System Lost: My Own Best Friend

There's not a whole lot for me to do while my captors set up camp. They don't tie me up or anything, but it's pretty clear that I'm being held prisoner. I can't go anywhere, they took away most of my stuff apart from the cloak—especially the weapons—and there's always someone keeping an eye on me. Usually it's the skinny guy with the bow, Saban, though at least he's not pointing it at me anymore.

"I wonder why he uses a bow instead of a gun," Violet muses.

"The firearms we've seen are pretty primitive so far," Maggie points out. "And I bet that Engie's enhancements give hand-powered tools a lot more staying power."

I leave them to their discussion, sitting in a corner and playing with Nipper by dangling a candle for him to chase around like a cat. It's pretty funny watching him flail around, and I've even managed to coax him into leaping up into the air to snap at it. Though judging from his less than graceful landings, I suspect that's not a natural maneuver for him. He seems to be having fun, not that I have a good way to tell. I'm probably just anthropomorphizing him.

At some point the girl, Talla I think her name was, heads outside to do something, returning a while later looking even more haggard than she did before. She makes a bee-line for my confiscated belongings and pulls out one of the crystal vials, downing it in a single gulp. I watch as she stands there for a moment, doing some sort of breathing exercise, then approaches me, still looking tired, but not quite as frazzled.

"[I've got her, Saban, Draga wants me to try to get some information out of her,]" she calls, relieving the bowman keeping an eye on me. She eyes Nipper nervously, giving him a wide berth as she comes over to sit next to me. "[Hello there. I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves, have we? Forgive my companions, rangers tend to be a little rough.]"

It's hard to tell without proper context, but the way she speaks gives me the impression that she's trying to be polite, even formal. It sounds rehearsed. I look at her and nod slowly. The word she used to greet me sounds like "bo'o'a" which is hard to say, but I give it my best shot.

"Boa."

Like the snake? Ugh, their language is hard.

Talla blinks at me. "[Oh! So you can speak our language—though that accent is...okay, maybe this will work after all,]" she sighs in relief. "[I wasn't sure how I was going to do this without speaking through the Goddess. Ranger doctrine is really strict about that stuff—for good reason, mind you.]"

I'm a little curious about that, but I need her to slow the heck down. I shake my head apologetically, not sure how to explain. I try pointing at my ears to indicate that I was just figuring it out by listening.

"[Hm? What does that mean? Are you deaf? Wait, no, uh...]" she trails off, then catches herself. "[Right! Introductions! My name is Talla, and my companions are Draga and Saban. What can we call you?]"

I grimace and rub the spot between my eyes. As convenient as it is to be able to understand them, it gives me a wicked headache, and trying to listen for specific words is making it way worse. Her name is actually "T'ala'a" but I don't think I can pronounce it the way she does.

"Nice to meet you, uh," I really try to focus on this one. "Ta Ala Ah?"

She cocks her head. "[No, you say it like this—] T'ala'a [—see?]" she repeats the warbling bleat between syllables for emphasis. "A'a'a, [like that.]"

I shake my head and point at my throat. "I can't make that sound. Aaah, aaah. See? I'll just call you Talla."

Talla winces at my butchering of her name, but nods. "[That'll do, I guess. So you can't speak our language. Like, physically. But then how did you know—oh! I'm an idiot, you were just listening and repeating it back to me, weren't you? That's what you were trying to tell me before.]"

I nod my head to confirm. "Yes."

"Allie, why are you bothering to use words at all?" Maggie interrupts. "She can't understand you either."

Not really sure how to respond to Maggie without looking like a weirdo, I phrase it as a statement to Talla.

"We learn each other's languages." I deliberately use very simple language in order to give her the best chance at picking up on individual words and their meanings from context.

She does not give me the same courtesy, but at least I've got Maggie's spell as a way to cheat.

"[Is that your name? It's a bit of a mouthful...]"

I giggle and shake my head. "No. Sorry," I put a hand over my chest to indicate myself. "Allison."

"A'al'l'r..s— [wow, okay, I think I understand your struggle, now. That is hard to say,]" Talla groans, giving me an incredible sense of schadenfreude.

"You can try calling me," I pause to put a clear break before the next word. "Allie."

"A'ali'i, [alright, I think that works,]" she says. "[Thank you. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for me?]"

She's being polite, but this is an interrogation, I don't actually have a choice. "Yes," I nod.

