Time was a funny thing. Alforde instinctively knew that they’d only been combing the sewers for two hours and ten minutes, but it felt like it’d been far longer than that.

The sewers of Oar’s Crest were strangely luxurious. Two pathways flanked the channel, and though they were only wide enough for Alforde to follow after Luna and Hanako in a single file line, they beat the stuffing out of having to walk through the…sludge. Hanako seemed particularly happy about this development.

In addition to the pathways, there were a multitude of decorations along the walls and on the ceiling. These weren’t the simple scrawled profanities of vandals either, they were careful sculptures and mosaics made by skilled [Masons] and [Artists]. It was peculiar, Alforde thought, for a city to have spent so much money on beautifying a place that people shouldn’t ever see.

Naturally, the sewers stank. No amount of stonework could hide that.

Alforde didn’t particularly mind the stench. As an armorsoul, he didn’t have any natural inclination or aversion to individual scents, but had learned what was generally considered ‘good’ and ‘bad’ from Vee. However, during moments like this, he could simply ignore what he’d been taught and accept a smell as it existed.

Hanako on the other hand, complained often and loudly about how gross the sewers were. Alforde had no natural defense against her shrill voice and started getting annoyed. The girl’s wailing was so irritating that Luna eventually tore the cuff off her own sleeve, rent it into pieces, and handed them to the girl so that she could plug her nose.

That quieted the girl down. For a little while, anyways.

Without the distraction of the smell, Hanako was then free to blather about all other manner of things, much to Alforde’s chagrin. Her topics were varied: boys, fashion, the specifics of enchanting various objects, how stupid her tutors were, gossip from the upper echelons of society, food, and so on. Somehow, she managed to flow from one subject to another, often stopping herself mid-tirade with a “Actually, that reminds me of –“ and abandoning one subject for another. It was almost impressive. Perhaps coming down here with them like this was a mistake.

Alforde shook his helmet. He was here because Vee asked him to be, and while that would have been enough on its own, he also knew that there was a good chance he’d be able to get some of his lost stats back. He missed his inactive skills!

Though, given that they had yet to see any monsters of any kind – unless one counted insects as monsters – maybe he was overestimating the value of this trip. Can’t get any stats back if there’s no fighting, after all.

Crouched in her pumpkin cart with her lance held at the ready, Luna floated over the walkway. She was vigilant as she advanced, stopping here and there to follow an interesting sound, or peering down a darkened passageway to make sure that there weren’t any monsters waiting to ambush them. Alforde wasn’t sure if the glowing pumpkins in her pupils provided her with superior vision, but he wouldn’t have doubted it for a second.

He wondered what had happened. Beyond the obvious physical changes, there was something different about the [Pumpkin Witch]. Alforde’s ability to sense auras and such was honestly pretty poor for an armorsoul – Vee had always been the one to pick up on that sort of stuff back in Bardis – but even his dull senses were tickled by the shell of energy that circled Luna at all times. Did the monsters pick up on it too? Maybe that was why, despite the universal truth of city sewers being infested with monsters, they hadn’t yet been bothered or attacked.

Alforde had no way of knowing, but he couldn’t even be sure that such a deterrent would be a good thing. After all, didn’t they want to get into fights?

He meditated on it as he walked. Being left alone was…probably a good thing? Hmm…he decided he could feel good about it maybe being a good thing, and left it there for the moment. It wouldn’t do to get distracted now. They could still get attacked at any moment!

…Or…could they?

Rolling his pauldrons and making sure that they were properly loose, Alforde followed Luna and Hanako deeper and deeper into the sewers. The bugs seemed slightly denser as they trudged forward, and Alforde took that as a sign that they were getting closer to the source.

Tightening his gauntlets around Slammy’s handle, Alforde prepared himself for anything.

Even if it stopped them from having to deal with random encounters, Luna’s aura – if that was the case – wouldn’t scare off the source of the bugs if they found it, right?

He hoped not.

Or…did he hope so?

Argh!

