"There's something else you can help with," Registrator Bruella told them. Her voice was slightly strained, and she kept looking towards the door.
Both Severance and Awesome Dude perked up, though Severance couldn't help but look outside, wondering what she was looking at. All he saw was the gross slimy stocking laying in the dirt.
"There's a supply caravan getting ready to leave for Ironback," Bruella continued. "As it's a risky route through the mountains, they're looking for Outsiders to help. They're gathering at a small outpost a half mile further from the Fort. Go there and find Louie du Ie."
Quest Received: Speak to Louie du Ie at Outpost 12
"Huh?" Severance almost choked on his own spit. Lewy Dewy? What a hilarious name! He struggled not to laugh, and ended up coughing instead. Awesome Dude looked at him curiously. The Shade didn't appear to see the hilarity of the name, but that was okay.
Lewy Dewy!
Severance clutched his stomach, suddenly having enormous difficulty at keeping the laughter at bay. Maybe this was it. His sanity was finally falling apart. He'd cracked and now he was crazier than The Brain on drugs.
"Is something wrong?" Thunderclouds loomed in Bruella's expression.
Severance coughed, just barely managing to choke down the urge to laugh. "No?"
"Good," she snapped. "Now get out of here, both of you, and take your stench with you."
Severance immediately slipped through the doorway, still coughing. Awesome Dude followed.
"Did she seem extra grouchy to you?" The Shade asked. "Maybe someone made her mad."
"Like who?" Severance asked. He was pretty sure it was all the slime that bothered Bruella, but he was curious to see what Awesome Dude thought.
"I don't know. Maybe her boyfriend did something to make her mad."
Weirdly enough, Severance found himself picturing Augustine. He shook his head, rapidly dismissing that idea. Augustine was too put-together to do anything stupid enough to make a Valkyrie mad.
As they walked towards one of Two Bridges' main roads, a few people shied away as they passed, noses wrinkling. Severance grimaced, thoroughly embarrassed. He was really going to have to do something about his clothes.
"Anyway," Awesome Dude suddenly stopped, prompting Severance to stop as well, "I gotta log out now."
Severance was dismayed. "Already? But you've only been on for like an hour."
"Sorry." The Shade looked sheepish. "I have an exam that I need to study for. I promised my dad I'd only play for an hour tonight."
"Ah. Okay." Severance wondered what it was like to have a parent who cared about his studies. Awesome Dude was really lucky. "Then you better go study, I guess."
"Yeah. But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure." Severance watched as Awesome Dude burst apart in a flurry of white sparks.
Once again, he was on his own.
Without Awesome Dude, Severance didn't feel very motivated to play much longer. He felt tired, even though physically, his body could keep on going for all eternity.
He spotted an alcove nearby with a bench, and wandered over. His clothes squished as he sat, causing him to shudder. Yeah, he was seriously going to have to fix that as soon as possible. Preferably by stripping naked and logging out, because when he came back in, he'd be perfectly clean. The only problem was that he'd be naked when he got back in.
He'd need to have some replacement clothes handy first, which meant he'd have to go back to the clan House. Hopefully Wellon was lost somewhere and not waiting for him there.
Severance heaved a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to going back there, especially in this state, but it didn't seem like he had much of a choice.
But before that, he wanted to take a look at the skills he'd gained. Just as they'd finished off The Brain—without him dying this time—he'd gained an Intelligent point that had pushed him into Level 24. He'd gotten the notification about unassigned skills, so now that he had a moment to himself, he could look them over.
But the moment the window opened, he stilled. It was the same skills as before, but now there were only three to choose from. He gazed at them, thinking.
Unassigned Skills
Level 24 Skills – Choose one
Amend –heal target for 30% hp. Cooldown: 9* sec
Purify – heal target for 10% hp and gives a PURITY buff for 10 seconds. Healing received is doubled while PURITY is active.
Ionize – call forth the power of lightning to strike your target. Cooldown: 13* sec
*Because you have ≥20 wisdom, cooldown times are slightly decreased.
He'd gotten to pick one at level 22, and now here was again at level 24. If this was the case, was he going to get to choose every two levels? With four skills, that meant he'd probably be able to choose all of them by the end.
