They crawled through the twisting tunnels in the Rainbow Mountains, with only the faint light of Clyp’s glowstick to guide them. They could hear tunnels slamming shut around them, and occasionally a pathway would snap closed right in front of them. They tried to move through the tunnels hastily. One tunnel was so steep downward that they had to slide down it. To their delight, it shocked the crap out of them as they slid down it.
“Ow, shit, shit, shit!”
“Fuck!”
“Zounds!”
“Please keep up. We should move quickly to avoid becoming trapped.”
They continued down the tunnels, following Clyp’s lead whenever they came to a fork in the path.
They were all terrified. The crystal tunnels slammed closed with such force that they would easily be crushed if caught between the walls. Kirsa clung to Noah, scared, whenever one of the tunnels slammed shut, and yelped. He felt flattered that she clung to him as her source of safety. He just wished he had someone he could cling to, since he was scared too.
When he was at the entrance to the Passage and eager to get through the Rainbow Mountains to the other side, Noah was ready to overlook the risk that they could become trapped. But now that he was surrounded by miles of cold, dark, emotionless crystal, the danger was tangible.
They moved with haste, hoping they could get as far through the Passage as they could without becoming trapped. But as they ran, Noah began to realize something. He could hear passageways slamming shut around them, sounding like gunshots as they snapped closed. But he couldn’t hear any dull explosion sounds in the distance. All of the tunnels collapsing were collapsing right around them. Even as they ran, the collapsing followed them. Maybe there was another explanation, but Noah felt they were being targeted. Something or someone was closing off certain tunnels to lead them somewhere. Where?
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to stop and think. They were running through the tunnels, trying not to be crushed. If they were being guided by an intelligent being, then hopefully they wouldn’t be crushed. But Noah couldn’t rely on that. He kept the word “Dash” ready on his lips in case he saw the walls on either side of him start to snap together, though he knew this was probably in vain. By the time he saw the walls coming toward him, he would already be dead.
“Guys, I think we’re being led somewhere,” yelled Noah, out of breath.
“Indeed,” said Clyp. “That is the logical conclusion.” Clyp’s voice had no sign of strain. He had no lungs to breathe with, after all. “This is not a natural occurrence.”
Another passageway slammed shut to their left, forcing them to take the right passage.
“What do we do?” screamed Kirsa. She was in a panic, and her little hand crushed Noah’s like a vice as she ran behind him.
“I don’t know,” said Noah. “We have to be ready for anything.”
“My magic is ready for any threat. Though whatever force can rearrange the passageways like this could easily crush us to death.”
“I don’t want to die!” screamed Kirsa.
Berenice was quiet and stoic behind Kirsa, but she flinched and screamed whenever they heard the bang of a tunnel collapsing.
Clyp yelled back to them as they ran. “There is a cavity up ahead. The cavities are usually not connected to the passageways, but this one is. Perhaps we should take refuge there.”
“Or maybe that’s where we’re being led,” said Noah.
“That is a logical statement. Maybe we should not approach.”
“I don’t know,” said Noah. “I think if they wanted us dead, they could have killed us already, right?”
“That is most likely true.”
“Noah, please, slow down! Oh my Eye, we’re gonna fucking die!”
“Kirsa, calm down! Jesus.”
“There.” Clyp pointed ahead to where the curved tunnel opened into a large, cylindrical room. As they turned the corner, they could see that at the center of the cylindrical room was a large, metal contraption the size of a house. It looked immensely complex, like some kind of giant, alien engine. But, it was quiet and immobile and looked to be partly dismantled.
Around the edges of the room were tables made from the same colourful, milky crystal as the Mountains. There were also chairs, shelves, and various apparatuses. A stone ladder reached a smaller second level, which ringed around the upper part of the giant engine in the center of the room. The tables were all covered in a mess of glassware, half-built machines, computer chips, etched glass tablets that seemed to serve as paper, and endless metal tools and devices.
They heard a high-pitched voice from the other side of the room behind the engine. It spoke slowly and had a mechanical quality, like metal scraping against metal. “Arriva deda una fasta lie khava finala lie nota. By me vunna forra scara ringa to you apologa gee maka. Butta, me vunna helpa needa ringa by. Pleasa khelpa ringa.”
A humanoid creature stepped from behind the engine. It looked alien. It was made of silvery metal, which moved freely like ordinary flesh. Its flat, rectangular face was nearly twice as tall as a normal human face, and it had six metal eyes arranged in two columns of three eyes each. The eyes looked like polished brass and had no pupils. The creature had no visible mouth or nose. Its body was gangly. It was nearly eight feet tall. It wore no clothing but had no visible body parts that Noah would have thought should be covered up anyway. Its body was smooth and lanky. It ambled toward them, tilting its head at them, staring at them with its six eyes.
“Brotta khera una ghenta lie vera. Sora gee bee ringa, butta you manna gee my peopala reviva ringa needa. You manna gee villa khelpa ringa, ora you manna gee villa livva ringa notta.”