Vee paced back and forth in front of the sewer entrance. As he did so, he fiddled with the ring Sculla gave him. It was thin and engraved with some sort of lettering he couldn’t make out*, and somehow it was now perfectly sized to his finger. When he’d gotten it, it’d definitely been a few sizes too big and perpetually at risk of falling off, but now it was pleasantly snug. It was warm to the touch, and reminded Vee of Sculla, giving him a distinct mental sensation of smoke and fire. Strange that those were the things he associated with her.

He stopped and took a deep breath. He was most definitely Not Worrying, which – he had to admit – looked uncannily similar to worrying. Or at least, that was the impression he got from the multitude of people who came up to him and told him to stop worrying.

Another one of these, an older man with a thin crown of white hair surrounding his mostly bald head walked up to the [Dungeon Master] with a knowing smile on his face. “Worry not, young man. Your friends will be fine.”

“I know, they can all take care of themselves,” Vee said with a slight nod.

The two got to talking, and when Vee mentioned that he was the [Dungeon Master] of Crestheart, the old man’s face lit up.

“Is the [Dungeon Champion] nearby?”

Vee told him that Alforde was actually in the sewers, and the man’s face split into a wide grin. “Of course, he is. You’re not the type of [Dungeon Master] to let the city suffer a minute longer than necessary. Thank you so much! I have to go tell people that we’ll be free of these damnable bugs soon. Have a good day!”

Before Vee could correct him and tell him that his enthusiasm was unfounded, the man bowed and scurried away. Well, that’s a new one.

As the day wore on, other people came over to thank Vee. Word spread pretty quick, apparently. They didn’t seem to hear him when he said that he hadn’t had any sort of great civic motivation for sending Alforde in, and Vee found all the attention pretty embarrassing. Though positive, it felt uncomfortably close to being blamed for something he hadn’t done.

“The people of Oar’s Crest thank you for your diligence. We will remember your leadership in this trying time,” one woman said, and at that point Vee didn’t believe it could get any worse. His ears couldn’t get any redder!

Then a notification appeared in front of Vee’s eyes.

[Citizenship +2]

[Failed to receive quest! Reason: Citizenship too low (requires 20 points)]

Vee stared at the popup for a long time after the woman left. There had to be some sort of mistake. He’d only wanted to make Luna happy and give Alforde a shot to recover some more of his lost stats. Though nice, helping the city hadn’t really occurred to him. It certainly hadn’t been part of his motivation.

He waited for a moment, sure that he’d lose the stats at the admission, but no other popups appeared. Vee frowned. Maybe it has something to do with Citizenship. I’ll take a look at it.

The definition of the stat in his soul’s mirror was vague: (Special Skill) Understand the rights, duties and obligations for citizens and be of service to others. Leave things better than you find them. Not terribly helpful, as far as descriptions went, but it was probably the ‘be of service to others’ part that had caused him to earn the points.

It still didn’t feel right, but such was life. Vee was distracted from pondering it further by another shift in the ethereal. When he activated [Third Sight], he saw that the mysterious new spirit he’d seen a few times before was ever more visible. The Expectation was long and sleek, like a snake. Or a firecracker dragon. Its eyes were big, and there were shapes near them that implied sharp teeth. The spirit moved towards Vee, coiling a small part of itself around his shoulders. The [Ghost Maestro] staggered beneath its weight and stared into the spirit’s eyes.

What are you?

The spirit answered in a thundering voice.

“I DO NOT KNOW. BUT I KNOW THAT YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO ME.”

Vee clasped his hands to his ears. The gesture was mostly symbolic; the spirit was speaking into his thoughts, not his ears. The weight around his shoulders grew even heavier, and Vee could bear it no longer. His legs were shaking, and it was only a matter of seconds before they gave out.

He deactivated [Third Sight] and breathed a sigh of relief as the weight eased and his legs stopped trembling. Once the distance between his body and the ethereal was back to normal, he straightened once again and shook his head to clear his vision. Exhaustion filled his limbs, and Vee found himself swaying where he stood. He didn’t understand. Contact with a spirit usually wasn’t that draining. Whatever this thing is, it’s big. I’d better be careful before getting close to it again.