His first instinct was to go for Purify, since the added healing capability would be very handy, but if he was able to choose it later anyway...
Severance tapped on Ionize. Why not go for the cooler skills first?
You have learned the skill: Ionize
He smiled. The more lightning he could throw around, the better. The next time he saw Jeffrey, that little freak wouldn't stand a chance.
Now that he ran out of things to procrastinate with, he touched his teleport ring and chose the clan House as his destination.
His world dissolved into white snow. In the time it took to blink once, the snow was already swirling away and he stood in the courtyard of the Veiled House.
The first thing he noticed was that it was night here. That was strange, since it'd still been daytime at Two Bridges. He shrugged, and tilted his head back.
Stars glittered overhead against a backdrop of deep violet. A gentle breeze caressed his cheek and blew through his hair. He lowered his gaze to the dark shape of the House before him.
Glowing blue crystals on either side of the door lit the way. Taking in a deep breath, Severance lowered his chin and strode forwards. It was time to get this over with. All he had to do was two simple things:
Step 1. Change his clothes with no one seeing.
Step.2 Avoid Wellon.
Although, he was pretty sure the teen wouldn't try and kill him now. There'd been no sight of him in Two Bridges, so it was probably just an empty threat.
Severance paused as a new thought struck him.
What if by coming back, all he did was just serve himself up on a platter? Maybe the whole clan would just stand by and cheer as Wellon happily slit his throat.
"Oh my." A vaguely familiar woman stood before him. Her long black braid was flung over a shoulder, silver threaded through the dark strands.
Ever grateful for the floating names, Severance recognized her as Chaaya. She'd been sweeping the courtyard when he saw her last.
He offered a hesitant smile. "Hi."
Her eyebrows rose as she looked him up and down. Then she tutted. "What a fine mess you are."
"Yeah, sorry." He was probably making a mess on the floor just by standing here.
"What have you been doing? Never mind. This will not do." She frowned deeply, then glanced up at the second floor balcony. Severance followed her gaze, but saw only shadows.
"Wellon!" She bellowed, with such strength and volume that Severance nearly fell over in shock. "Get down here, boy!"
Wellon really was here? Crap. He should have just stayed in town.
"It's okay," he told her. "Wellon doesn't need to come."
"Nonsense." Chaaya's lips pursed. "You were in Wellon's care, were you not?"
In his care? Severance was flabbergasted. Just what did she mean by that? He didn't need a babysitter! He could take care of himself, thank you very—
"What is it?" came the teen's familiar voice. It sounded faintly annoyed.
Severance stiffened. Warily, he looked towards the back of the main room, where Wellon casually descended the stairs.
Behind him came another man, one that Severance wasn't familiar with.
"Wellon," Chaaya greeted. Then she gestured at Severance, her face settling into a frown. "What is this?"
Wellon stepped off the staircase and onto the worn stone floor. His eyes flicked to Severance, and the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "Finally made it back, did you?"
Severance couldn't help but twitch. He could still see Wellon lunging at him, knife sliding out of its sheath and into the teen's hand. It had happened so fast there's been no time to react. It'd been so easy for Wellon to kill him.
He watched Wellon come closer, each step a flowing, measured movement that left no sound. Predators moved like that, Severance thought, a flash of irrational panic threatening to take hold. He's not going to kill me here, is he?!
Chaaya inhaled sharply, her gaze growing sharp as she looked between them. But before she could speak, the man behind Wellon reached out and caught Wellon's shoulder. His fingers curled, digging in, and Wellon stopped dead in his tracks, wincing.
"Enough," the man said softly.
Instantly, Wellon grew very still, all traces of amusement fleeing from his expression. If anything, he appeared nervous, but Severance wasn't sure. It was hard to discern what Wellon was thinking at the best of times.
"Now," the man released his grip, lowering his hand back to his side. Wellon didn't move. The man moved to stand beside Wellon, so that he faced both Chaaya and Severance. "Tell me what's going on."
Very slowly, as if reluctant to make an appearance, the man's name appeared over his head: Batin.
Severance peeked at Batin. The man looked intense, with sharp features, narrowed black eyes, and dark hair pulled back into a short tail. His whole presence radiated danger, like he himself was the glinting edge of a blade poised to attack.