Talla takes a breath, like she's about to break into another rehearsed spiel, then freezes up. "[Wait, I recognize that word, it means 'yes' doesn't it?]" she realizes. "[Are you trying to teach me your language?]"

"Yes," I confirm with another nod. "And yes."

"[Blood and acid, you're a really smart kid,]" she remarks.

I've noticed that they all seem to be under the impression that I'm a child for some reason. Maybe it's because I'm like half their height, but they put a lot of stress on "tier one" so I suspect that they apply some kind of cultural significance to leveling. The real question is how they know that I'm tier one.

I try to parse out their word for "child," but it's tricky. The word order is different in their language, and that guttural warbling quality makes their sentences blend together.

"A baa ah ah," I try, shaking my head.

She grimaces at my pronunciation, but seems to understand. "[You're not a child? Well, I guess anyone would have to grow up fast in conditions like these.]"

Well, I tried. I just sigh and go back to playing with Nipper, waiting for her to ask her questions.

She makes a sound that might be clearing her throat and sits up straight. "[Okay, so there are a few things we need to understand about you and your situation here,]" she says, back to her rehearsed formality. "[Please only respond with clear affirmatives or negatives—or verbally, if you can, but not speaking through the Goddess. That means the special words you used before, understand?]"

I nod affirmatively, noticing how she's avoiding even saying the word [Message] or mentioning the [World Engine] directly. I wonder if their Goddess is the engine, or if there's a more complex theology involved. The [Angel], [Guardian], and a few classes had a distinctly religious bent to them, and so far it seems like religion does play a major part in their culture.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"[Good. The first question is actually about how you can understand us. It's because of a skill or spell, isn't it?]"

There's a subtle distinction between the words for "skill" and "spell" but I'm not actually sure what the difference is supposed to be. Either way, I nod.

"Don't just tell her all our secrets!" Maggie hisses. "Do you remember what that class said about chaos mages?"

I do remember, and I'm being careful. If they do have a religion that's informed by the engine's antagonistic stance on chaos magic—or vice versa—then I definitely don't want to make them think that's us, even if it probably is true of Maggie. Still, they already know I'm doing something to understand them, and being overly circumspect will just make them even more suspicious.

"[Can you try to explain it, without directly sharing the skill involved?]" Talla asks.

I turn to stare at her blankly, waiting for her to realize her error.

"[Oh! Right, yes or no only,]" she says, chuckling weakly. "[Sorry, this is my first time doing this.]"

"I had no idea," Maggie deadpans.

"Hush you," I scold her, drawing an odd look from Talla.

"[What was that?]" she asks, eliciting a shrug from me. "[Right, never mind. Maybe just tell me which of your classes it's associated with. Is it your [Traveler] class?]"

Huh, I guess she's allowed to use messages after all? Or she just messed up. Either way, I expand the link out of curiosity.

[Traveler]

A category of classes related to travel and exploration.

So they know what my classes are somehow, but not their exact details? Or they do know and they're trying not to let on. I can only assume she's talking about [Pathfinder], so I answer honestly by shaking my head.

"No."

"[Oh, that's your word for 'no'? I'll try to remember it,]" she says, smiling tiredly. Talla seems genuinely excited by the prospect of learning a new language, but something else is clouding her mood, I think. "[In that case, is it your [Leader] class?]. It seems pretty unlikely that you'd have a secondary magic-related class so early.]"

Leader? Is that how [Unified Wanderers] reads to them?

[Leader]

A category of classes related to coordinating and guiding groups of people.

I mean...I guess? It's a bit of a stretch, but I suppose it kinda fits. More importantly, this is my chance to finally obfuscate a little bit. Technically, I think my [Locus of Thought] skill is what allowed Maggie to cast the spell without fronting, so in a way, it kind of is the answer she's looking for.

"Yes," I say with a nod, our limited ability to communicate actually playing to my advantage.

"[Okay good,]" Talla says, focusing on something for a moment, as if writing it down—though she doesn't actually have anything to write with. "[And is that also how you tamed your...friend here?]" she asks, gesturing at Nipper.

I frown down at the little goober, still chasing the candle around and drooling all over the place.

"No," I answer. "Nipper is smart."

I withdraw the candle and hold out my hand instead. It's a bit of a risk, since I've never tested Nipper's self control quite so directly before. I end up losing that gamble as his sharp, jagged teeth sink into the flesh of my hand.

