Severance leaned against the rocky wall, arms folded across his chest. Though there were other players in the area, no one tried to talk to him. He was grateful for that.
He watched the fog shift and swirl over the ground, quietly grinding his teeth. His jaw tinged in discomfort, a sign that he'd been doing far too much grinding lately.
There was a flash of light and a low shooom as a person appeared outside the dungeon.
Severance lifted his head and recognized Legacy. The Cryomancer looked awful. He was missing one of the sleeves on his now-purple robe. Egg had dried on his face and in his hair, and a noodle hung limply over one of his shoulders.
Legacy spotted him and quietly walked over to join him. The Cryomancer wore a tiny frown, though he didn't say a word. He only folded his hands behind his back and stood motionlessly.
A gentle breeze rustled between them, carrying the scent of rotting garbage. Both of them wrinkled their noses, but neither addressed it.
"So," Severance hesitantly said. The silence felt heavy, like it would crush him unless it was broken. "Did you die, too?"
As soon as he spoke, he regretted it. What a dumb question! Of course the guy died. Why else would he be out here?
Legacy turned his head to look at Severance. He said nothing. There was just that quiet regard which Severance interpreted as Are you stupid?
Another person popped into existence. She was very short and immediately showed the entire world the inside of her mouth as she yawned. Severance narrowed his eyes.
This was the source of his misery. This, right here. He wanted to lift a hand and point right at her, and let her know just exactly what she had done. Of course, he didn't do either of those things. He just averted his eyes and ground his teeth.
"Oh, hey guys!" Wertwert24 came over to join them. Her armor appeared battered, though she herself didn't appear too out of sorts. In fact, compared to them, she looked quite clean and fresh.
"So close," she sighed. She plopped down on the ground, sitting by their feet without a care.
Her words made Severance deflate. We really were so close, he thought. And then I messed up.
How could the rest of his team deal with The Brain on their own? Their health wasn't infinite. They were going to fail and it was his fault.
Light flashed, and the final two members of their team materialized outside the dungeon. To Severance's surprise, Dappppp was wearing a huge grin.
That wasn't the expression someone who'd just failed to finish a dungeon should wear. In fact, Dappppp looked positively triumphant. The Rainblade bounded over the second he spotted them.
"Guys! We did it! We actually did it!"
"Of course." Wertwert24 looked up from where she sat. She kicked out her feet and leaned back against Severance's legs. Severance immediately moved away, but she wasn't even phased. Scooting her butt over, she leaned against Legacy instead.
The Cryomancer tilted his head to look at her. He exhaled gently, before he too stepped away. Wertwert24 grumbled a complaint as she fell over, though it was only half-hearted. Rather than find someone else to lean against, she just rolled onto her side so she could look up at them.
Severance didn't notice. He was busy staring at Dappppp. "You beat the Boss?"
"Yep," Dappppp grinned proudly. "It was down to me and Wellon and we were practically dead, but so was The Brain! Just took a couple more whacks and we finished him off. Not bad, huh?"
The System chose that moment to chime its agreement. Text faded in before Severance.
Quest Completed: Clear out the dungeon: Chosen Den
Speak to Registrator Bruella for your reward
So they hadn't failed after all! Despite everything, they still managed to beat the dungeon. He dragged a hand down his face, feeling utterly drained.
"Boss drops?" Wertwert24 asked. She even held out her hand, palm up.
Dappppp looked at her. He grumbled something under his breath. "Nothing much, really. Just some useless stuff and a few crystals."
"Hm?" Wertwert24 tilted her head. Then she wiggled her outstretched hand. "Crystal, then."
"What?" Dappppp sounded outraged. "What for?"
Uh oh, Severance thought. This wouldn't turn out well. Clearly Wertwert24 wanted her portion of the goods, but did she really deserve to get anything? She hadn't done anything the entire dungeon!
"Take these," a low voice said beside him.
Severance jumped. Somehow without him even noticing, Wellon had approached. The Veiled teenager stood way too close, his face completely expressionless as per usual.
"What is it?" Severance warily asked.
"Take them," Wellon repeated, his tone growing slightly icier.
That was when Severance realized that the teen held a glimmering Amaurite crystal in his palm. There was also a rather large hunk of dark, leathery hide. It hung from Wellon's hand like a piece of rotting flesh. It stunk exactly as rotting flesh would, with insects buzzing around it like eager little buzzards.
"What is that?"
"Krask leather," Wellon answered coolly. "One of the items Olen has requested. Or did you forget already?"
"No." Yes, actually. He'd gotten a list of things from Olen—items he was supposed to collect for the Veiled clan—but he'd just tossed it into his Inventory at the time without even looking at it.