The creature stared at Noah and his group. Noah could pick out some of the words he was saying. It sounded like some kind of weird blend of English or Italian or Russian or something. He thought he heard words like “you”, “people”, “brought here”, “revive”, and “apology”, but he wasn’t sure. His mind strained to pick out any meaning from the creature’s words.
“Bee ringa downa ghetta onna kneesa anda bee ringa resista notta.” The creature spoke more loudly and stepped toward them.
“Stay back, silicon-based lifeform. Or I shall be forced to use lethal force.” Clyp changed his stance so he could shoot a ball of force from his crystalline hand if needed.
“Wait,” said Noah. “We don’t know if he’s hostile.”
“What? He was trying to squish us with the tunnels!” screeched Kirsa. “Kill him, Clyp! Blast him!”
“Wait!”
The silvery creature raised its long arm toward them, and the tunnel slammed shut behind them. Kirsa and Berenice both screamed.
“You have been warned, silicon-based lifeform. Any further aggressive action-“
“Just shoot him already!”
“Kana easy lie I vana you many bee ringa killa. Be resista ringa nota. Vooda be aza usa fulla to me dedda aza a livva. You manna gee no thinga arra. You manna gee punna gee arra. I vana you manna gee bee ringa killa iffa havva ringa to.”
“He said kill!” screamed Kirsa.
The creature pointed at Noah. “You vunna be ringa khomma.” He beckoned Noah to come toward him.
“Don’t go!”
Noah slowly took a step toward the creature. Its weird metal eyes watched him as he slowly approached. “You want me to come toward you, right?”
“Noah, he said he’d kill you! He said kill!”
“Maybe he’s afraid we’ll kill him. Are you afraid we’ll kill you? We don’t mean any harm,” said Noah. He walked very slowly toward the creature. Soon, Noah was within reach of the creature. He could feel static electricity surrounding the creature, which made the hairs on his skin stand on end.
The creature looked down at Noah and pointed its hand at him. Noah felt the air around him harden and clamp him in place. He cried out. He tried to resist against the hard but transparent air, but he couldn’t move. Noah’s sword floated away from his waist onto the ground behind the creature.
“Noah!” screamed Kirsa.
“Eye help us!” screamed Berenice, and she sprinted to get away from the creature.
With one hand controlling the invisible barrier surrounding Noah, the creature’s other hand started moving casually through the air, swiping side to side in the air like it was swiping on a tablet or phone. As it did so, Noah felt chunks of his flesh pull painlessly away from his body. He looked down and saw the skin and muscles of his chest pull away from his ribs and float in front of him like ribbons. The creature flicked its wrist, and the muscles and skin twisted and reattached to Noah like it had never been detached.
“Shoot it!” Kirsa screamed.
“I cannot. Noah is in the way. I will try to get a better angle!” Clyp shouted as he strafed to the right, trying to find an angle where neither Noah nor the giant engine in the center of the room would block his shot. The creature could see what he was trying to do and moved Noah like a shield to block him.
“Shoot it! Shoot it!”
“I can’t!”
Noah screamed in horror as the creature rifled through his body. At once, his hand would detach from his wrist, all of his fingers would detach from his hand, and then his fingers would separate at each joint. The skin, muscle, blood vessels, and fat would unwrap in layers, revealing the bone underneath. Noah felt his hand go numb when this happened and felt sensation return when his hand re-wrapped itself and reattached to his body.
“Doza itta vuna inna da khedda be ringa khieda?” The creature tilted its tall face to get a better look at Noah’s various tissues. Noah felt no pain but felt disorientation and tingling as his bodily tissues detached and reattached in turn. The creature’s hand started to move toward his face. He felt a pulling sensation on the skin of his face, and then his vision went black. He screamed until he felt his throat open to the world, and his screaming became a gurgling.
His vision returned to him as his eyes reattached. He felt the top of his skull start to pull apart from the bottom half of his head. He saw Berenice standing behind the creature, holding a beaker or vial of some purplish liquid. She threw it at the creature, and it shattered on impact. “Vatta?” yelled the creature. Noah’s flesh all returned to his body, but he remained trapped by the hardened air. Keeping one hand pointed at Noah, the creature turned to look at Berenice.
She looked up at the creature, terrified. It looked down on her. “Anima malla vunna!” it shouted. It went to point at her with its free hand, but then a giant ball of air slammed into it from the side. Clyp had managed to get a clean shot and knocked the creature off balance.
“Yes! Die, you fucker!” screamed Kirsa from the sidelines.
Noah felt the air around him soften, and he could move. He saw that the creature was off balance but wasn’t going to fall over. Then, once it recovered its footing, it would probably use its magic or whatever it was to murder them all. Fuck! Noah tried to think of something. His go-to defence was Dash, but he wasn’t sure it would help him. Maybe if the stone blocking the exit tunnel was less than ten feet thick, he could Dash through it and run away, but then he’d be leaving his friends behind. Unless, if he held onto them, they would become incorporeal too? But clearly, the tunnels weren’t safe anyway. The creature could slam them shut and kill them all.
