing.”

“How could we even get down there and stay alive long enough to get answers?” Henry asked.

“Plant the Dungeon Seed there,” Ilrune suggested. “If the seed is powered by its own sources, you could turn the school into a dungeon. It would be a great service to the world if we had that information back, even if we had to send powerful adventurers to recover it.”

A slow smile spread over Henry’s mouth. He was hooked. I could tell. Whatever we said, no matter if we disagreed, Henry had found a way to access the greatest library in this world.

“Come on,” I said, standing up. “We need to get out of here.” It was already 8 p.m.

“I’ll walk a ways with you,” Ilrune said.

It took us an hour to exit the forest of creepy harpies. As we left the area, the atmosphere changed and so did our collective mood. It seemed as though everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if the witches kept a tension in the air. I couldn’t even imagine how that place would feel if the harpies still had their mana.

“Let’s camp here for the night,” Rowan said. “Don’t we still need to discuss our plans for tomorrow?”

Henry nodded. “Yes, and Warren needs to teach you all the Musician Job.”

I looked at him, concerned. “Is that something I can do?”

Ilrune looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

Your Perceptive Attribute has been triggered.

“Ilrune,” I said. “Do you happen to have a suggestion?”

He sighed. “It’s late. I really should be getting back, and I have a long way to go… but Warren, are you a Job trainer?”

I shook my head. I looked from person to person, and they were each staring at me. They knew I had gotten the Musician Job simply by playing music in the bar, but they didn’t know how. I wasn’t ready to let them in on my little secret. My fingers began drumming on my leg.

Janica saved me. “Come on,” she said, motioning to Rowan, Cassandra, and Henry. “Let’s gather wood and make a fire. We’ll give these two a minute to talk.”

When Ilrune and I were alone, I asked, “Are you a Job trainer?”

“I’m a Job trainer for the Warden Job,” he said. “I’m also an instructor of other Job trainers. But helping someone become a Job trainer takes months, if not years, of training. It’s not something I could grant you on a whim.”

Ilrune’s generosity made me uncomfortable. People looked out for themselves and their families. They didn’t save strangers from danger, then volunteer their time to assist. “Why are you so willing to help us?” I asked. “You found us out here, then just started keeping us safe.”

Ilrune smiled. “Helping others is one of the surest ways to find meaning in life. When I was young, I didn’t understand that. Sometimes, it feels like we can’t help others without helping ourselves first. But the irony is that the best way to help ourselves is by doing kindness. It’s backwards, but very real.”

“But why did you trust us?” I asked. “We could have been crazy people.”

“That’s a little personal. Let me just say that sometimes I get an instinct. I’ve learned that I need to follow those intuitions. When you spotted me in the forest, I felt it in my gut that I needed to follow you.”

I could understand that. I felt like that too sometimes, and it was usually a set of body language that led me to trust some people. Or, much more likely, not trust them. I decided, for the first time in a long time, to follow my own instincts. “I have an ability to learn things quickly. It’s like, if I can do it once, I can pick it up forever.”

Ilrune stroked his chin. “Okay, let’s try something.”