"Ow, frick!" I curse, smacking him with the candle a couple of times until he lets go.

He must have noticed something was up at the last second, because the bite is shallow. That was stupid, though—he's big enough to bite my dang hand off at this point. Nipper's head droops apologetically and I pat him with my good hand.

"Sorry buddy, that one was on me," I say, leaving the candle on the ground for him to chew on.

Talla, who'd been watching the whole thing with a bemused expression, reaches over to gently grasp my bleeding hand.

"[Seal Wounds]."

The puncture marks instantly scab over and stop bleeding, though they don't actually heal, and after a moment a few trickles of blood start weeping out from beneath the scabs, aided along by Nipper's venom. Still, that's one handy trick!

"Thanks," I say, smiling apologetically.

"[So...you've been raising it just like that?]" she asks skeptically. "[Simply hitting it when it does something wrong and hoping it learns?]"

I start to nod, but then shake my head. "There's more to it."

Though I've given up the candle, I swing my arm to pantomime clubbing Nipper over the head. "Punishment," I explain, then point at the candle he's chewing on. "Reward."

Talla glances between me and Nipper, only looking more confused at my attempt to explain operant conditioning through simple gestures and words she doesn't understand. "[I...see? Why? Protection?]"

Thinking about it, other than helping me bandage myself up that one time, or when Vi threw him at a dude as a distraction, Nipper hasn't really done much 'protecting.' In fact, between the bites early on and a few rashes from his slobbery, toxic affection, Nipper might be a net negative to our overall physical health.

"No," I answer simply.

"[Food, then? Or resources?]"

We gave up on dissecting him ages ago, and despite Maggie's best efforts, we haven't really managed to figure out how to get useful silk out of him. We might be close to a breakthrough there, now that I can get him to produce silk on command. As for food...

"I'm actually curious now," Maggie comments. "What does Nipper taste like? Maybe he's as sweet as he looks—like a forbidden gummy worm."

I shudder. "No. Not food."

Talla eyes the worm and nods sympathetically. "[Fair enough. So...just a pet, then? You captured and raised an anomalous dungeon entity...as a pet?]"

Well when she says it that way, I sound like kind of a lunatic, but that really is what best describes our relationship with Nipper.

"Yes," I agree with a nod. "Pet."

She takes a moment to acknowledge the new word. I bet it's a skill like that [Mental Note] from one of our class options.

"[Alright then. This is an important one—where exactly did you find it? Outside, or deeper down in the caves? You can just point.]"

I hesitate.

"Whatever you do, do not point at the big fuck-off doors that are sealed shut and watched by a statue of a religious guardian," Maggie insists.

"I'm with her this time," Vi says. "I know lying might get us in trouble, but something tells me the truth is worse in this case."

I chew on my lip, glancing up at Talla as she watches me impassively. Her eyes are tired, but sympathetic. She seems nice, and I even get the impression that she wants to help us. If it was just her, it wouldn't even be a question. But it isn't just her—and I don't know the other two.

Saban was ready to kill us on sight—even seemed annoyed that we were bothering to speak at all. As for Draga...he's harder to read. Comfortable with violence, though—he didn't even blink when Nipper attacked him, and he was the very picture of relaxation while holding me hostage. I don't know who these people are, but they're definitely associated with the ones that tried to murder me in some way. I can't afford to trust them just yet.

I point to the Mushroom Tunnel, my first act of outright deception. I shouldn't feel too bad about it—they are holding me prisoner, after all.

"[Damn it,]" she sighs. "[I was afraid of that. Draga's right, then—this is a convergence break. One last question for now—and it might seem a little strange. How did you get here? Did you find the cave by accident while exploring the mountain?]"

That's a test. I can see it in the way she's focusing in on me all of a sudden. Talla knows I didn't come from outside and she wants to see if I'll lie about it.

"No."

"[Were you born down here? Separated from your tribe or family?]"

I stare down into my lap, trembling, trying not to cry. "No."

"[Did you appear here suddenly and without warning?]"

The way she says it doesn't really sound like a question. It's the answer she was expecting all along, the one she was leading towards. I sniffle, refusing to answer—afraid of how she might react.

"[It's okay. We're not going to hurt you,]" she reassures me. "[I just need to know.]"

With a shuddering breath, I sigh and look up to meet her eyes, nodding meekly. "Yes."