Noah had to kill the creature. He had no weapon, though. The creature had taken his sword. His eyes darted around quickly, looking at the tables of tools around him. A few tools looked big and heavy enough to be used as a club. But he would need more than a club to kill such a powerful creature. Before he even got to it, it would use magic to freeze him in place and pull his brain out of his nose or something. And would he even be strong enough to do real damage? He was too slow and too weak. But then he had an idea. He reached for the table a few steps behind him and grabbed a metal tool that was thick and rounded on one side and square and thin on the other. He grabbed the thin side, holding the tool like a baseball bat, and then looked toward the creature.
The creature was now turning its attention from Berenice to Clyp. The liquid Berenice threw at him didn’t seem to be having any effect on him, but it did serve as a distraction. She was quickly backing off from the creature. The creature pointed its arm toward Clyp, and Clyp, who was trying to shoot the creature again, was frozen in place.
“You vunna shtoppa!” the creature yelled at Clyp. “I vuna justa vanta deda to khumana be khomma ringa!”
“Dash!” Noah yelled. His feet carried him toward the creature at lightning speed. The creature was shockingly quick to react to Noah’s approach, but with Noah’s time dilation, it was still too slow. Noah held the metal tool out in front of him like a lance and aimed for the creature’s center of mass. Rather than dashing right at the creature, which would cause him to pass through the creature and end his Dash right behind it, he ran on a diagonal, ending his dash beside and slightly behind the creature. He twisted his arms and torso, keeping the end of the tool aligned with the creature’s center of mass.
While Noah dashed, the tool, like him and his clothes, was incorporeal and passed through the creature like it wasn’t there. Then, his Dash ended. The metal tool was embedded in the creature’s chest. The creature screeched in pain. Its six eyes rolled in its head as it screamed, and it grabbed the tool with both arms, pulling it free. A deluge of black liquid fell onto the ground from inside the creature, and the creature fell immediately to the ground, dead.
NO! MURDER! MURDER! Noah heard an ear-shattering voice screech inside his head. He fell to the ground, holding his ears and wincing.
Black liquid continued flowing from the creature’s metal body as it lay on the ground, dead.
“Yes! Oh my Eye, yes! Die, you fucker!” Kirsa hurled a metal device or tool from one of the tables at the dead creature.
“Art thou well, Noah?” asked Berenice, as she approached Noah. Still wincing, he shook his head. “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s nothing. I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Aye. I give thee thanks, Noah. That was a valiant maneuver.”
Kirsa came toward them, still visibly shaken. “What was that, Noah? I thought you were a warrior? But I haven’t heard of a warrior having abilities like that. Are you a really high level or something?”
Berenice interjected. “Kirsa, that is Noah’s business, is it not?”
Kirsa scowled at Berenice but sighed and clung to Noah’s arm. “Whatever. I’m just glad you saved us. You’re my hero, Noah!” She kissed him on the cheek. “You’re more powerful than I thought you were! That was amazing! I feel so safe with you protecting me.”
“Okay,” said Noah. He was still disoriented from being taken apart and put back together like Legos. He stared down at his hands, flexing them slightly. They worked fine. They looked normal. But just a few seconds ago, they were in pieces, and he could see his muscles and bone.
“What was that thing?” asked Kirsa.
“I do not know,” said Clyp. “The gemfolk are not aware of such creatures residing in the Mountains. We know some caves and cavities are usually inaccessible by the passageways, but that’s all. We did not know who or what, if anything, resided within them.”
“Art thou well, Noah? When yonder man rent thee into ribbons, methought thou wert surely to meet thy end. Yet, thou seemest whole. The man must have been of a very high level.”
“Yeah, I think I’m okay. Thanks, Berenice.”
“I do not know if the magic we saw was the result of a high level or merely powerful ancient technology.”
“Technology?”
“Yes. As a gemfolk, I have a relatively open conception of what a humanborn creature may look like, but I doubt this creature is of human origin. It is too strange.”
“You mean it wouldn’t have levels?”
“Probably not. Rather, it is probably a member of a race with a powerful understanding of artifice.”
“Dost thou mean it’s an Artificer?”
“Yes, though what I really mean is that the creature is capable of creating artifacts. Look at this room. Does it not look like a workshop or laboratory?”
Berenice looked around. “Aye, verily it doth.”
Noah agreed. The room, while alien, could easily have been a space-age laboratory of some kind. Albeit without an exit. The only entrance to the room had slammed shut, and now they were effectively trapped in a hollow cylinder of hard crystal.
“So,” asked Noah, “Now that that thing isn’t trying to kill us, how are we gonna get out of here?”
“Oh, shit. Right,” said Kirsa. She clung more tightly to Noah.
“That is a good question. Perhaps we will die here. Though there may be a way to open the passageways from this room. We are surrounded by many artifacts and machines of great power. Perhaps one can free us. Or perhaps the passages will open on their own, in time.”
“Okay, so we should try to find something that lets us open the tunnels? Maybe a console or control panel or something?”
“I don’t know what that means, but the answer to your question is likely yes.”
