The Fool's Freedom

“Alan? Is that you?” Davis walked forward with hesitation and stopped a step away.

“In the flesh. How have you been Davis?”

Davis looked him over, then grinned wide, “I—we thought you were dead, man! Glad to see you are okay!”

“I am glad to see you are doing well too. Me and Ashlyn heard you might have died,” Alan replied. He hoped it was not too obvious that he was fishing for information.

Davis looked toward the terrace where Ashlyn still stood, longbow at the ready, and waved her over.

“Oh man, I am so glad to see you guys. It’s been a fucked up few days for me.”

“Who are your friends? Are they… elves?” Alan gestured toward the elves that were now standing together and watching them curiously, whispering among each other.

“Oh, them? They… saved me a few days ago, and yes,” he winked, “they are elves. Gray elves. At least that’s what the trait translates it as.”

Saved him? What did he mean they saved him? Alan frowned and noticed that Ashlyn had stopped some distance away, close enough to hear, but also far enough to be able to react. Her longbow was still in her hand.

“What did they save you from?”

“Well…” Davis frowned, “Me and Florence had the misfortune to try this dungeon alone but quickly realized we were in over our heads. When we exited those fellas were waiting for us and… things got a bit rough, but after clearing out the misunderstanding, they healed me and we decided to explore together. I couldn’t find Florence afterward. She must have been worried sick for me… is she around? Is she okay?”

Was he playing stupid or was he actually stupid?

“Davis, do you want to harm Flo?” Alan suddenly asked. He had no time for games with his [Monochrome Armor] timer counting down.

Davis seemed startled by the question and shuffled uncomfortably. He opened his mouth to speak a few times, then turned toward the elves. The healer as Alan had dubbed her stepped forward slowly.

“Greetings human, my name is Jaerdra. I am a healer and speaker for my people. Can we talk about the dungeon?” Alan felt [Tongue of the four corners] doing work. The woman’s features were far too sharp, and the gray skin only accentuated that. As she spoke Alan could see the dangerous teeth in her mouth. Overall, they had quite a sinister look compared to his vision of elves.

“In a bit, perhaps. Your friend almost took my shoulder,” he nodded towards the elf who had shot at him. The man in question scowled and took a step forward before the others stopped him.

Jaerdra hesitated, “It was a mistake. Please accept our apologies.”

Alan nodded to her, “You didn’t answer me, Davis. Did Florence do something to you? Do you intend to seek payback?”

Davis seemed to struggle, but as the rest of the elves sensed the tension and stepped closer, he smiled widely and shook his head.

“I can’t say I am happy with some of her… manipulations, but I understand classes better now and I know it’s not fully her fault. We are changing, man, our choices are influencing us. You have surely felt that? Jaerdra and the rest taught me a lot.”

Surprising. Was he lying, playing a fool? Could Florence's skills help her sense when someone was lying?

“I know there is some class influence and I know there is a lot we don’t know. Still, I cannot simply trust these new… friends of yours, no offense Jaerdra.”

“None taken. Caution is a good quality in a man,” Jaerdra replied and gave a sharp-toothed smile.

“This man wears the shadows! He is no good!” one of the elves yelled from the back. The same that had shot him.

Jaerdra turned sharply and barked something that didn’t get translated, then met Alan’s eyes and gave a shallow bow in apology, “Our people have a lot of superstitions born from years of struggle. We awaited the coming of the System, but we still hold the old ways in high regard. Olaw is young and foolish, don’t be insulted by his words.”

Davis nodded, “Yeah, they can say mean stuff, but so do lots of people. Come on, Alan,” he came a bit closer, “I am quite put off by the ways she controlled me, but most was done out of my own free will. I wouldn’t want to let her in my head again though, if it can be helped. The thing I am most mad about is that she didn’t let me speak with the friend I found in the Sanctuary. Have you been?… My friend is Cole, have you met him? He is a very nice guy once you get to know him, though he did walk a dubious path on Earth.”

Cole? Alan almost blanked.

“You are friends with Cole?” Alan asked, trying to sound neutral.