Reginald spoke up. “You don’t look too good, boss. Why don’t you sit down for a few minutes?”

It was a wonderful idea, but it wouldn’t have felt right to simply sit down in the center of the street where he was. Instead, Vee walked over to a nearby alley and slumped down next to the wall. His vision swam as he did so, and he barely noticed the bugs buzzing around him.

He looked up at the sky. He was so tired. Maybe I should rest my eyes. Yeah. Just until Alforde and Luna get back.

Vee drifted to sleep.

*Hopefully it didn’t say anything about like, binding other rings in darkness.

Luna slowed to a stop and held up her lance.

“I think it’s close,” she said. “The smell is getting stronger.”

“Do you want me to go in first?” Alforde asked. He didn’t smell anything new. Stepping past Hanako, Alforde readied Slammy, but the [Pumpkin Witch] shook her head.

“I’ll lead the way. You come in after me and make sure that Hanako stays safe, alright?”

Alforde nodded. He could do that.

Luna went around the corner. “Yup, it’s blightbeasts alright,” she called. Something snarled and Alforde hurried to follow her.

He got a good look at the monsters for himself. It was a group of blightrats. They were large and mangy, covered in blue and yellow pustules that were raised several inches above their matted fur. Their teeth were wide and jagged, and when they snarled, some of their pustules popped and spewed out clouds of insects.

“Must be a pretty nasty infestation,” Luna said as she readied her lance. “We should clear these ones out and then go back up to the surface to tell the guild so they can come up with a plan for clearing out the rest. Blightbeasts tend to make nests.”

Before she could say anything else though, the monsters charged. Alforde lifted Slammy up and heard Hanako flick her tessen open behind him. Luna sidestepped one of the creatures and skewered it on her lance. Another one leapt across the channel and made a beeline for Hanako. Armorsoul instincts kicked in. Protect the girl. Stepping into the blightrat’s path, Alforde hoisted Hamm-no, Slammy – and took aim.

“[Combination Attack]!”

Three lightning fast blows snapped out and the armorsoul dispatched the creature. For a moment, it lay there twitching and he felt a twinge of conscience.

It didn’t last long though, as more and more of the vile creatures threw themselves at the trio. Luna transformed into whirling death, and Alforde made himself a shield. He blocked every attack that was meant for Hanako, and swung his hammer as hard as he could. Each time he was hit, his new armor rattled, but it held fast, and he didn’t take any serious injuries. That was a relief. He hadn’t ever truly doubted that he’d be fine, but having the confirmation of real fight experience was reassuring.

Luna darted around the sewer, slaying monsters with furious efficiency and Hanako proved herself to be more than an annoying brat that needed to be defended. She danced around the monsters, neatly bisecting several of them with elegant swings of her metallic fans. Not wanting to be outdone, Alforde increased his efforts and fell into the chaotic rhythm of battle. His thoughts faded to nothing and remained that way until Luna stopped moving and called out that there weren’t any monsters left nearby. Then the world slowly returned to normal.

[Might +2]

[Skill reactivated: Unstoppable Charge]

Alforde rocked Slammy back and forth. The hammer was definitely lighter, and Alforde was happy to have another skill back.

“What do we do now?” he asked. He looked over at Hanako and saw that she was breathing hard and looked pale. “Head back straight away?”

Luna didn’t answer as she seemed to notice her friend’s appearance for the first time, because she clambered off her mount and walked over to give the girl a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“You did good, Hanako. Are you okay? Did the beasts injure you anywhere? Blightbeast wounds can be pretty nasty if left untreated.”

Hanako sniffed and wiped her brow. “I’m fine. Alforde protected me.”

Luna turned and smiled at the armorsoul. “Thanks for looking out for her.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I was able to keep her safe.”

“You’re good to have in a fight,” Luna said. “I’d better get these guys packed up so we can show them to the guild.”

Reaching into her pocket, the [Pumpkin Witch] took out a tiny seed. She set it on the ground and whispered something that Alforde couldn’t hear. Orange gold light pulsed around her hand, and after a moment, a large pumpkin appeared in the seed’s place. Spearing a few of the blightrats onto her lance, Luna opened the pumpkin like it was a jar and deposited the monsters inside before resealing it.