“Okay,” said Kirsa, taking a deep breath. “We can probably find a way out of here. We probably won’t die, right Noah? You’ll find us a way out of here?”
Noah reassured Kirsa. “Yes, we’ll probably be okay.” Kirsa continued hugging Noah and taking deep breaths. He felt her shaking a bit in his arms.
Berenice spoke up. “Mayhaps, my lord, we should repose a while and eat? There is no need for haste.”
Noah nodded. “Alright. I’m hungry too. Kirsa?”
“Yeah, okay. I can eat something.”
They cleared off a table on the opposite side of the room as the dead creature and dragged enough chairs to it. They unpacked some food and water and began to eat together in silence. Clyp didn’t eat since his body didn’t require sustenance, and Kirsa didn’t eat either. She drank some water but mostly rested her head in Noah’s lap, trying to calm herself down.
At some point, while Noah ate, he closed his eyes for a moment and noticed several changes to his stat screen.
[Level up! You have reached level 4! You have gained 4 stat points!] [Penalty acquired!]
[Level 4]
[Stats:] [STR: 10 | DEX: 11 | BOD: 10 | INT: 13 | SOC 10 | LUK 10 | MAG 0 | DIV 4]
[4 stat points available] [+STR | +DEX | +BOD | +SOC | +LUK | +MAG | +DIV]
[0/0 Mana] [4/4 Favor]
[Class: Heretic] [1 class ability available] [Class abilities:] [Patron: You have a powerful bond with one of the outer gods. Your current patron is: The Heart] [Second Chance (passive) - You get a +4 passive bonus to LUK when luck would be the difference between you living and dying.] [Dash [2 favor] - You dash forward very quickly, and can move through obstacles during the dash.]
[+Choose class ability]
[Penalties] [Heartless: Until your next level-up, you lose access to your class abilities, and gain a cumulative -1 passive penalty to LUK whenever you hurt someone, physically or emotionally, beyond a certain threshold.]
What! A penalty? Why? Noah quickly realized that the penalty was because he killed the metal creature. But his patron, the Heart, granted him his powers in exchange for not killing people. The voice that screamed in his mind when he killed the creature was female and must have been the Heart herself. Noah felt like an idiot. It was bad enough that he trusted the metal creature in the first place, only for it to peel him apart like a Fruit by the Foot, but for him to violate his patron’s mandate and lose his powers?
His mind went in circles, wondering what he could have done differently. Was there a way to stop the creature without killing it? Noah didn’t think so. If he had merely injured it, it was clearly capable of putting bodies back together and healing injuries, based on what it had done to Noah. It had to be killed if it was going to be fought at all. What was the alternative? To let it dissect him like a frog?
Still, the Heart was angry with him, and now he was weak. Until he next levelled up, he would not only be unable to Dash, but he lost his Second Chance +4 Luck bonus and had a potential penalty to Luck. Noah still had no idea how powerful Luck was, but such a huge penalty had to be drastic. He would have to be very careful not to hurt anyone – or their feelings – until his next level up.
He still had to choose his new class ability and allocate his stat points. He opened his eyes, checking that Clyp and Berenice weren’t noticing he was keeping his eyes closed. They weren’t looking at him. He closed his eyes again and focused on the class abilities first. He had made the mistake of allocating stat points first in the past, but choosing a class ability first made more sense because it would influence how many points he put into Divinity.
[Category: Protection] [+ Double Dash [1 favor] - You may Dash again for only 1 favor if you have Dashed within the last 5 seconds.] [+ Ether Walk [2 favor] - Your Dash is replaced with an Ether Walk lasts for up to 6 seconds, but does not give you any increased speed. You are invisible and invulnerable during the Walk.] [+ Ether Swap [2 favor] - You swap places with another creature. Both you and the other creature are invulnerable for 1 second after the swap.]
At this level, he was definitely going to pick one of the Dash upgrades. The abilities menu seemed to sense his intent, and only showed those options. The rest were faded, but still present if he wanted to see them. He wouldn’t be able to use any ability he chose until the next level, but there was nothing he could do about that.
Double Dash seemed great for travelling longer distances to get away from danger. However, Ether Walk might be even better for escaping danger and would be more flexible, with possible tactical uses. Ether Swap could allow him to save an ally, but generally only by placing himself in danger. Maybe later abilities in that branch of the ability tree would allow him to absorb hits more easily, like a tank? If not, the ability was useless. And he wasn’t sure it was worth the investment just to find out. He settled on Ether Walk.
[+ Ether Walk]
Three new class abilities appeared.
[Category: Protection] [Ether Walk [2 favor] - Your Dash is replaced with an Ether Walk lasts for up to 6 seconds, but does not give you any increased speed. You are invisible and invulnerable during the Walk.] [+ Stunning Appearance (passive) - When you come out of Ether Walk, any creatures within five feet of you are stunned for 3 seconds.] [+ Crowdwalker (passive) - When you pass through a creature, your Ether Walk extends in duration for another 2 seconds, and then when your Ether Walk ends, each creature you passed through is bludgeoned and thrown off their feet. This ability will damage, but not kill. ] [+ Shadowwalker (passive) - Your Ether Walk does not decrease in duration when you are in a shadow. ]
Wow. These new abilities looked powerful. Noah noticed that the skills seemed to be getting more powerful as he got deeper into the ability tree. Specialization might be stronger than diversification. He remembered Clyp saying something similar about the Mage class. It made sense. If he only put points into abilities that level-two people could get, he would just have a bunch of level-two abilities. Would that be very useful? Probably not.