Gingerly, he picked up the leather between thumb and forefinger. It proved to be lighter than expected, its rough surface warm to the touch. He grimaced, hastily stashing it inside his Inventory. At once, the stench vanished from the air. Why Olen wanted such a disgusting thing was beyond him.
All that was left was a single crystal. It sat innocently on Wellon's palm. Severance looked at it, then lifted his eyes to Wellon's face. "You could take it?"
Wellon stared at him.
Now you're just being a jerk. Severance snatched the crystal, tossing it into his Inventory as well. It was going to go straight to the clan anyway.
"One more thing," Wellon said.
"Now what?" Severance frowned. What could the ornery teenager possibly want now? There wasn't anything else for him to take, was there?
"We of the Veiled always keep our word."
Wellon drew out one of his blades, all in one fluid motion. That was all Severance saw before his world exploded into white fuzz.
He opened his eyes back in Two Bridges. The party list was gone and it took him several moments before he understood what had just happened.
He killed me? He actually killed me! Severance stood in wide-eyed silence. Apparently Wellon's threats hadn't been empty words. But didn't that mean that–
Oh crap! Severance spun around, searching around the platform in a panic. Wellon had said he'd come after him in town, too.
But as he scanned the surrounding people, he failed to spot the young clan member. That didn't mean he wasn't nearby, though.
Severance knew how the Veiled operated.
He's probably lurking. And then he's going to attack me when I'm not looking. A chill ran down his spine. Was he supposed to just wait around until Wellon killed him?
Forget that.
If Wellon thought he was going to scare off Severance, then he was wrong. Severance already had experienced the Veiled hospitality. A little bit of murder was nothing new to him.
Even so, he turned a slow circle, scanning the crowds. Was that a flash of black he'd seen? Or maybe he was just imagining things.
You have received a message from Awesome Dude, the System informed him. Would you like to Open Message?
Relief practically drowned Severance.
"Yes," he exclaimed. "Open Message!"
"Heya Sev! I'm on! Where are you? Let's meet up!"
Severance immediately replied, telling his friend to meet him by the spawn platform in Two Bridges. He settled in to wait, all the while keeping a wary eye on any nearby people.
Shoom! A figure appeared on the platform.
It was an ordinary looking fellow with brown hair and eyes. When he opened his eyes and spotted Severance, however, everything that was normal went flying out the window. There was a golden flash as he grinned, and he immediately waved.
"Sev! Hey!"
"Dude," Severance greeted, his eye twitching. He was right next to the platform. There was no need to wave or yell.
He watched as his friend walked off the platform, noticing that the rogue now wore black gauntlets and greaves. "Did you get new clothes?"
"Yes!" Awesome Dude struck a pose. "What do you think? Do I look cool or what?"
"You do," Severance agreed. "Are you a Shade now?"
"You bet! It's a super fun class! I get an actual Sneak skill now. And check these out!" Awesome Dude flexed his hands, and two claw blades appeared over the backs of his hands. When he made a fist, the blades extended a good four inches out.
"Wow." Severance took a closer look."Those are something all right."
The newly-advanced Shade beamed. "Aren't they? Hey, what did you choose? Is that a new coat? It looks kind of..." he trailed off, and sniffed. His nose scrunched. "Sev, did you fall into a pile of fish guts or something?"
Severance gave a strained smile. "Yes, it's a new coat."
It was a pity. He suspected the Veiled would toss it in the burn pile with his old clothes the moment he got back. No amount of soap would be able to get rid of the stench.
"It doesn't look new," Awesome Dude pointed out.
"No, I guess it doesn't. Not anymore." Severance sighed. "I got it when I advanced to a Battle Dancer."
Awesome Dude perked up. "Oh? What's that? Is that your new class? What does it do?"
It was Severance's turn to show off his new weapons. He brought out the war fans, and let his friend investigate one of them. "I'm still figuring out how things work, but it looks like I can attack or heal by switching between these Dance skills. It's pretty fun so far."
"That sounds awesome." It was with some reluctance that the Shade handed back Severance's war fan. "I can't wait to see how it works! Hey, did you get the dungeon quest from your person? Moo-ga-boo-lee told me to clean out this Chosen Den place. We should go do that next!"
Severance twitched.
He really should have seen this coming.
***
"You stink," Registrator Bruella told them. Her face twisted into a grimace, perfectly crafted to express the maximum amount of disgust.
Severance stopped just inside the shack's doorway. He didn't need her to point that out. He was incredibly aware of that fact on his own. That foul stench hanging around certainly didn't come from the vase of flowers on the table.