"Nothing," Wellon finally answered.
"Truly?" Batin's tone was mild. Yet Severance felt that knife's edge draw closer. He shivered.
Chaaya's gaze shifted between them, before she nodded once and quietly padded towards one of the side rooms. Apparently, she was content to leave this matter in Batin's hands.
"Yes," Wellon said carefully. He eyed Severance like he was looking at a puppy who'd just peed all over the floor. "It was a rough run, but we were successful in the end. That's all there is to it."
Liar! Sev bit his lip, not daring to speak although he was deeply unsatisfied. It was more than that. It was also about Wellon's petty actions. Even though it didn't really harm him, he still didn't appreciate getting murdered by his own clan member.
"Then why does our healer appear frightened of you?"
"What?" Wellon appeared startled.
At the same time, Severance exclaimed, "I'm not—!"
"What did you do, Wellon?" Batin cut in as if Severance had never spoken. He turned his head to look the teen full in the face. A gleam of light flashed along the knife's edge, and Wellon visibly swallowed.
He hesitated. A mistake, because Batin suddenly swiveled his attention to Severance. Suddenly the knife was put back in its sheath and there was only a soothing calm in Batin's entire manner. The change was so sudden, so unexpected, Severance was left reeling.
Who the heck was this guy?
"Severance," Batin said. "Please tell me what happened."
Severance glanced at Wellon. The teen stared back sullenly. Telling the truth would probably tick him off even more. But Batin was a whole lot more unnerving than Wellon, so Severance made the choice to be honest.
"He killed me when we got out of the dungeon."
"Thank you," Batin said. When he turned back to Wellon, the knife was bared once more, gleaming wickedly and thirsting for blood. "Wellon. You are a fool."
Wellon had the good sense to appear contrite, at least. He lowered his head, though not before shooting Severance an unreadable glance. "I meant no harm," he muttered.
"What you meant is of no consequence," Batin coolly said. "Your actions speak for themselves. And what you have done is inexcusable."
Wellon lifted his head, the faintest hint of a scowl tugging at his mouth. "I was just having some harmless fun. He can't actually die."
"But he can choose to leave our clan," Batin's voice was mild, yet his gaze darkened. "Wellon, we cannot afford to accept another Outsider. This is our one and only chance. And your childish actions may very well cost us. Do you understand?"
Severance watched curiously. He was pretty sure that even if he did choose to leave, the crazy Veiled wouldn't let him. So what Batin was saying wasn't exactly the real truth. But Wellon didn't know that, he supposed.
"Yes," Wellon exhaled quietly. His shoulders drooped, his very posture subdued. "I'm sorry."
Batin frowned. "You may return to your quarters. We'll discuss this with Agadhi later."
Without another word, Wellon slunk off. He went up the far staircase and slipped into the shadows like a ghost.
"I must apologize," Batin said to Severance. "This is not the way of our clan."
"It's fine," Severance said. He peeked at the staircase, his thoughts complicated. Part of him was quite satisfied to see the guy get in trouble, but another part of him felt guilty for getting him in trouble.
"It's not fine. Wellon's behavior was entirely unacceptable and I assure you, it will not happen again."
Severance sighed softly. This was getting to be too much. Weariness tugged at him. He didn't want to deal with this anymore.
In an attempt to change the subject, he pulled out two Amaurite crystals and the Krask leather. At once, a rotten stench assaulted his nose, causing him to grimace. Right. He'd forgotten about that. Resisting the urge to hold his nose, he offered it to Batin.
"Here. From the dungeon. Can you pass it on to Olen, please?"
Batin looked down at the items, brows lifting slightly. Then he carefully took them from Severance, fingers curling around them as if worried they might slip free. "I will. Will you be staying for a while?"
Severance hesitated. He actually had almost an hour of time remaining, but he was feeling pretty drained. So he shook his head. "No. I'll get cleaned up first, and then I'll go."
"That would be wise," Batin agreed.
Whether he was referring to the cleaning up or the going, Severance wasn't sure. Either way, he didn't want to be in that unsettling presence any longer than necessary. He fled for the laundry room, feeling that sharp gaze following him all the way.