“He is a distant friend from Earth, nothing more!” Davis shifted uncomfortably, sensing something. “I was quite surprised running into someone I know and I wanted to chat, but Florence… anyways if she is with you, I promise I will be civil and so will my friends. Hell, they attacked us so I understand the caution, but if we are to conquer this place and earn some rewards we might as well stick together.”

Quite convincing, but Alan wasn’t sure that was a great idea.

Suddenly the air shimmered a bit behind where Ashlyn was standing and Florence appeared and held her hands up. The archers rose their bows as one and drew them, arrows ready to fly and pointed in the direction of Ashlyn and Florence.

Alan felt something inside of him light up. His daggers were in his hands and covered in shadows without him even realizing he had drawn them.

“Tell them to stand down, Davis.” His [Monochrome Armor] seemed to appreciate his anger, as shadows swirled dangerously around him.

Jaerdra turned and frantically yelled, “Stand down fools! Stand down!”

The two archers almost immediately lowered their bows, and Alan felt the tension partly leave him. He had been ready to slit some throats, even if that included Davis. This acceptance didn’t bother him much anymore. He would probably have to deal with his emotions after the fact, but he would get over it.

Davis was focused on Florence and Alan watched him carefully. Finally, the man seemed to come to terms with whatever he was struggling with and smiled in her direction.

“I am glad you are okay, Florence,” he said and took a few steps in her direction, “Just stay out of my head and we are cool, all right?”

Florence nodded, arms hugged closely around her stomach, “I promise. Sorry about before, I—”

“There is no need. Now, let’s all calm down and figure out what we are going to do about this Dungeon, how about it?”

Alan released the shadows covering his daggers, “Sure.” He saw that the gray elves followed his every movement, and were especially wary of the shadows.

He turned toward Jaerdra, “I didn’t introduce myself, name’s Alan. May I ask, are my skills bothering you?”

She seemed hesitant, “Well… we have stories of people wreathed in shadows destroying our world and cursing our kind. It is a long, gruesome tale best left for another time.”

“I see. You do know that these are just System-given skills, right?”

“Yes, but some of us have trouble adapting.”

The group chose a bunch of rocks to sit on and talk about their experience, away from the two corpses. Davis acted as a bridge between the two groups and Alan watched him carefully. The man threw glances toward Florence, but other than that everything seemed fine.

Alan chose to release [Monochrome Armor] and felt the world slow down as the shadows left his body like smoke. His shadow was back under his feet, stretching awkwardly beneath the lighting of the large hall.

The warrior gray elf that had fought alongside Alan sat closest to their group, “Why do you carry armor and weapons of our kind?” he asked while looking toward Ashlyn. It was not a hostile question, although the gray elves seemed quite interested to hear the answer.

“Bought them from the World Temple.”

That seemed to satisfy the man as he bowed slightly, and didn’t say anything else.

“We are quite good at crafting hunter’s equipment, as that has been our main means of living for centuries. It is my greatest joy to see warriors such as you appreciate our craft.” Jaerdra added.

“It is very well made,” Ashlyn agreed.

Jaerdra eyed the group and gave a sharp smile. The gray elves seemed to love showing their sharp teeth when they smiled.

“I think introductions are in order,” she said, she pointed to the large warrior first, “This here Reyvalur, and the ones behind are Olaw and Raek.

“My name is Alan, this is Ashlyn and Florence.”

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two groups stared at one another.

“Let’s create some trust first, then,” Jaerdra told them about their experience through the dungeon. It was quite different, yet still similar. Most of their enemies were the imps, with some skinned corpses, and harvesters.

Alan wondered if the group size made the dungeon harder. The challenges the gray elves and Davis had faced seemed a bit more massive than theirs. And now, that there were eight of them… It made sense.

Otherwise, what would stop anyone from rushing in with an army and taking all the rewards? Dungeons also had to survive somehow, spawning monsters again and again after each clear. Or were they a one-time thing in reality? Would their passage leave only death and corpses in its wake for the next groups to find?

Alan seemed to have been chosen as the spokesperson of the trio, as Florence was looking toward the ground, her eyes threatening to dig a hole if she grew more focused.

Ashlyn stood strangely silent, but Alan knew she preferred to not talk with strangers if she could avoid it.

