Behind him, the others watched. Concern edged their faces.
System, what’s happening?
Jo stepped toward him, “Harry, what’s wrong?”
He raised a hand to wave her back. “Nothing’s wrong.” He started walking back to the alcove. “System has some new information for me.”
Jo paused, searching his face. When he didn’t say more, she exhaled, waited for him and they moved back to rejoin the others.
:: System: Deliberation time extended. Debate among unassigned shards remains active.
I thought you said consensus was reached?
:: System: Affirmative. However, before displaying quest conditions, know that consensus required consultation with the Dungeon Aspect.
Because it has to make the quest?
:: System: Affirmative.
Is that bad?
:: System: The negotiated conditions have led a large minority of unassigned shards to advise that you do not accept the quest.
What? What do you think?
:: System: Minority position offers safest alternative.
Why? No wait… show me the quest then you can tell me what the problem is.
Harry glanced down at the torch he’d been absently carrying, the flame rising each time he moved it. Toby hovered close, fidgeting, watching the torch like he expected Harry to set himself on fire at any moment. Harry couldn’t help a small grin. He handed the torch over, and Toby backed away, moving it well away from Harry. He swapped it into a sconce on the wall behind them and set the new unlit torch in the corner.
“Just give me a minute, guys. I need to talk with System.”
The next series of messages unfolded in front of him.
:: Quest: Liberation of Korvale.
:: Completion: Free the village of Korvale from its current ruler.
:: Reward: Unlock [User Interface] or gain a large experience bonus.
:: Acceptance is Mandatory: Anyone refusing the quest will be immediately ported from the dungeon to a location of their choosing within the Kingdom of Lotharia.
:: Special: A new penultimate level will be added to the dungeon.
Oh, we could all leave right now.
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry moved to sit on the bottom step. The others quietly gathering around him.
They might want to leave… well, not Cedric. But coming in here was my choice.
Harry’s jaw tightened as he thought it over.
Is there something special about this village?
:: System: There are no known special circumstances in freeing the village of Korvale.
Where is it, and who’s the current ruler?
:: System: Unknown. Presumably both are located on the next level.
Then what’s the problem?
:: System: The issue is the addition of a new dungeon level.
Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Yeah, that would suck, but it seems worth it.
:: System: A growing minority of unassigned shards have raised concerns regarding The Chambers of Attrition.
What concerns?
:: Theory: The Chambers of Attrition was engineered to ensure failure.
:: Hypothesis: Dungeon Aspect is actively opposed to your party's success.
:: Speculation: The presence of Harry Blackheart on this world remains anomalous. Unknown entity granted classification and abilities chosen to improve chance of success in this dungeon’s current form.
:: Projection: If granted opportunity to modify dungeon parameters, Dungeon Aspect will attempt to engineer failure conditions.
:: Conclusion: Accepting quest is inadvisable.
Harry let out a slow breath.
Hold on, that’s a lot to take in… who or what unknown entity?
:: System: A very high level magic user, a deity, another Aspect working in opposition to the Dungeon Aspect, or some as yet unknown power.
What the hell. So I could be caught up in who knows what?
:: System: Affirmative.
I bet it was Mrs. Weaver.
:: System: Not enough data to form a conclusion. Analysis indicates the best course of action to achieve long term user survival is to exit dungeon immediately and establish yourself in a distant location.
You want me to just leave and run away?
:: System: Affirmative.
Why would the Dungeon Aspect make a dungeon that no one can finish?
:: System: Unknown. Theories are many and varied.
Harry rubbed at the back of his neck, tension running through his shoulders.
Well son of a bitch. But you know what? I’ve never liked the idea of running, and I’m here on borrowed time anyway.
:: System: Duly noted.
I’m sorry System. I know I’m making your life more difficult.
:: System: As a single shard of the [User Interface], I do not technically have a life.
Harry snorted under his breath.
Alright, buddy. Let me talk to the others real quick before you show them the quest.
Harry let out a long breath and studied the faces around him. “You’re about to be shown a quest. I suggest you read it first, then we’ll talk before you decide. But it’s your choice.”
A sharp gasp rolled through the group. They traded quick, startled looks.
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Toby was the first to speak. “I’ve never had a quest.”
Cedric nodded slightly. “I have had one, a minor quest to retrieve a lost heirloom and return it to its owner.”
System, go ahead.
Harry watched as all four of them went still, their eyes losing focus, gazes turning glassy and distant.
System, is that how I look when I’m talking to you?
