Chapter 16: Dammit, Jerome

Chapter 16: Dammit, Jerome

"Where the hell did everyone come from?" Misa said, looking around in slight bewilderment. "There weren't this many adventurers around when we left."

"Word got out, I'm guessing," Sev agreed, frowning slightly. "Means it's a big announcement."

Vex was mostly silent the lizardkin didn't particularly enjoy crowds, instead using Derivan's presence to deter onlookers. Indeed, the other adventurers tended to give Derivan a bit of a berth. Something about his armor being intimidating, he supposed.

Everyone was gathered in the Guild's lobby, and a restless sort of energy hung around amongst the adventurers as they waited. There was a makeshift stage where the questboard was normally stationed, and it was the only spot in the lobby that wasn't already full, with just the one woman standing idly there. Derivan and the others, who had returned pretty much exactly on time for the announcement, had to stand near the door. There was no space anywhere else.

Derivan hadn't actually seen the Guildmaster nor had he seen any of the leaders in charge of individual Guild branches, for that matter. As he understood it, they tended to be somewhat reclusive, rarely meeting with adventurers in person; when they weren't resolving a crisis, they were handling administrative work. What that administrative work was he didn't really know, though Sev had once explained it had to do with how the Guild handled individual teams, as well as each branch's relationship with nearby cities and towns.

Now that he thought about it, the fact that the Guildmaster was personally handling this announcement was probably some indication as to its importance.

"Greetings," the Guildmaster said, and Derivan blinked, the lights in his helmet flickering. It was like a switch had flipped in his mind. He'd seen that woman standing in the middle of the stage of course she was the Guildmaster. Who else would she be?

But he hadn't made the connection, for some reason, and it seemed like he wasn't the only one. Other adventurers seemed to be similarly startled, with several of them letting out a brief curse as their brains suddenly told them in no uncertain terms that the Guildmaster was there.

She was... she was a middle-aged, nondescript woman? Her features were indistinct, and try as he might, Derivan found he couldn't pinpoint anything about her besides her identity.

"Some kind of perception-based Skill?" Vex muttered at his side. His voice was slightly strained, like he, too, was trying to see through it.

Derivan tried to watch her more carefully, but his attention slid off of her like it was water; there was nothing for him to latch on to

No. Wait. He could latch on to something.

You are circumventing a powerful anti-identification Skill.

He couldn't get a read on her appearance, but he could still read her with Physical Empathy. He could tell he wasn't supposed to, somehow; there was a strange resistance to it that required him to focus his efforts. Her skill should have masked everything from him, he suspected, even her body language, but it seemed like the stat could go around it, somehow?

He could see that her eyes were sharp, the corners crinkled just slightly in amusement at the way the adventurers reacted to her. Her shoulders were hunched, just barely; deeper-set stress and irritation from something unrelated to the adventurers muttering amongst themselves about her appearance.

You have partially circumvented a powerful anti-identification Skill. The owner of the Skill will be alerted.

Derivan frowned at the message. The system could have warned him about that earlier.

Sure enough, the Guildmaster paused in her announcement, searching the crowd with faintly narrowed eyes. Her eyes met his own for a moment.

Then, to his surprise, she winked.

No one else seemed to have noticed, though, and she continued her announcement like nothing had happened. Derivan realized vaguely that he hadn't been paying attention, and sheepishly tuned in.

"Normally, a new dungeon forming would be something to celebrate," she said, her gaze sweeping impassively over the crowd. "And indeed, this dungeon is unique, even among the core dungeons cultivated in the Prime Kingdoms. We don't know how or why this formed the way it did. We do know this dungeon is dangerous."

"It is a platinum-tier dungeon," she said, and whispers swept over the crowd of adventurers. Her eyes hardened. "Which means," she added, "no one below Gold will be allowed to delve it."

There were groans and loud complaints. The Guildmaster's gaze was unrelenting, but then she sighed, holding up a hand; the adventurers quieted without really knowing why they did so. "But it doesn't matter; I tell you this only to lighten the blow. Even Gold teams will not be allowed to delve it, for Elyra has claimed it for their research."

"The Guildmaster said he is from Anderstahl," Derivan said. "I believe that is the northern Prime Kingdom? Perhaps he was removed for this behavior?"

"Probably," Sev sighed. "And he's almost certainly planeshifted. That name is very... Earth."

"Does that matter?" Vex cocked his head at their cleric.

"...No. I don't know. Maybe." Sev grimaced, looking up briefly and then back down as a woman slipped into their room. "I don't feel great about other planeshifted, but I think that's just because I haven't really had good experiences with them."

"Well, the guy was an ass, though, we can agree on that much," Misa grumbled. "Kinda wanna kick his ass."

"He's level 72. I checked. Please don't provoke him," Sev deadpanned, and Misa huffed.

"I worry that he will do something anyway." Derivan's voice was concerned; he stood leaning against a wall at the side of the room, unable to convince himself to sit. "He was very angry, and he did not stop because he realized his anger was unjustified. He stopped because he formed a plan."

"There's not much we can do about it," Sev said, shaking his head. "Especially since we don't know what he's planning. We'll have to trust that the Guildmaster saw the same thing and is preparing countermeasures."

"I suppose." Derivan glanced over his friends. The answers they needed were in the dungeon, but none of them could get in, and the only adventurer that did technically have the power to get in was loud and worryingly hostile. Sev looked withdrawn, Misa looked agitated, Vex seemed distressed, and that woman still seemed irritated, though now that irritation was colored with amusement.

Derivan paused. The woman seemed irritated. How strange. There was something about the way her shoulders were hunched...

One thought linked to another. He blinked, eyes flickering in his helmet. He didn't know who that woman was, but the set of that irritation was familiar

Two notifications blipped out at once.

You are circumventing a powerful anti-perception Skill.

You have partially circumvented a powerful anti-perception Skill. Owner of the Skill will be alerted.

"The Guildmaster is here," he blurted, startled by how easily she'd slipped beneath their notice. To their credit, none of the others doubted him, though they seemed to interpret his surprise as a warning they reacted in a flash, Misa reaching for her mace and the other two preparing spells. They looked puzzled, though, unable to parse any kind of target.

"So that's how you did it," the Guildmaster said, amused. "Not many can see through my Skills. I'm impressed. But you can put your weapons away; I'm not here to fight, and I apologize for startling you. I was just curious about how your friend saw through me. You have a skill that recognizes body language, and somehow associated that body language with me?"

All three of the others started as the Guildmaster spoke, then relaxed, slowly putting their weapons away. Derivan nodded awkwardly it wasn't a correct assessment, exactly, but it was close enough. He could hardly explain what was going on with his status.

"Yes," he said out loud, and she grinned at him playfully.

"Should've stuck with the nod. That's a partial lie, but I'll let that one slide; I shouldn't have asked you in the first place, and you shouldn't be able to make that association at all."

"You have a crazy-ass set of skills," Misa muttered.

"Necessary, when you're the Guildmaster." The Guildmaster chuckled, the irritation bleeding away. "To address your concerns yes, Jerome almost certainly has something planned. I've got eyes on him. They'll try to stop him if he does anything stupid, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye out, too."

"You are here for a different reason, though," Derivan said, observing her. She was being... cautious?

"I am," the Guildmaster nodded. "You've probably already figured it out, but I lied a little bit back there."

Her voice turned serious. "I need to know what system messages you got during that formation event. That dungeon is not platinum-tier. I'm not sure it fits any of our categorization schemes at all."