Chapter Eighty-six. Shower thoughts.

Chapter Eighty-six. Shower thoughts.

Nora woke up as the light streamed through the window of the small room she'd rented for the night.

She was momentarily confused at her unfamiliar surroundings before the memory of the day before came crashing back into her mind.Follow current novels at novelhall.com)

She'd expected to have taken a path yesterday. Her mother, father, and grandfather had called her into the ritual chamber that morning.

Nora grimaced. She had been so excited. Everyone in her family followed a path handed down from generation to generation, and while everyone in the family knew that, nothing was ever spoken of it.

She had entered the ritual chamber, ready to advance to level five and take her family's path.

Then her mother had told her that their path was a family secret protected by a Geas.

Nora had bridled at that. A Geas was a ritual spell that bound the target to complete a task, even unto death. Her mother had hastened to assure her that the Geas was simply to keep every detail of the family path secret from any who didn't already know. The magic of the ritual spell would prevent her from speaking of it in the presence of any who weren't already Geas'd themselves. It would even prevent speaking of the secret should someone be eavesdropping.

Her father had then struggled to explain that the path was stronger than any other she could take, much stronger. He had difficulty working around the constraints of the Geas.

Nora's grandfather had then added that such strength must be kept out of the hands of the masses, "Lest they become emboldened, and rise up against their betters, wielding power carelessly as the common wretch lacks the wisdom and foresight to act for the greater good."

The realization that her family held the knowledge of a path that could see everyone freed from the threat of monster waves infuriated her.

She'd been raised on the stories of how awful it was outside of Harbordeep, of entire towns and villages destroyed, every man, woman, and child dead, not due to a tide, but to a common wave.

Nora had heard, time and again, that Harbordeep was safe because the Royal Family and the Nobles were responsible for holding back the tide and that such a thing was made possible because of their dedication and honor to uplifting society.

Discovering that the basis for their strength wasn't dedication, honor, or even hard work, but rather a bit of secret knowledge, protected by a Geas, had both horrified and infuriated her.

She had refused to accept the Geas.

Now that some time had passed and the fires of her indignation had been banked by the passing hours, she was ashamed of some of the things she had said.

They had all been Geas'd, in turn, likely succumbing to familial pressure; in her mother's case, it had most probably been a condition for her marriage.

Her family wasn't the true target of her vitriol; they simply suffered from the area of effect of her anger.

She'd stormed off in a towering rage, taking only her cloak and a pouch of mana crystals.

Nora stretched carefully and sat up.

She could go back, accept the Geas, and reap the benefits of a powerful path.

She shook her head.

That would make her part of the problem, and while she wasn't sure of the solution, she was certain that she didn't want to be a part of a legacy of deception.

Slipping into her dress and tying the stays that drew it snug, she slung her cloak over her shoulders, and left the tiny room, determined to visit the Church and exchange her crystals before meeting Bob at the tavern.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Monroe's tail swished as he crouched behind a small dune, ears perked forward, his eyes locked on his prey.

He crouched lower, his tail stilling, as his prey slowly moved into his ambush.

His hind paws dug into the shifting terrain, his back end wiggling ever so slightly as he prepared to attack.

Monroe exploded into motion, leaping forward to pounce, bringing all four claws to bear against his prey.

He kicked twice, rapidly seeking to disembowel his foe before flowing backward and lashing out with his front claws, just in case it retaliated.

His eyes darted back and forth, and his tail swished.

He'd attacked nothing!

His prey had somehow escaped.

Monroe slunk back onto his ledge where he hid, waiting.

His prey would reappear, of that he was sure.

His tail swished, and his ears lay back as he scanned the ground beneath him, looking for any sign.

~ ~ ~ ~

Bob grinned as he dropped the spells, his makeshift laser point disappearing from his hand.

A combination of all four elemental schools, a bright flame encased at the end of a stone tube, fed by created air to brilliance, the light focused by a single drop of water at the tip.

It had taken a few hours to get right, but he'd managed, and so when Monroe had woken up, Bob had enjoyed a little playtime.

Now he just needed to wait for half an hour or so for the big cat to calm down.

Monroe took playtime very seriously.

Bob headed to the shower, leaving Monroe to lurk beneath the covers, only his nose peeking out.

He'd shepherd the kid today, and if it turned out she didn't have the crystals to pay him back, she could work towards earning them.

"Trebor," Bob began, "with all these amazing species in the universe, why do I only see scaley dragon people and elemental wannabe's wandering around the streets?"

'Because no one knows about them,' Trebor replied, 'Please remember that your Advanced System Integration grants you a degree of access beyond that enjoyed by those who take on the role of divine beings.'