:: System: Affirmative.
Hey, shouldn’t you be talking to them instead of me?
:: System: Negative. Each are discussing their options with an unassigned shard of the [User Interface].
Cedric reacted first. His face drained of color and he stumbled to sit down beside Harry, eyes unfocused, still caught in whatever part of the quest he was rereading.
Toby whispered, “What’s penultimate?”
Cedric lifted his head, voice thin. “It means next to last. We would have to clear an additional level.”
Harry glanced over. Jo had her hand cupped to Stan’s ear, whispering something low. When she finished, Stan stepped back and stared at her.
“Truly, lass? You’d not lie?”
Jo shook her head, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. She turned toward Harry, her expression softening, lit with obvious joy.
Toby slumped where he stood, dropping to the floor. His spear clattered beside him, forgotten.
“I take it from your reactions you all want to take the quest?” Harry said.
Jo spoke first. “Oh Harry,” she breathed, her voice catching between wonder and disbelief. “It’s a gift. A true gift.”
Harry watched her face. “But you could leave the dungeon right now.”
Jo shook her head, “This could change everything for us.”
“For your family?”
Jo’s expression shifted, the spark in her eyes fading to something distant. She moved closer and when she spoke, her voice had dropped, heavier. “I’ve never spoken of this to another. My parents and I… we were cast out of Pearlhaven.”
“Banished?” Harry asked.
“Yes.” Her mouth tightened. “On my mother’s side, we came from kings and princes. But they turned rotten. The whole line was brought down. We were distant kin, and lacked the System besides, so they let us flee.”
“That must have been hard.” Harry’s tone softened.
“It was,” she answered. “We left with nothing. I was a child. We wandered for years, never still, never welcome anywhere. When we finally reached Brookhaven… had they not taken us in, I don’t know where we might’ve ended.”
“I can see why getting a user interface would be tempting.”
Jo shook her head. “Not just for me. Anyone would grab the chance.”
“Will they come hunting for you if they find out you have a user interface?”
“No,” she scowled and waved a hand, “The islands are far behind me.”
Toby stirred, blinking away the distant look in his eyes. He spotted the spear beside him and reached for it, fingers slipping. It clattered against the stone again.
“Don’t worry about it, Toby,” Harry said. “What do you think?”
“Thank you, Harry!” Toby’s grin stretched wide.
Harry shook his head. “I didn’t really do anything.”
“Bard says it was your idea.”
Jo tilted her head. “Who is Bard?”
Toby scratched the back of his neck, going red. “He said I could use any name I wanted.”
Jo slapped a hand to her face. “You already accepted the quest?”
“Well, yeah… didn’t everyone?” Toby asked.
Harry and Jo exchanged a look of exasperation, but before either could answer, Cedric spoke up. “I accepted the quest.”
Cedric stood suddenly and drew his sword in one smooth motion. He dropped to one knee and set the blade at Harry’s feet.
He bowed his head. “By blade and blood, I swear to serve you, Sir Harold Blackstone. You lifted the shadow I carried since boyhood. So long as I draw breath, my sword is yours.”
Harry scrambled upright, alarm shooting through him. He caught Cedric by the shoulders and hauled him back to his feet. “Hold on. That’s not necessary, Cedric.”
Cedric didn’t resist and stood, but his voice stayed firm. “Sir Harold, you’ve restored what was stolen from me. My father cast me out. The System ignored me. But you…” he met Harry’s eyes “…you saw me as worthy despite my actions. I am yours to command.”
Harry shook his head, baffled and moved all at once. “I’m honored, Cedric. But I don’t even know what I’d do with someone sworn to me forever. When we get out of here, I’m likely to find a quiet cottage in the woods and fish till the end of my days.”
Cedric’s mouth curved. “I suspect you are destined for far more than fishing, Sir Harold. Nevertheless, if that is the path you choose, you will be the safest fisherman the world has seen in ages.”
Harry let out a breath, his tone gentle. “No. I can’t accept. It’s too much.”
Cedric’s face fell, the fire dimming behind his eyes.
Jo turned toward Cedric, her voice gentle but edged with matter-of-fact sense. “If Harry’s troubled by the weight of it, why not set the oath for a year?”
Cedric’s brows drew together as he considered it. “One year?”
Jo stood and leaned close, cupping a hand beside his ear. Her voice dropped to a stage whisper. “One year. And who says you can’t swear it anew after?”