“That should be enough to prove our point,” she said. “Can you give me a hand here, Hanako? The pumpkin is heavier than I thought it would be.”

“I can carry it,” Alforde said as he started moving forward, but Luna waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. Hanako is an [Enchantress], she can make this thing float without much effort. Or at least, she should be able to, with all the tutors and lessons her dad has given her.”

Hanako made a noise and scowled at Luna as she walked over to the pumpkin. With the help of a small knife, the girl carved runes into its side. She kept it up for a few minutes and then touched each symbol in turn before closing her eyes.

“[Minor Enchantment: Flight].”

The symbols glowed and the pumpkin wobbled up into the air. If the way it quivered was any indication, the enchantment wasn’t perfect, but it was plenty suitable for their needs just then.

“Good job, thanks,” said Luna as she climbed back inside her cart. “Let’s go ahead and go back the same way we came. Less chances of nasty surprises that way. I marked our path, so it shouldn’t take too long.”

The [Pumpkin Witch] left, pushing the floating pumpkin in front of her as she went. Hanako scurried after her.

Alforde stayed back for a moment and looked at the carnage of the battle. As he stared at the bodies of the blightbeasts, he knew one thing for certain: he could never be an adventurer like Luna. She didn’t seem bothered at all bothered by the slaughter. Though he knew that the blightbeasts were monsters and that the city was better with them dead – and would be better still once the rest of them were purged from the sewers – killing didn’t sit right with him. Another defect, eh Elukaiser?

Alforde dismissed the thought. Surely it wasn’t a bad thing that he didn’t feel the thrill of victory the way he did after a battle in Crestheart’s arena, was it? No, it wasn’t.

Shaking his helmet, Alforde acknowledged his remorse and turned around. Remaining vigilant, the armorsoul followed the girls out of the sewer. Just like most trips, returning felt shorter than going in the first place.

It was dark outside when Alforde ascended back up the steps that led to the outside world. The fresh air felt good on his armor, and he was happy to let his sense of smell return to what he was used to.

Luna went to talk to the man from the guild and Hanako followed her like a shadow. Alforde looked around for Vee, but his friend was nowhere to be found. Strange.

Main Character Sheets:

Vee Vales:

Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 22

Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 12

Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 4

Might: 9

Wit: 28

Faith: 18

Adventurousness: 6

Ambition: 9

Plotting: 13

Charisma: 6

Devious Mind: 13

Leadership: 13

Guts: 9

Intimidating Presence: 7

Citizenship: 7 (+2)

Alforde Armorsoul:

Primary Class: Hammer Afficionado (Self), Level 18

Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 11

Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 10

Additional Class: Clunker (Vee Vales), Level 3

Might: 20 (+2)

Wit: 10

Faith: 24

Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 7

Endurance: 12

Intimidating Presence: 9

Heart of a Champion: 2

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 3

Vigilance: 4

Reginald:

Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ???

Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 35

Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 8

Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 4

Might: 1

Wit: 27

Faith: 9

Ambition: 25

Greed: 21

Deceptiveness: 30

Manipulat#$%@: &8

F%^*#@: ~

[*#&$#*#&$--#@$--]

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 2

Luna and Hanako Character Sheets:

Luna Redhenny:

Primary Class: Pumpkin Witch (Sarah Redhenny), Level 30

Secondary Class: Tailor (Sarah Redhenny), Level 13

Might: 38 (+2)

Wit: 27

Faith: 22

Loyalty: 34

Adventurousness: 34

Guts: 37 (+1)

Hope: 22

Stealth: 7

Charisma: 24

Hanako Maluw:

Primary Class: Enchantress (Jacques Maluw X), Level 12

Secondary Class: Young Mistress (Jacques Maluw X), Level 11

Tertiary Class (Hidden): Petal Dancer (Madam Li’s Guide to Martial Arts), Level 10

Might: 11

Wit: 15

Faith: 7

Agility: 14

Adventurousness: 11 (+1)

Guts: 8 (+1)

Deceptiveness: 4