"Hehe!" Awesome Dude pushed past Severance and marched up to Bruella. "We're back!"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. To her credit, she didn't cover her nose. "What is that on your shoulder?"
"Huh?" Awesome Dude looked down at himself. Like Severance, his clothes were something that should be disposed of by a full hazmat team and incinerated for the safety of all mankind.
"Your shoulder." Bruella patted her own to demonstrate.
Awesome Dude craned his neck to look at his shoulder, but he was looking at the wrong one.
Severance sighed. "You other shoulder, Dude."
"Oh." Awesome Dude twisted to the other side. Something pale draped over one of his shoulders. Gingerly, he reached over and picked it up between thumb and forefinger. It dangled from his fingers like a limp, sodden rag. Except it wasn't a rag. It was a long lady's stocking.
They all watched as a long rivulet of slime dangled from the stocking.
"Gross." Awesome Dude dropped it like a hot potato. It hit the shack's floor with a faint squelch.
Even though he was farthest, Severance hastily stepped back into the doorway. Who knew what kind of diseases that thing carried?
"Don't drop it there!" Bruella exclaimed in alarm. Apparently she was thinking something similar.
"Where am I supposed to drop it then?" Awesome Dude asked.
Bruella leveled a glare at him that could have peeled the skin right off of him."I don't care. Just not in my cabin."
"Oh. Um." Awesome Dude looked at the stocking on the floor, then hastily looked around for ideas. The only thing he spotted was the open door, which Severance stood in.
Severance could see where his friend's thoughts were going, and hastily got out of the way. The toe of the Shade's soiled boot nudged against the stocking before kicking it right out the door. It sailed past Severance, splattering him with slime, before settling on the dirt outside.
Cringing, Severance peeked at Bruella to gauge her reaction.
She huffed, dragged a hand down her face in exasperation. "I suppose that'll have to do. Now tell me why you are here. The sooner you take your stench out of here, the better."
That hurt, though Severance couldn't really blame her. He felt absolutely disgusting right now, and wanted nothing more than to go jump in a hot bath. Too bad for everyone in his general vicinity, he didn't see any hot baths nearby.
"We finished up with the Chosen Den," Awesome Dude told her.
"I see." Her gaze flickered over both of them. "It must have been quite dangerous."
Severance immediately nodded. It was extremely dangerous, especially for one's mental health. Having gone through the horrible nightmare twice in a row, he could feel the edges of his sanity fraying.
"Well, it does look like the constant attacks on the Fort were originating from the Chosen's Den. And I've already received reports from the Fort that the attacks have begun to lessen somewhat."
If the attacks are less, would other players still get the same quest? Severance rubbed at his neck, then grimaced as something smeared onto his hand. He hurriedly wiped it on his coat, but that didn't help much since that particular spot on his coat was already greasy.
"That's good, right?" Awesome Dude asked.
"Yes, it's good." Bruella's tone grew marginally kinder. Yet she still didn't seem entirely pleased with them, because there was a definite wrinkle in her forehead that seemed to deepen with every passing minute.
She turned to her desk, and rifled through a pile of junk. She found two items, and tossed one to Awesome Dude, and another to Severance. "Here. For your efforts."
Severance caught it, but nearly dropped it due to the slime on his hands. He quickly threw the thing into Inventory and looked at it through the System. It was that or potentially ruin whatever reward Bruella had given him.
It was a pair of fingerless gloves. They were black, which would make the Veiled happy, and they boosted his Intelligence by a whole point. Severance's brows rose. That was actually very useful.
He looked at his friend, wondering what he got, only to find Awesome Dude sitting on the floor of the shack. He'd pulled off his rotten boots, revealing bare feet that looked suspiciously damp, and was working at pulling on a pair of new shoes. They looked soft and pliable, and very clean.
Severance winced as Awesome Dude pulled them over his slimy feet. After a couple of seconds, he couldn't bear to watch any longer and turned his head away.
"Oh wow, these are really nice!" Awesome Dude left his old boots on the floor, a puddle of slime slowly oozing from them, and jumped up. He took a few steps around the shack. "Yeah, they feel great! Thanks, Bruella! You're the best!"
Bruella's expression was absolutely frightening. If looks could kill, Awesome Dude would have been a small pile of ash.
Severance shifted his weight. The movement jostled loose a brown vegetable peel that was growing three different colors of fuzz. It peeled off his leg and went splat on the ground.
Registrator Bruella's gaze snapped to him. She inhaled very slowly, the wrinkle now deep enough to be considered a canyon.
Severance gave what he hoped was a charming smile.