He shared some of their experiences, mentioning the harvesters and the constructs but avoiding the werewolf and the quests. It was sensitive information and he didn’t want someone to decide that releasing the beast was worth it.

And maybe there were others on the floor the pillar had fallen from. It was a terrifying thought. What would happen if they were freed, or what would happen if they met whatever had imprisoned the werewolves?

The elves hadn’t mentioned seeing anything similar, but they could be hiding information like he was doing.

It was quickly decided for them to continue together – clearing the dungeon came first. Alan was certain with Ashlyn’s danger sense and Florence’s emotional radar, they would know if something was afoot.

The large plaza was mostly empty, aside from all the rocks and the two corpses. They continued toward a dark tunnel that was barely visible in the dim light. Alan threw a last glance toward the glowing crystal in the ceiling.

“Do you think that’s a mana crystal?” he asked no one in particular, but a few sets of eyes turned toward him and followed his gaze.

“It is a light crystal if a rather large one. They do contain a small amount of mana, but they cannot be used without breaking the crystal. It works simply by drawing in and converting the ambient mana that is everywhere around into light,” Reyvalur, the gray elf warrior said.

Alan’s group turned with surprise toward the large man. They were all large, as gray elves seemed taller on average than humans, but Reyvalur was a standout in the group of four.

“Reyvalur was a scholar in our past life,” Jaerdra smiled. The sharp teeth still made Alan a bit uncomfortable, but he was trying his best not to be judgmental.

“How do you guys know so much?”

There was a snort coming from the archer who had mistakenly shot at Alan. Jaerdra had mentioned that his name was Olaw.

Alan frowned, but Jaerdra was faster as she began her explanation.

“We had legends of the System, of our lives before being sent to a dying world. Generations after generation studied the knowledge left by the first of us who had been cursed and sent away – The Ancestors. We knew that one day we would be given a chance to explore the universe, so we cultivated our bodies and minds, we studied all there was to study, each of us specializing and learning what little we knew of attributes, classes, and magic.”

She paused and sighed with emotion, and so did the so far silent archer that was oddly similar in appearance to Olaw.

“It is written in the ancient texts,” she continued, “that the change will come and we will be given a new world to survive in, a thriving and powerful world that can feed us, that can offer us the opportunity to lift our curse. We long to be what we once were again.”

“And what is that?” Ashlyn asked.

“Something better I assume. True elves, not the bl—,” she coughed and stopped herself, “how about you?”

“We are just human, I hear there are quite a few in the universe,” Alan replied.

Olaw once again snorted, “Figures. Humans are like tumorous growth. We had to –”

“That’s enough!” Reyvalur interrupted, “Stop shaming our people and act with dignity. One of ours has already fallen, and more will follow if you are distracted by hate and short-sightedness!”

Olaw seemed to shrink, and Alan felt even a bit of fear in the reaction of the younger-looking gray elf. They were not used to talking with strangers. Jaerdra had stopped herself from revealing something, and Reyvalur had prevented the arrogant younger archer from doing the same.

It didn’t make Alan feel better about their new group one bit.

“Guys, let’s not fight, eh? Say, Alan, what class did you pick? Mine is weird for a guy like me, wait for it… [Brawler]. How silly does that sound—the IT [Brawler]? That’s why I ditched the spear. I can punch from afar too, if I have to. But it’s weak, and I don’t mind being close to the monsters anymore. It’s thrilling. I bet you are some sort of an [Assassin] or a [Rogue], eh?”

“It didn’t look silly when you punched that thing back there.”

“Ha! Yeah. It feels good to punch things. I know what you are thinking, a strange hobby for an IT guy,” Alan wasn’t thinking that at all, but let Davis continue. The man was oddly energetic, but it was a welcome change in the gloomy dungeon. “But as I’ve said, I love exercising and I love knowing how to fight. I had some run-in with the law when I was young, you know? I was a nasty brat! It’s where I know Cole from. We—”

“Shh!” Ashlyn called, and raised her hand, “We’ve got company.”

Eyes lit up the dark tunnel ahead of them reflecting the light from Jaerdra’s glowing staff and the candlestone in Ashlyn’s hand.

Alan found something oddly familiar about the scene, and the realization hit him a second later.

Those were neither corpses nor blood imps, but something far worse.