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Severance opened his eyes to the bustle of Two Bridges. Like in Ascendance, the city's spawning point was close to the city center. From here, he could travel in all four directions either by street or sky bridge. But right now, he didn't need to go anywhere in the city.
The same blue window from before floated before him:
Choose the path you will walk:
Moon Scribe
Battle Dancer
When he tapped on it, nothing happened. It wasn't going to close until he made his choice. Rather than make that decision now, however, he just moved the window to the side.
Even after a full day of sleeping in and going to his new job, he still wasn't any clearer on which class he should choose. It made him really wish Fenn was back, because he knew his uncle would have some answers for him.
It couldn't be much longer, however. It'd been a few days, and according to Lydia, he should be back at any time. Severance was tempted to wait, but he knew Awesome Dude would be eagerly moving ahead and he didn't want to be the one left behind.
He sent a quick message to Awesome Dude and let him know he was online. Then he touched the ring on his thumb. The tiny blue gem glittered softly beneath his touch.
"System, Teleport: Clan House."
A whirlwind of snow swept him away. There was the briefest sensation of being tugged elsewhere, before the snow fell away. He now stood on the gray stone of the Veiled House's courtyard.
But unlike before, it was no longer empty.
Two small children ran about chasing a yellow butterfly, their giggles filling the air. An older woman with a graying braid swept the cobbled ground with a worn broom, her movements swift and firm. By one of the walls, there was a pair of shirtless men repairing a deep crack in one of the stones. And near the open doors of the Clan House, a solemn young woman stood motionless. Her back was ramrod straight while her eyes followed the children like an eagle might watch her young.
There weren't a lot of people. But the second Severance saw them, he froze up. Strangers. All of them. They were clan members, his clan members, and that made it all the worse. What if they hated him? What if they didn't want him in their clan?
The young woman watching the children noticed him first, her gaze snapping over as if spotting a tasty looking mouse. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she said nothing. She only watched.
There was no obvious hostility, but he still tensed. She was intimidating.
"Hey!" One of the children saw him and ran over. It was a little girl, her long black hair tied in cute pigtails. Butterfly forgotten, she stared up at him. "Who are you?"
"Who?" The other child, a boy who was only slightly bigger than the girl, turned to see what the big fuss was about.
"Him," the little girl pointed at Severance. "See?"
"Oh." The boy trotted closer to Severance, who felt increasingly uncomfortable. He wasn't good with kids. They were strange. Like now, they just stared up at him like he was an alien.
"What happened to your clothes?" the girl asked.
"Huh?" Severance looked down and immediately wished he could crawl into a hole and die. He'd forgotten how mutilated they were. "Oh...uh, I was in a fight?"
The girl considered this. Then she pursed her lips and put both hands on her hips. "You need to be more careful. If you're gonna fight, you have to do it right. That's what Uncle says."
The little boy nodded in agreement.
Severance wasn't sure if he should laugh or feel embarrassed. "I'll try to remember that."
"You better. The other guy is supposed to get beat up, not you." The little girl spotted something behind Severance and her whole face lit up. "Uncle Maun!"
She ran over, pigtails streaming behind her, and when Severance turned, he saw her latched onto Maun's leg with both arms. The clansman must have just teleported in as well, because he definitely wasn't around a second ago.
The little boy followed suit, although with much less exuberance. Instead of grabbing onto Maun's leg, he just stood quietly and watched as if expecting something.
A genuine smile spread across Maun's face. He patted the little girl's head and gave a little nod towards the boy. "Hello Tayci. Mirren. Did you miss me?"
"Nope!" Tayci shouted.
"Yeah," Mirren mumbled. He shifted from one foot to the other, fidgeting.
Maun's smile grew. With his free hand, he pulled out a small cloth bag from within the folds of his shirt. "Hm. That's unfortunate, Tayci. See, I've got some roo tails here, but if you didn't miss me, then—"
"I missed you!" Tayci yelled at the top of her lungs, making Severance wince. "I missed you! Can I have my roo tail now? Please?"
With a laugh, Maun gave in and handed over the little bag. Tayci proceeded to tear inside, pulling out little curly candies that were a deep red color. She stuffed it in her face immediately, but not before remembering to share with Mirren. The boy ate his with much more dignity, taking his time.
"Who's 'at?" Tayci asked, mouth full of candy. Her words were barely understandable. As if she knew that, she lifted a sticky hand and pointed at Severance.
"That's Sev," Maun told her. "He's a new member of the clan."
It's Severance, Severance thought halfheartedly.