Now for his stats. Intelligence was non-negotiable. By now, he could feel that he was smarter. He was making better decisions. He would put as many points into Intelligence as the system would let him. Which, in this case, was only one. [+ INT].
Magic, Strength and Social were still dead stats, as far as Noah was concerned. Body was an unknown. Dexterity would help him fight and dodge attacks. The only other options were Divinity, so he could use his Ether Walk ability more frequently, and Luck. Divinity was a bad option. It wouldn’t help him survive at all until the next level. It would be better to improve other stats now, and then increase Divinity on his next level up, when he would actually gain something from it. But with his Heartless penalty, he couldn’t use Favor right now anyway. So, Dexterity or Luck? He was pretty sure the increased Luck from Second Chance had saved his life several times. Therefore, it stood to reason that if he had been without the extra Luck, he would have died by now. Luck, then, must be pretty important. Since his Heartless penalty deprived him of his usual bonus Luck when Luck would save his life, he would be more exposed unless he increased his Luck.
He decided to put all three points into Luck. He might not put points into Luck again later on, but putting points in now was a good way to offset the danger from that stupid Heartless debuff.
There. His Luck was 13 now. Still lower than the effective 14 he had against dying, but now he had +3 Luck in non-life-or-death scenarios too. Maybe he’d find some treasure or something, or win a lottery. Maybe not. 13 Luck might not be enough to win a lottery.
Noah opened his eyes. Berenice was looking at him.
“Art thou alright, Noah? I mean, master?”
Noah nodded slowly. “Yeah, sorry, I guess I’m just a little shaken from what that creature did to me.” He realized there was actually no reason for him to lie about having levelled up. Berenice and Kirsa already knew he wasn’t level-one, or a Warrior. “Actually, I levelled up.”
“Thou didst? Verily?”
Kirsa turned and looked up at Noah. She looked calmer than before. She started to sit up. “What? You levelled up? Just now?”
“Congratulations, Noah,” said Clyp.
“This is a matter for grand jubilation!” said Berenice.
“Yeah, we need to throw you a party!”
“That may be difficult in our present circumstances,” said Clyp.
“No, it’s okay guys, I don’t need a party or anything.”
“No way, baby! You deserve a party! You saved us! No wonder you levelled up. That thing was dangerous!”
“Aye.”
“What level are you now, my lord?”
“Uhh-“
“Kirsa, ‘tis his tale to tell if he so wishes.”
“Why are you referring to Noah as your lord?” asked Clyp. “I thought the two of you were equals.”
“I’m just joking, Clyp,” said Kirsa, smiling at him.
“I am confused. Why does the free woman refer to you as lord, but the slave refers to you mistakenly by name?”
“Uhh,” said Noah, “Berenice just made a mistake. Right, Berenice?”
“Aye, milord. It shall not happen again.”
“I see.”
“But baby, what level are you? Come on. You told me before you were level three, right? You lied about your class-“
“I didn’t mean-“
“It’s okay, babe, I know, we weren’t a couple yet. Don’t worry about it. But you lied about your class; did you lie about your level, too?”
“No, I’m level four now.”
“Level four? At thy years? ‘Tis remarkable!”
“Indeed. That is remarkable. I suspect you are lying,” said Clyp passively.
“Is it really that hard to believe?”
“Aye, most of thine age are but level two, if they have advanced in level at all.”
“That’s right,” said Kirsa. “My man is a prodigy!”
“But Chastity was level four, wasn’t she?”
“She is an impressive woman, aye. Yet, she is likely much older than thou wouldst think, Noah.”
“What, really? How old is she?” Noah thought Chastity looked his own age. Was she older?
“Umm, who is Chastity?”
Noah immediately felt his stomach sink. He turned to look at Kirsa. Her face was serious, and her look could cut glass. She really didn’t like Noah talking to other girls.
“Uhh,” Noah fumbled.
“She be an elf, like Noah.”
“She’s nobody. Just someone I was travelling with.”
“Huh? Before me? Were you dating her?”
“Uhh…” Noah froze. Kirsa saw his guilty expression and assumed the worst. She started to look upset.
Berenice spoke reassuringly. “From what I gathered, they were but friends, Kirsa.”
“Just friends? So they didn’t have sex?”
“I’m not sure. I did not deem they made love, yet I heard sounds within my farmhouse that might have suggested otherwise.”
“Noah!”
“What? We didn’t have sex!”
“Then what’s Berry saying about hearing you and her together in her farmhouse? Were you in the same room?”
“They did share a bed, but solely for lack of beds. They did not request to slumber together.”
Kirsa stood up. She was starting to cry. “Noah!”
