Haeros Dungeon - Chapter 19 preview (Patreon)

“Dire news,” muttered Brianna Atem of the Seven Words, headmistress of Aeres Academy and probably the most powerful climber I had ever met in person, tapping the table as we stood before her like a bunch of naughty schoolchildren. The effect of her seated position behind the counter and the way her voice thrummed with power due to an unconscious use of her skill that made the various tuning forks in her room hum all made the children just a little restless.

Me? I found it mostly tiresome. Get old enough and you got used to power plays by those ahead of you, and you realized at some point, it was all show. Kayfabe, if you will. The vast majority of the time, it offered little to the actual situation, other than to intimidate the weak of mind and will.

After a point, you just got tired of it.

“Good reward though,” I said, tapping my pouch. “For us and the school.”

“Yes.” There had been some incredulity to begin with, until we had shown them the shard and core that we had extracted from the landfang corpses. After that, there had been no further arguments about us lying to the guards, and things had progressed very quickly.

At least for bureaucrats.

We had to make the report again, a couple of times, each time getting smoother and faster with our explanation of events. There were pointed questions that we slipped into the report itself, till at last everything that we had to say was recorded. For the most part, we only got up to the watch chief at that time, though I expected that report to make its way up the chain of command.

The reason we were here, though, was because we had gotten the initial part of our reward payout for making the report. Cash, of course, a variety of shards and orbs, but also a notarized certificate that we had to pass on to the academy who would then extend us a line of credit.

Eventually, when everything was confirmed. That would take a few weeks or months, from what Kira said. Though, upon pressing, she was rather less certain of the timeline, just drawing from what she had been told of dealing with government bureaucracy from around the dinner table. Not as though her people had much interaction with this side of the government, or bounty rewards.

In any case, we were going to be waiting and that was fine; the interrogation by Atem, on the other hand, was rather juvenile.

“The school will have to see what we can do to add to it.” At the look we gave her, she snorted. “The school is rewarded as well, since you are our graduates. The city wishes to encourage such civic behavior and, as such, pushes schools to add such education to your curriculum.” Then, seeing the look I was still giving her, she added. “Though, I admit, we do not have such a class at the moment. Good luck, that you all chose to go ahead anyway.”

“Civics and general laws would be nice,” I drawled. “Might make certain things easier, certainly.”

“Especially for those who might not have knowledge of such things – or are prone to ignoring them.” The glance she gave to Yorrick said, all too clearly, who she assumed was likely to ignore such matters. She was right, of course, though the way she looked next to Kira had me hide a smile. She was, obviously, not entirely versed on all of us. “I shall speak with the staff about it.”

“Good.” Jerking my head in the direction that I presumed the armory was, I continued, “Can we make use of the amount they have ordered you to release?”

“No.” She sniffed. “Until everything is confirmed, we can only hold it in abeyance.” Her eyes narrowed. “It would be wise for you all to register your next-of-kin, however.”

“Already did,” Yorrick said.

“Good for you. And the rest of you?”

There was a bunch of shuffling of feet, and I snorted, answering the question out loud with another of my own. “Who do we do it with?”

“It seems your companion knows. He can guide you.” She tapped the table again and the document before her, before she sighed. “I recommend you take a day or two to relax. If you hear of the pogrom being put in place, make sure to register immediately. Or go down and delve for a few weeks and then register.”

“Why?” Kira said.

“You’re too young to remember, but the initial few hours are quiet. Once it becomes known, the next few weeks are hectic, as registration is packed. Enforcement will not begin until later, and they always place a secondary registration and verification in front of the dungeon. It is a method of escaping the lines and getting registered quickly.”

“How far will these pogroms go? What will happen to those who refuse to register? And how will these sigils work?” I asked, frowning. “What’s to stop the landfang from just stealing these… devices and making them work for themselves?”

“Perhaps if we were lower down, they might. But the creatures in the city have not the intelligence to do so. The sigils you will all wear will be more than sufficient.” Atem smirked. “Relax, we have done this for many years. We know how to handle the landfang and others of their kind.”

“Their kind?”

“The landfang might be the most well-known and current problem, but creatures who hide amongst us all are not unusual. Some are just more… circumspect.”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely you have heard of the mimics, the ones who become houses and chests, who lurk and wait, being useful till such time as it is time to breed and eat. Then, they wake and consume their hosts,” Atem said. “Then, there’s the brownies who might be useful and accepted in other countries, but Haeros will have no truck with their kind. Other creatures of the deep might find accommodation in other cities, but we will not have them living among good and clean humans.”

Now my eyes narrowed, for that kind of rhetoric was dangerous. Familiar and dangerous, for it lifted one group while casting another down, never taking the time to acknowledge that the groups were made of individuals, and, as such, were as varied as any other. By creating an other, by painting one group in colors that were stained and tarnished, one alleviated the need for further enquiry and so made it simple to vilify a group and conduct whatever unspeakable horrors they might desire.

The history of the world was littered with such examples – from America’s treatment of its natives and slaves to the British and their colonies to Belgium and the Congo. In recent times, we saw it in China and Israel, in Russia and South Africa.

That kind of talk was easy, but the consequences far reaching.

Brand was nodding along, and Kira seemed unperturbed by the talk. Sophia looked a little worried, but who knew if it was the circumstances or the discussion itself. Only Yorrick seemed disturbed, and I could guess why. When you’re an outsider all your life, you had the lived experience to fall back upon. Not to say they necessarily became more sympathetic – often, given the chance, the abused becomes the abuser.

But there was hope there.

“You disapprove?”

“I’m not one for tarring an entire group with the same brush, not when they’ve not taken any action to hurt others.” I shook my head. “The landfang are one thing – they seem somewhat mindless and aggressive. These others, the brownies and fae, the creatures of the Core – it sounds like they’ve done nothing.”

“They left the Core. They refused to go to it,” Sophia said. “Our teachings say such creatures flee from within because they could not stand the pressure. It does not make them wrong, just… lesser.”

“Except some try now to return. Does that make them better?”

“Better, yes. But still tainted.”

“Fruit from the fallen tree,” I muttered. “Logical fallacy.”

Atem, quiet while we argued, moved a little, sufficient to draw my attention. She leaned forward, meeting my eyes and said, softly. “If this is the way you feel, it might be best for you to find another city, adventurer.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Or I could just make it far enough down that it matters not what you do up here.”

“That might be best.” She turned to look at Kira, nodding to the woman. “You should all plan your next trip soon. It would not be good to have our winning team be shown up by the runner up, now, would it?”

“No.” Brand’s growl was tight and loud, surprisingly fierce.

“Thank you, headmistress. We will take a break, and make our next attempt soon.” Kira shot Brand a worried look, for the boy had been the one injured. The last couple of days had seen him heal up, thanks to the healing draughts and the superior healing from being an adventurer, though he still moved with the occasional wince.

Our trip would be entirely reliant on when Brand was ready, though, with the way he was looking now, that answer might be now. Caution would push for another day or two. If nothing else, to clean up and sort our gear.

In the meantime, with less overall gear than the group, I might look into what I could do about the upcoming pogrom. And I knew just the person to ask.