"Sev?" Tayci blinked dark eyes at him. She suddenly giggled. "That's a funny name!"
It's not funny, Severance thought darkly. If anything was funny, he thought it was hers, and the way she talked with a mouthful of sticky candy. Kids. They were so weird.
"I like your eyes," Tayci smiled up at him. "They're really pretty!"
Severance blinked, taken aback. Pretty? "Thanks?"
"Welcome." She stuffed the rest of her candy in her mouth. She wandered off, apparently having grown bored with him. Mirren, after casting one last glance at Severance, followed after her.
Maun watched them go, a fond smile casting his features in a gentle light. "Tayci and Mirren are the youngest of the Clan," he said. "They're good kids, if not a little handful at times."
Severance said nothing, though he was silently hoping he didn't get stuck babysitting them. He didn't know anything about children. He could barely keep himself fed and watered, never mind a pair of kids.
"Come, let's introduce you to the others," Maun said, and Severance fell in beside him. He'd never admit it aloud, but he was glad for Maun's arrival. With so many strange new faces around, he wouldn't have been comfortable trying to introduce himself.
The woman sweeping the courtyard was Chaaya, the wife of Kamau. She gave Severance a once over, a frown briefly passing over her features like a shadow. "Show him to the laundry, will you, Maun?"
"Of course," Maun agreed.
"Good. Take care of yourself, young man." After that greeting, she got back to her work.
Next were the two men mending the courtyard's wall. Kioshi was the older of the two, and now that they were close enough, Severance noticed a multitude of scars riddling the man's upper body. It looked like he got in a fight with a lawnmower or a horde of angry bears. One savage scar marred his face, cutting through an eye and twisting the corner of his lips. A gray cloth band wound over his face like an eye patch, covering the damaged eye. He gave Severance a quick look and a grunt of acknowledgement before returning to his work.
The younger man was friendlier. Aaban had the same dark hair and eyes as the rest of the clan, though his was pulled back into a messy, lopsided bun at the back of his head. A multitude of strands had broken free from their restraint, hanging in his face and eyes in a wild mess. He too bore several scars on his body, but not to the extent of Kioshi.
"Hey Sev," Aaban grinned when Maun introduced them. "Great to have you. Maybe Bian will give the rest of us a break now that you're here."
+1 Wisdom
Maun shook his head. "Aaban, how many times must I tell you. Bian's just looking out for you. She's not punishing you."
"Oh, I see. She's just giving me a long list of chores to do because she likes me." Aaban wiped the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead.
"Maybe she just thinks you're good at fixing things," Maun countered.
"I'm just as good at hunting," Aaban scowled. "Why can't I do that? I'm probably the best hunter here."
"Sure you are," Maun's voice was dismissive. "Better take that up with Mouna. Come on, Sev. We better leave these gentlemen alone. They have a lot of work to do after all."
Aaban muttered something under his breath. Judging from the tone, it was very rude. Severance glanced back a couple of times as he followed Maun towards the Clan House, more than a little curious.
He hadn't been expecting everyone to seem so normal.
"Hello Mouna," Maun greeted the solemn woman by the door. Like Chaaya, she wore her long ebony hair in a braid, and it rested on one of her shoulders. Her solemn expression and stern inky eyes gave her a severe presence.
Mouna eyed them coolly. She raised both hands, her fingers weaving complex patterns in the air.
Severance tilted his head. Was she trying to wave at them? Swat away a fly?
"She says she's glad you were finally able to come by," Maun said. "She also thinks you're cute."
"Wh-what?!" Severance spluttered. That was impossible. Did she not see the horrible state he was in? And even if he was all neat and tidy, it still was impossible. It was like one of the laws of the universe. The world turned, the sun rose and fell, and not a single person in existence thought he was cute.
Maun laughed and Mouna's lips twitched. She looked steadily at Severance, her hands carving more strange patterns into the air.
"She wants to know when you're free," Maun went on. "I think she wants to go out-"
Severance caught only a blur of movement before Maun grunted and staggered back a few steps. He clutched at his stomach, a pained look on his face.
Mouna's eyes had narrowed, lips pursing. Catching Severance's startled look, she lifted a single finger and wagged it. Then she pointed at Maun and stuck out her tongue.
That wasn't hard to understand. Severance grinned because he wholeheartedly agreed. Maun had totally deserved it.
"Fine, fine, be that way." Maun's voice sounded slightly strained. "Let's go find nicer people to talk to, Sev."
Severance waved awkwardly at Mouna. "Nice to meet you."