“What? I said we didn’t have sex! We didn’t even kiss!”
“You’re lying! I can tell you’re lying!” sobbed Kirsa.
Berenice felt Clyp’s gaze on her and spoke. “I beg thy pardon, master. Did I utter aught wrong?”
“I’m not lying! No, it’s okay, Berenice. I’m not lying. And why does it matter? It was before we met!”
“Yeah, but you lied about it!”
“When did I lie about it? I never said I didn’t share a bed with her.”
“Whatever, you liar! Why don’t you go be with Chastity? She’s a humanborn; I’m just a stupid Carrot you can lie to!” Kirsa stomped off and disappeared behind the engine to sit on the other side of the room. As she passed tables, she knocked things onto the ground, which shattered or cracked on the hard floor.
“Kirsa!” shouted Noah.
*HEARTLESS!
Noah winced at the loud voice of the Heart in his ears and cupped his ears with his hands.
“Master, I beseech thee, allow her solitude. She will calm down. Art thou alright?”
“Sorry, yeah, I’m fine. She’s so jealous. Why doesn’t she trust me?”
Berenice’s gaze narrowed. “Should she, Noah?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I think thou shouldst speak the truth unto her. I know what mine ears did hear within my house, Noah. As dost thou.” Berenice’s tone was firm but compassionate.
“I-“ Noah fell silent. It was true. He didn’t have sex with Chastity exactly, but he did masturbate while she sucked on his finger. He didn’t regret it; He still wanted Chastity. He just regretted upsetting Kirsa. He closed his eyes.
[Stats:] [STR: 10 | DEX: 11 | BOD: 10 | INT: 14 (soft cap reached) | SOC 10 | LUK 13 (-1 penalty) | MAG 0 | DIV 4]
Yep. His Luck was penalized. Shit. He upset Kirsa, and the Heart did not like it. Maybe Berenice was right. Maybe he should just be honest with Kirsa. He could say that he had a brief thing with Chastity, but now she’s gone, and now he’s with Kirsa.
Or, he could finally end things with Kirsa. He was still in love with Chastity. Chastity was mature, strong, brave, and calm. Everything Kirsa wasn’t. And Chastity was so beautiful. Noah imagined her teasing smile. He missed her. It wasn’t right to be with Kirsa when he really wanted Chastity. He knew this, and he felt terrible about it. But it already happened. The only question was what to do about it. He could break up with her now, in which case she’d be upset again, and he’d be penalized again. And he wouldn’t be able to have sex with her anymore. He felt shallow for thinking that way, but it didn’t matter. He had just lost his virginity to her and was now obsessed with sex. He didn’t want to do anything that would compromise his ability to have sex, even if that was selfish. Besides, what was the harm, if she wanted it too? What did it matter if he was with Kirsa for a few days longer? He could break up with her before they got to the Toldenhold. He wasn’t sure where she’d go after that, but it was inevitable that they’d have to break up at some point.
Noah opened his eyes and looked at Berenice. She seemed sorry for him, but a bit cold, too. Clyp had disengaged from the conversation and had gone back to looking at some of the glass tablets scattered around the room, trying to decipher them. Noah sighed.
They heard another crash from Kirsa’s side of the room and could hear her crying. She must have thrown something.
“I don’t know what I should do.”
“Just tell her the truth, Noah. She will be wounded, but ‘tis not as though thou art in love with Chastity. Thou lovest Kirsa. So express that. Thou mayest have had some carnal congress with Chastity, but ‘tis Kirsa thou cherish, correct?”
Noah sighed. Not really. “Yeah,” he lied. “I’ll talk to her when she calms down.”
“Good.” Berenice smiled softly. “Thou hast a kind heart. Thou art merely youthful.”
Noah rested his head in his hands. He looked dejected. He didn’t like hurting anyone. Or lying.
“Why do things have to get so complicated?”
“I know not, master. But there are repercussions for forsaking thy moral duties. Yet, perchance, ‘tis worth it to shirk such duties and follow one’s heart, as I have chosen. I am uncertain.”
“Thanks, that’s really helpful,” said Noah sarcastically.
“I apologize that I cannot offer more, master. Ordinarily, I would encourage any to uphold their duties, come what may. But, mine own recent shift in sentiment hath cast my understanding of duty into tumult. I am yet piecing matters together for myself.”
“It’s alright, Berenice. I’m sure it’ll be okay. I’ll just talk to her in a bit, and hopefully, she can forgive me. Of course, it won’t matter if we’re stuck inside this stupid mountain forever. Hopefully the tunnels open, or Clyp can figure something out. He doesn’t seem worried, at least.”
“Aye. ‘twould be vexing. And ironic, to quest for freedom and thus meet one’s end in a tomb of crystal. Were it so, I’d die knowing the Eye casts a disdainful glance upon mine choice.”
“But it wasn’t really your decision, was it? I’m the one who told you that you want to be free, right?”
“‘Tis true,” said Berenice, “But I thank thee for it. Thou hast made clear mine eyes to mine own yearning for freedom.”
