2.23 – Prep Talks

2.23 – Prep Talks

Lunch rolled around, and Natalie found herself seated with Jordan and Sofia.

Liz didn’t join them. Despite having made quick friends with them, and hanging around during spars and class, that was because, well, she made friends with everyone. She did the same for other groups. She was a social butterfly to an astounding degree. Likely, Natalie figured, that girl could make friends with a dungeon monster.

So, just the three of them. Weird how that sounded normal. ‘The three of them’. Sofia did not belong in the group. The seamlessness she was integrating was unnatural.

“So. You met Ana at the party, right?” Jordan asked Sofia.

While Natalie’s adventures the night prior had been of a much less productive sort—or productive in an atypical way, considering her class—Sofia had attended the semester-opening party with Liz, hoping to get to know some of her classmates, and more importantly, find potential delving partners.

“I did,” Sofia said.

“And?”

“She’s ...” Sofia paused. “Well. She’s hard to read.”

“Meaning?”

“She’s cold,” Natalie said, cutting in. She’d met Ana, briefly, with Liz, when they’d first broached the idea of teaming up. “Her face is made of stone. She doesn’t inflect her voice. It’s creepy.” Natalie chewed her lip, not liking how she’d put it. “Well, that’s a little too harsh. She’s just ...”

“Odd,” Sofia said, agreeing. “Non-emotive. But,” she said, emphasizing the word, “apparently competent.”

“Then that’s all that matters, right?” Jordan asked.

Sofia shrugged in a way that said she mostly agreed, but not wholeheartedly.

Natalie had mixed feelings on it, too. It was looking more and more that their first delving team had been organized. The three of them, plus Liz and Ana. Liz, Natalie had no problems with, besides maybe the way Natalie would inadvertently be aligning herself to the Beaumon house.

Ana, though, Natalie wasn’t sold on. Again, she’d only briefly met the girl, but Sofia had agreed with her assessment, having spent more time together—and in an ostensibly casual setting, the party. If the girl remained stone-faced even hanging around in an easygoing environment, drinking and chatting, then Natalie found herself dubious it was a matter of ‘warming up’. That might just be Ana.

But Jordan’s viewpoint was a hard one to argue. If she was a competent mage, who cared? Natalie wasn’t marrying the girl. In fact, a detached, perfectly composed demeanor—even to the point of being unnaturally so—was likely a good thing in the dungeon.

Just, she’d always imagined her adventuring party would be ... friends? With her?

Jordan, on her part, seemed exasperated. “Nat. You really need to pay attention.”

“Why? I have you.”

She rolled her eyes. Though, at the same time, fought away a smile. Natalie knew Jordan liked when she pointed out her reliance on her. Everyone had small things that stroked their ego, and Natalie referencing Jordan’s smarts was one of them. And when it came to Jordan, Natalie was happy to stroke.

Er.

“But they do, then,” Natalie said. “Give us armor.”

“They’ll be giving us starting funds,” Jordan said. “Over the weekend, we’ll have a chance to buy starter equipment from the Exchange.”

Ah. So it was practical to be checking out the marketplace ahead of time. They ought to know their way around. “How much?”

“Money? Ten first-tier cores.”

Natalie choked. “Each?” She’d known delvers made serious money, even the lower tier ones, but still. That was a starting stipend?

“It’ll barely buy us a set, each,” Jordan said amusedly. “Delving equipment isn’t cheap.”

Natalie also knew that, but again, being faced with the numbers had caught her off guard. Ten first-tier cores was somewhere around a hundred helixes—which was a lot of money. At least by the standards of her and Jordan. To most Tenet students? Probably not.

She shook her head, incredulous. “But after that, we’re stuck trading in the Tenet branch?”

“Using tokens,” Jordan confirmed. “And requisitioning from the main Exchange will come with markups.”

“Outrageous ones,” Sofia added. “Certainly not worth it.”

Tenet had its own mini-economy. Natalie wasn’t sure why they encouraged that. Maybe to cut down on cheating, by being able to track who was buying and selling what? Though she couldn't fully see how. Tons of what Tenet did wasn’t clear to her. Systems designed over decades and centuries. And some of them were probably pointless or outdated. Not every machine was perfectly built.

“We should hurry,” Jordan said. “The bell’s about to ring.”

Natalie glanced at the clock, blinking. Sure enough. The time had flown by. She picked up her fork and returned to her meal.