'They have user access as defined by their roles,' Trebor continued, 'whereas you have full administrative access to read the entire system.'

'So when someone here on Thayland wishes to advance to a higher tier, they are restricted to both the species they are aware of or the limited knowledge granted to the divine being they revere, which is defined by the role of that divine being.'

'From a purely technical standpoint,' Trebor said, 'you revere the System itself via your interactions with me, and thus, have no limits on your access.'

Bob shook his head and said, "Not so much revere as fear."

~ ~ ~ ~

Bob walked into the tavern carefully, his arms full of Monroe, who had decided that he didn't want to ride on his shoulders but rather that his human-servant should carry him.

Bob was incredibly grateful for his enhanced strength.

Spotting Jakob sitting at a table with Zoey, Bob headed over and claimed a free seat.

Monroe twisted and turned in his lap, ending up with his upper body draped across the table and his hindquarters on Bob's lap.

"Good morning," Bob said as he adjusted Monroe's tail, so it wasn't twitching in front of his face.

"Good morning," Zoey said cheerfully as she reached out to rub Monroe's head.

Jakob raised his mug in salute.

"Anyone seen the kid?" Bob asked as a server hurried up to the table.

"Not yet," Zoey said.

"Still a bit more than an hour until your delve," Jakob replied.

"We've either Eggs or Steak, served with fried potatoes," the server said as he accepted Bob's token.

"I'll have eggs," Bob said, "and a serving bowl of meat for Monroe here," he finished tilting his head towards Monroe, who was sprawled bonelessly as Zoey rubbed his ears, a low purr rumbling from his chest.

The server pressed Bob's token to the slate he was carrying before handing it back and hurrying to the kitchen.

"So," Jakob said, "I might have a slot for you this evening."

Bob looked up at that, his hands automatically continuing his anointed task of scratching Monroe's ruff.

"If it works out, it will be from one am until three am," Jakob warned.

"I can handle that," Bob said with a smile.

"Alright," Jakob replied, "I'll confirm it with you when you get back from Shepherding at noon."

Zoey shook her head as she scratched under Monroe's chin.

"I'm surprised that anyone would volunteer to be a Shepherd," she said, "You could have just handed her that hundred crystals you paid to register; she'd likely have had enough for to take a path then, at which point you could have just guided her through a few floors."

"I wouldn't be getting priority scheduling if I'd done that," Bob said with a smile, "and then there is the fact that I don't think that kid has any idea what delving is like," his face turned serious, "her taking a path and trying to delve with no practice using her skills is a recipe for disaster."

"In Holmstead," Bob said quietly, "we have a pair who Shepherd freshers from the first floor to the sixth."

"It gives them a chance to practice their skills so they have a handle on what they can do before they are turned loose in the Dungeon," Bob finished.

"How many deaths do you have on the fifth and sixth floors?" Jakob asked.

"None?" Bob replied, "We had someone lose an arm, and someone lost a toe, but that whole group was assigned back to the Shepherds for remedial delving."

"That's impressive," Zoey acknowledged, "we lose one in twenty on the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the Dungeon."

"Never the Nobles kids, though," Jakob grunted.

"No," Zoey hissed, "never them. They have retainers watching over them to make sure they don't suffer so much as a scratch until their skills are leveled, and then the retainers come right back in on the more difficult floors."

Jakob let out a sigh and waved a hand to draw Zoey's attention.

"Best to keep that tone to yourself," Jakob said quietly to Zoey before turning to Bob, "she's not wrong, though. We lose the kids whose families scraped up the crystals to get them a path but aren't Adventurers or part of a community that has Adventurers, so their kids delve blind."

"No offense to your Holmstead," Zoey said, "but we'd need twenty Shepherds to help those who need it."

Bob shrugged.

"It shouldn't be that difficult," he said confidently, "Shepherd a few the kids and charge them the minimum with the understanding that they'll push a few levels higher than they might have planned, high enough to pick up Animancy and Anima Blast."

The server arrived with Bob's meal, and conversation halted as Zoey, Jakob, and the server watched in amusement as Bob wrestled a liquid Monroe into the seat across from him, granting Bob a reprieve from lap duty and freeing the space on the table in front of him from the tyranny of his feline overlord.

The server placed Bob's plate and Monroe's bowl in front of the respective diners and paused to watch as Monroe started to delicately devour his fresh fish.

"As I was saying," Bob said, "if those kids that I Shepherd make good on their promise, and they Shepherd some more kids for an hour a day under the same agreement, before long, you've more Shepherds than you need."

He took a bite of his eggs, chewed, and swallowed before finishing, "And a whole lot fewer dead kids."