But it wasn’t really her choice, thought Noah. She only wanted freedom because he told her to. He felt bad, controlling her fate like that, but what else could he do? Let her stay a slave? He needed to teach her to think for herself. But, to start that, maybe he should ask her consent before he started meddling in her mind again.
“Berenice?”
“Aye, my lord?”
“You know you believe whatever you’re told, right?”
“I confess I may be somewhat gullible on occasion, but methinks I do not believe every tale I’m told.”
“Uhh, but you really do seem to believe literally everything you’re told. Like, I told you the sky is pink, and you believed it.”
“Is it not?”
“No! It’s blue!”
“Ah, verily. ‘Tis blue indeed.”
“See? And that pumpkin guy.”
“Who?”
Oh, right. She didn’t know about him anymore. Better to keep it that way, Noah thought.
“Nevermind. But you don’t see how you believe everything you’re told?”
“Nay, I’m sorry, Noah, I do not.”
“Berenice. You believe everything you’re told.”
“Nay, I do not.”
Interesting. He found something he couldn’t convince her of: her own gullibility. Noah wondered if there was some way to leverage that to get her to be more skeptical. He thought about it for a moment, but he didn’t think of anything.
Berenice kept eating while Noah tried to think of some way to get Berenice to be less gullible. She had basically been raped by that creepy pumpkin guy, and that kind of thing was bound to keep happening to her unless he either taught her to be less gullible, or he kept watch over her 24/7. After thinking for a while, he came up with an idea.
“Berenice, I want to try something to make you less gullible, but in order to do that, I have to trick you a little bit. Is that okay?”
“What?” asked Berenice, setting down the ham she had been eating. “Whatever thou desirest, master. If it aids me in becoming less credulous, I shall do it. Moreover, be I free or bound, I do long to please thee.”
“Okay. Berenice. I am gonna lie to you. The next thing I say to you is gonna be a lie. Okay?”
“Aye, I understand. The next words thou utterest shall be falsehood.”
Noah nodded. Then, he spoke. “Berenice, that ham you have been eating is very rotten.”
“I believe thee not. Thou saidst thou wouldst speak falsely, and so thou hast.”
“Yes!” exclaimed Noah. “You didn’t believe me!”
Berenice smiled. “Nay, it appears I did not.”
“That’s great, Berenice! So I can get you to disbelieve me when I tell a lie. I’m not sure how to get you to treat everything you hear with skepticism, but it’s a step in the right direction, right?”
“Aye. I am pleased to see thee in good spirits again.”
“Yeah, I think we might be able to figure something out!”
“Whatever thou sayest, master.”
Noah thought more carefully about how to get Berenice to be more skeptical. She believed everything she was told – with the exception of the depth of her own gullibility – but she wouldn’t believe what she was told if she was explicitly told in advance that she was going to be lied to. How far in advance would that work? And, what if, instead of being told that she was gonna be lied to, she was told she may or may not be lied to and should use her own judgement?
As Noah thought about it, Berenice stared back at him with her hands in her lap. Noah realized she wasn’t eating. Shit.
“Berenice, why aren’t you eating?”
“Umm,” she said, looking down at her ham. “Verily, perchance I’m not hungry. Or, mayhaps the meat I consume is amiss in some manner. Albeit, I know ‘tis not rotten, for thou didst say ‘twas a falsehood. Yet, it doth seem tainted and foul to mine senses.”
Great. She believed he lied to her, but she also believed the lie. How could she maintain two contradictory pieces of information at the same time like that? Noah groaned.
“You know what, Berenice? Why don’t we figure this out another time? I’m gonna go talk to Kirsa.”
“Aye, master. May the Eye watch over thee.”
“And, by the way, your ham is fine. Actually, it’s the best ham you’ve ever had.” Noah stood up to go talk to Kirsa.
“Ah, I render thee thanks, master. It doth appear delectable.” She grabbed her ham with both hands and chewed into it viciously. Her eyes went wide with delight. Noah shook his head and walked around the engine to where Kirsa was sitting on the ground. He saw Clyp nearby, messing with some gizmo. He looked focused and not afraid, which gave Noah relief.
“Hi, Kirsa.”
“What do you want?” She looked up at him. She had been crying, but wasn’t anymore.
“Umm, I just wanted to say…” he hesitated. She looked annoyed that he was hesitating, so he started speaking again. “I just wanted to say I am sorry I lied to you.”
“So you did have sex with that humanborn girl?”
“She’s an elf, and no, we didn’t really have sex, but we did some other stuff.”
“Other stuff?”
“Yeah. Do you need the details? We didn’t have sex.”
“Yes, I need the details. You lied to me!”
Noah sighed. “Fine, fine. I masturbated next to her in bed while she touched me.”
“Touched you?”
“Yeah, she, uhh. She sucked on my finger.”
Kirsa laughed out loud. “What? That’s it? She just sucked on your finger? Why?”
“I don’t know. I think elves aren’t supposed to have sex before marriage or something.”
“Ha! That’s so dumb!”
“Yeah, I know. But it’s all we could do.”