Her dark eyes seemed to dance as she returned the wave. Severance caught a faint quirk to her lips, and he had the thought that if she ever truly smiled, it'd be absolutely stunning.
Inside, the Clan House was full of activity. More people went about their business, and the scent of cooking meat wafted through the air. It smelled absolutely delicious. If he were in his real body, Severance was sure he'd be drooling.
Maun took him into one of the first rooms on the left hand side. There were several cloth hampers that collected dirty clothing, and shelves filled with clean clothing. They held tunics, trousers, shirts, and even underclothes in various sizes. All were in black, of course.
Severance observed this with varying degrees of alarm and amusement. It was like a community laundry room where everyone shared everything. The only separation he saw was in the underclothes, where there were clearly differences between those that the men and women might use.
"Anytime you need new ones, you can just grab some from the shelves." Maun selected a few items for Severance, and set them on the lid of a barrel. "Dirty ones go in here. But what you're wearing...I don't think those are salvageable."
"Probably not." Severance lifted an arm. The sleeve had been torn, and it hung limply from his arm in shreds. He felt bad for destroying the clothes his clan gave him.
Maun's lips curved. "Just leave those on the floor. Someone will burn them. I'll wait outside."
He left the laundry room, pausing to reach up and free the curtain-like material that was fastened to the side of the entrance. It fell into place, covering the entire doorway.
The room darkened considerably. A small amount of daylight streamed in from the narrow window slit on the outside wall, but it was enough.
Severance quickly changed. It was interesting to find that he himself was perfectly clean, yet the clothes he wore had maintained the same state as they had when he logged off. He was grateful for that, because he didn't feel quite ready to learn how people bathed in Eliona.
When he left the laundry room in clean black clothing, he found Maun sitting on a chair that was placed against the wall. He had one long leg folded over the other, and appeared quite at ease.
"I'm done," Severance said awkwardly.
Maun immediately rose. "Good. Now tell me, what brings you to the House?"
"I got more Agility like you said," Severance said. "And I got my class advancement quest, but I'm not sure which to choose."
"Hm. The second one you'll have to talk to Olen about. But as for gaining Agility..." Maun smiled. "Yes, I noticed."
"You noticed?" Severance asked, baffled. "How did you notice?"
"It's in the way you move. Normally it's a subtle thing, but you Outsiders grow very quickly. The change is impossible to miss."
"Huh." That was plausible, when Severance thought about it.
Every time he gained a point, there was a small improvement. He was able to run a little faster, or with each Intelligence increase, his Bolts did a little more damage. Vitality added a bit more to his health bar. It wasn't a huge change, but considering that he'd gained several points since he last saw Maun, then the difference must have been easy to see.
"As a reward, I'll give you a hint," Maun said. "Each clan has something they specialize in. Can you guess what ours is?"
"Killing people in the woods?" Severance blurted. It was the first thought that came to mind, and the second he said it, he regretted it. He tensed, worried how the man in black would react.
But Maun only laughed. "That is one of our specialties, yes. But aside from that."
Seeing that Maun wasn't offended at all, Severance relaxed a little.
"What about being sneaky?" he suggested.
"No."
"Kidnapping people?"
"Again, no, but keep going. This is very entertaining."
"I don't know." The guy thought this was entertaining, did he? Severance wished he could hire someone to kidnap Maun and drag him away to some dark cabin in the woods. He'd love to see how entertaining the clansman thought that was.
"It's something we all have. Even those you've just met outside."
Something they all had? Severance narrowed his eyes in thought. There'd been Rasin, Dhin and Maun in the dungeon. They all fought incredibly well. Was that what they were good at? He'd believe it of Agadhi, since he'd taken out those players in the crowd before anyone even knew what he was doing.
But then there was Olen. The guy looked like a gentle scholar. And the kids outside. They couldn't be skilled fighters. So it wasn't fighting. Then what else?
Severance pictured them all in his head, one after another. Rasin, Dhin, Maun, Agadhi. Olen. The kids, running and playing. Chaaya, gracefully sweeping. Mouna. The two shirtless guys fixing the wall.
He blinked. Wait. There had been something that stuck out. Maybe not with the last three on that list, because he'd hadn't seen them move. But it'd been there with everyone else. Less pronounced with the kids, but it was still there in the way they ran about, like they danced upon clouds.
"It's how you move," he said.
"Yes," Maun looked pleased.
"Is that why you want me to work on agility? So I can move like that too?"
"Agility alone will not enable you to do so, but it will help. Continue to increase it for now," Maun told him. "If you work hard, then one day you might be able to gain something more."
It sounded almost like a promise.