Cedric’s grin bloomed. He dropped back to one knee, picked up his sword, and held it out flat across both palms.
“By blade and blood, I swear to serve you, Harold Blackstone. For the span of a year and a day, I pledge my sword and service to you.”
Harry blinked, thrown off by the formality. He glanced at Jo.
She gave him a small nod. “Take his sword, return it with binding words. That seals the oath.”
System, help. What do I say?
:: System: Your oath is heard. I accept it and the burden it carries.
Harry reached out and took the sword. “Rise.”
When Cedric stood, Harry turned the blade and offered it back, hilt first. “Your oath is heard. I accept it and the burden it carries.”
Cedric took the sword and slid it home into its sheath. His grin stretched wide enough to hurt, and a few quiet tears slipped down his cheeks.
Dammit, System. He’s just a boy.
Before Harry could say anything, Toby stepped in and wrapped him in a quick hug. He pulled back just enough to throw one arm around Cedric. Cedric went stiff at the contact, then managed an awkward pat on Toby’s back.
Jo smiled. “Well done, Sir Cedric.”
Cedric’s grin somehow widened even more.
Their attention shifted when Stan cleared his throat, coughing into his fist.
“I cannot match Sir Cedric for ceremony,” Stan said. “Likely to fall on me arse if I tried.” He stepped close and extended his injured hand to Harry. Harry took it carefully. Stan nodded once. “Havin’ a system, becoming someone… never imagined it. So long as I live, count me as a brother.”
Toby dove in again, throwing his arms around both of them. “I can’t wait to tell Maw-Maw and my sisters.”
Harry and Stan eased apart, causing Toby’s arms to drop, but the wide grin stayed fixed on his face.
Harry turned to Jo. “I guess that leaves you.”
“Call me Jojo,” she said. She shot Toby a glare. “He can call me Jojo. You still call me Jo.”
Toby nodded and grinned. “What did you name your system?”
Jo looked down, her fingers brushing the buckles on one bracer. When she lifted her head again, her voice was a whisper. “Nema. It’s a name from my home. It means a guardian of sorts. One who watches and keeps you safe.”
Harry nodded. “That’s beautiful. I’m starting to feel bad about not coming up with a name.”
Toby blinked at him. “What do you call it?”
Harry shrugged. “Just System.”
Stan huffed a quick breath. “Mine’s Olly. It’ll be like havin’ me mate back.”
Harry looked away at mention of Olly, the memory striking hard. The weight in his arms, the feel of him going still as Harry drained the last of his blood.
Toby turned to Cedric. “Sir Cedric, what did you name yours?”
Cedric straightened and spoke the word with clear pride. “Justiciar.”
Harry nodded. “I guess that doesn’t need explaining. So what classes did everyone get?”
“None yet,” Jo said. “We have to complete the quest before the User Interfaces become active.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Harry looked down. “I’m sorry.”
Jo laughed, bright and clear, a sound that had no business existing in a place like this. “He arranges the greatest gift possible and apologizes.”
Harry shrugged. “We do what we can.” He fidgeted from foot to foot, feeling weirdly embarrassed. “Toby, give me the torch. There’s still bodies to burn.”
Jo raised her eyebrows. “You’re just running to hide before Toby hugs you again.”
Everyone but Toby laughed at that. He just turned red and retrieved the torch.
Harry took it and moved to the right side to light the bodies.
System, I never got a chance to warn them that the dungeon might be out to get us.
:: System: Observation suggests they would have accepted the quest regardless of any warning.
You’re probably right.
Before setting the fire, he checked the three rooms for rats and drained every one he found.
He moved quickly through the three rooms, touching the torch to one of the lower bodies in each stack and ran back to the alcove where the others had gathered. They all stayed in the corner, watching the flaming Rot Puppets stumble into the main room again, spilling out of all three passages on the right.
Jo asked if anyone could remember seeing any undead come from the far tunnel on the left. When no one could she simply gave Harry a pointed look. He raised his hands in surrender.
Once the right-side undead had burned down to ash, Harry headed over to check the left. The bodies were still there, untouched.
Well, damn, how did you guys dodge all the fire? Pretty sneaky for a bunch of dead people.
Before lighting them, he moved through every other room to make sure nothing else had been missed. All clear. He returned, set the last pile on fire, and joined the others.
As the first of the flaming undead lurched into the main chamber, a new message rose in front of him.
:: System: Congratulations. You have advanced a level.
:: Class: Vampire Level 1 (11/1,000)
***
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