“You wanted to do more?”
“Maybe,” he admitted. “But that was before I met you.”
Kirsa frowned. “But now you only want me, right?”
“Yeah, I’m only gonna have sex with you for now,” Noah said.
“What do you mean, ‘for now’?”
“Well, I just mean until we break up. If we break up.”
“Okay. Fine, whatever. But you love me only, right?”
Noah sighed again. “I don’t know, Kirsa. I like you. You’re okay. You’re sexy. I like having you around. But we just met. It’s a lot to say you love someone you’ve only known for a couple days.”
Kirsa looked at the ground. “I know I can come on a little strong sometimes.”
“Yeah,” replied Noah. He sat down beside her on the hard crystal floor.
“It’s just, when I love someone, I just get crazy about them. And I’m crazy about you. That’s why I was afraid of losing you.”
“Why? You don’t even really know me, Kirsa.”
“You’re amazing! You’re a humanborn, and you’re sooo cute, and hot, and you’re already level four. And you are a good guy and you have a big heart and you saved our lives. And you’re really good at eating my pussy.” She grinned mischeviously and reached her hand out to grab his crotch.
“Well, thank you,” he said, not addressing the hand. “I think you’re great too, and also good at that sort of thing.”
“Yeah?” she asked in a seductive voice.
“Yeah.” He grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his dick. “Not that I would know.”
She laughed out loud and leaned forward and hugged him. Her face was at his chest level, and her arms were wrapped around his arms.
“So you don’t love me?”
“Uhh, not yet, I guess?”
“Okay. But you will love me?”
“Maybe,” he lied. “It just takes time.”
“Okay.”
They hugged for a while, and then she pulled away from him. She looked calm.
“You promise you’re not gonna lie to me anymore, right?” she asked.
“Uhh, yeah, I promise.”
“Okay, good. So… What were you and Berry talking about while I was over here crying?”
“What? Nothing, really. We were mostly just eating.”
“But you were talking, right? I could hear you saying something.”
“Yeah, we were talking. Mostly about the fact that she’s really gullible. I want to find a way to help her be less gullible, if I can.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, that must suck just believing everything anyone tells you. That’s why I was surprised you were even friends with her. She’s pretty useless, isn’t she? She’s a sheeple.”
Noah frowned. “What’s with all the racism in this world? Yeah, she’s a sheeple, and you’re a carrot. Who are you to judge?” He meant it as an intellectual point, but Kirsa looked hurt by it.
“You don’t like carrot girls?”
“No, I do; it’s not that. I just mean, you’re not rich or powerful, right? You don’t have any levels or anything.”
“Oh. But you like carrot girls? You think they’re cute?”
“Umm, I think you’re cute, Kirsa.” That made her smile.
“Okay.”
“Anyway, I don’t like to judge people on their race, or their species, or whatever. I’m a human, you’re a carrot girl, Berenice is a sheeple, and Clyp is a gemfolk. But we’re all people. We all have feelings, right?”
“I guess so. I don’t know. You’re so smart, Noah. I don’t really think about stuff like that. I just know that sheeple are dumb and believe whatever they’re told. That’s all.”
“Yeah, she is pretty gullible.” He didn’t bother arguing with her about the distinction between intelligence and gullibility. “ That’s why if I can figure out how to make her less gullible, that’d be a good thing.”
“Wow, I bet the longfolk would hate you if you figured out how to do that.”
“Yeah, I guess so. But I just want to help Berenice.”
“So you care about her?”
“As a friend, yeah.”
“Are you sure you should have other girls as friends?”
“What, why not?”
“Well, what if something happens? What if she tries to tempt you again? You might cheat on me.”
“I’m not gonna cheat on you, Kirsa!”
“Just stay away from her, okay? You can talk to her when I’m there, but don’t talk to her one-on-one, okay?”
“Fine, whatever.”
“You promise?”
“Fine.”
“Okay, good. I just don’t want Berry trying to steal you from me. I don’t trust her. I know she’s in love with you.”
“No, she’s not, Kirsa.”
“Is too,” she said.
“Whatever. Should we go back to the table so you can finish eating?”
They went back to the table. Kirsa looked embarrassed, but Berenice was smiling and greeted her kindly. She had already finished her entire chunk of ham. They sat down, and Kirsa finished eating. Noah had some more food, too.
When they were done, Noah went to ask Clyp how things were looking.
“I am hopeful. I have not secured our exit, but I believe this console to be a control panel that controls which of the tunnels are open or closed. If we can figure out how to operate it, then we can escape.”
Noah felt a wave of relief. “Thank God.”
“Who is God, and why should I thank him?”
“Nevermind, Clyp.”
Clyp looked at him, confused, and then turned to the table beside him. “I have also collected several artifacts of note. Most of the machines in this room are in disrepair, or I cannot discern their function. However, these seem like they would be of great use. I think it is only fair we divide them evenly among us.”
“Oh, like loot?” asked Noah. “Awesome. What did you find?” Noah felt excited about getting a cool magic item or something, and hoped the artifacts could live up to his expectations.