An Unbound Soul

As the day wore on, the bar filled up with delvers coming back from the dungeon. Apparently, it was only ten floors deep and a good team could reach the bottom in a single day's work, so camping out in the dungeon was rare. The boss chamber of each floor also had a teleporter back to the top, so those who couldn't make it to the bottom could abort at any point. It truly did seem to be a beginner friendly dungeon, but in that case, why did so many people die in it?

Both parents seemed rather overwhelmed, but neither did they want to leave me, so I took it on myself to suggest heading back to our assigned dorm room. Before we made it, we bumped into the receptionist again in the corridor.

"Good timing. Peter, the guild master is calling for you again."

Hmm? I didn't recall my name ever being mentioned since we arrived here, aside from some of the bar patrons. I guess [Privacy] couldn't level every time. This time we were without Warren, which was strange, too; he was more our less our assigned minder. Maybe someone else would fetch him before we started?

Warren didn't turn up, but this time there was a second person present in the office. It had been years, but I still recognised him immediately. Why was he here?

Silvanus Reid, Human, Lord of the Fertile Plains (?/?)

Oh, right. Nobles had family names. So he was Silvanus all along, and he wanted to be notified if the village was ever attacked again? Then maybe that was how they knew my name. He looked over at me as we entered.

ding

Skill [Privacy] advanced to level 6

His left eyebrow raised in complete independence of any other part of his face, but he refrained from comment. I really wanted to know if this guy was an enemy or not, but now was not the time for panic. This was the person who had requested delvers be assigned to guard our village, after all. Without them, I would very likely have bled out in the forest, so I could give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

The guild master spoke up first. "We've had our dismantling team autopsy your orc, and it's perfectly normal. Nothing at all unusual about it. Identical in every way to an orc corpse dragged up from a dungeon."

Lord Reid was the next to speak. "I'd like to hear the details of your encounter, but first I must ask: it appears that something wants you dead. Would you happen to have any ideas as to what?"

Yes, I did; whoever was responsible for the brainwashing. But either he's the one responsible, in which case I should feign ignorance, or he isn't, in which case I literally cannot explain to him. But now that he'd asked the question, I was reminded of an earlier thought...

"I'm not actually convinced that the culprit wants me dead."

Lord Reid's left eyebrow threatened to depart his face completely. "Oh?"

I tried to line up all the points that led me to this counter-intuitive idea. "First, why the attack with slimes? They were never going to be a danger to anyone. At worst, we would have fled and abandoned the village, but my life was never in danger. Second was the timing of the orc attack. Why the gap between attacks? Between the slimes and the orc, I had visited the forest on my own on multiple occasions. Instead, the orc attack took place at the perfect time for me to acquire the [Victorious Underdog] title, in circumstances in which help would arrive within a tightly controlled time period, lowering the risk."

"Are you claiming that something is interfering in the normal behaviour and production of monsters in order to aid your growth?"

"Exactly. It appears that something wants me to grow as quickly as possible and isn't afraid to put me in harm's way to accomplish it. As to who or what this 'something' is, I have no idea. As to why..." And here comes the moment of truth. "You probably have the same suspicion as me..."

"You refer to your trait, and the resulting fact that you are attuned to both space and time affinities, something generally considered impossible?"

He didn't mention soul affinity... Given that I also had body, there should be no reason to mention space and time but not body and soul, even ignoring that fact that sentients shouldn't have soul affinity to start with.

"Little one..." started Mum, sounding completely lost among these revelations. "Just how much haven't you told us?"

To be fair to myself, the aiding-my-growth thing was something I hadn't deliberately kept from her. It was simply that I hadn't had a chance to consider it properly yet. "Sorry, I kept my time affinity hidden because I didn't want to draw attention. As for the other thing... I'm more or less thinking it through as I go along here. The attack was only yesterday, after all."

"We can speculate all day, but we ain't going to get anywhere," interjected the guild master. "First off, please give us an account of your encounter and fight with the orc."

I described the fight as best as I could remember it. Hearing it in such detail was obviously hard on Mum, but right now, giving these people the information I had seemed to be my best shot. Despite that, no-one seemed to glean any new insights from my description.

It was Lord Reid that broke the ensuing silence. "Cassian, give Peter special permission to enter the dungeon. Peter, I won't tell you to deliberately throw yourself into danger, but do try to push yourself."

... What? My mind went blank in shock. What insanity was he spouting now? I thought he was trying to protect me, but now he wants me to fight in the dungeon? Why?

Apparently deciding that the stunned silence meant that more explanation was needed, Lord Reid continued. "Peter said that the culprit was prepared to put him in harm's way, but it was worse than that; it was prepared to put those around him into harm's way, too. The first time the whole village, the second time the child called Cluma. If he tries to hide in the village, it's highly likely that at some point in the future the village will be attacked by something worse than slimes. It would be better for him to advance fast enough on his own such that our mysterious culprit does not try to force the issue."

As much as I hated to admit it, his logic was sound. The look of desperation on Cluma's face as I forced her to run was etched into my memory. If she'd tripped, or refused to follow my instructions, she'd have been in serious danger. Even though she hadn't, physical safety wasn't everything. What sort of mental state would she be in if I'd died and she thought she could have prevented it? What sort of state was she in now, knowing that I'd been so heavily injured?

The orc was a surprise threat, not something I'd decided to seek out on my own. This would be different; I'd be deliberately fighting monsters like that. It was something I was planning to do eventually anyway, but there was a huge difference between making rough plans for an indeterminate point in the future, and acknowledging it here in front of two of the most important people in Dawnhold. I experienced a wave of fear almost of the level I'd felt my first time in Lord Reid's mansion, but he was correct. "Lord Reid is right. I don't want to put anyone else in danger."

"You can't," exclaimed Mum. "It's far too dangerous!"

Of course, this meant that I'd be breaking my promise to her. But that had been a promise to keep me out of danger in the first place, and it seemed I had no choice in that matter. "More dangerous than having orcs dropped on me while I stroll through the forest?"

Mum sighed in resignation, unable to argue that point. The conversation turned to matters of practicality, given that the guild didn't exactly have child-sized arms and armour to hand. It was decided that I wouldn't start until the spring. Warren would show us to an equipment store tomorrow to get some gear ordered, and for some weird reason, Lord Reid offered to foot the bill. He asked me to repay him by trying for a space and time complex affinity, which at least implied he had confidence I would survive that long.

Given how fast I was growing, I was a little uncertain about getting armour fitted now but then not using it for half a season, but apparently there were enchantments to take care of that. Once again, magic allowed for blatant cheating.

With plans laid and the meeting over, we headed back to the dorm room to sleep.