In spite of my general emotional confusion, what with Jenna's bitching mixing with some maybe-catharsis about my past, the stress demon in my head was maybe a little quieter as I dived into that deep focus mode, though by no means was it gone. That was fine, since it didn't help, but it didn't matter all that much one way or another.

As I searched for and found that thin edge of awareness where the skill was giving me knowledge without acting, I could still feel it hanging out somewhere behind me, closer than skin without really seeming connected to me, in a way that was hard to describe. "Stress demon" was the name I'd attached to it when it was at its worst, though others might have termed it "anxiety," if they were being more generous. It spoke with a lot of familiar voices and always, always told me that what awaited me down this road was death and despair, and that the way forward was something else. Real people weren't like this. Success lay down the more well-traveled roads, or else it meant diving off a cliff and becoming a monster. Every step I took was away from those paths; I wasn't some kind of savant doing anything special, just an idiot trying to weasel a few free skill levels out of a system that I hadn't earned. Wherever this path took me, I could have gotten there more easily by doing it right. If I were really good at what I was doing, I would already have everything within my grasp. Other people my age were already well ahead of where I was, because they had dedicated themselves to their paths. Me and my doubts were useless and unwanted.

I didn't need to actively shut it out anymore; I'd been mostly ignoring it for a very long time. If only that made it go away.

Once I had the telekinetic sense active, I could tell where a few dead-ends were close by, and rather than avoiding them, I went hunting down those paths. I fought a Hungry Horde, a Chemist, and a Hoppin' Heart in a group, not really feeling the strain, not when I had no fear of the edge, the wind, or the otherwise relentless pursuit of the Horde.

No, I just took my Devil's Swords and went to town, first on the Chemist, then tossing the Heart off the edge (no XP that way, but I didn't care really), and finally taking the time to practice soloing a Horde. With this... True Telekinesis, or really, with the sense that it gave me, the motion and distance felt so much more in my favor than it did when I was alone, paranoid about the edge of the platforms, and freaking out about the name.

Fear was a powerful enemy. I thought I'd beaten it, but like dungeon monsters themselves, there were too many different types of fear to every really win. I grinned and did a standard fighting retreat against the Horde, keeping them at distance and picking them off two at a time as I walked backwards, without looking. On a level with pits instead of walls, that would normally feel like suicide, but... well, having eyes in the back of your head was a hell of a thing.

When that group was dead, I went hunting again, keeping my distance from the Harpsichord Harpy now that I knew that it had a status effect I couldn't block. As I'd done last floor, though, I cheated merrily, criss-crossing the entire map to find any group of foes that interested me, but leaving anything directly in the path of Mel's group so that they could have some good fights as well. The added bonus of getting to search for quests was... about half intentional, really. It wasn't my original motivation, but it did solidify my choice in my head.

And I found the hidden quest easily enough. A dead-end by the Tower wall was close to a very well disguised ladder attached to the wall itself, which ended at a crack in the wall no different from many others. When I could confirm Mel's group was busy, I dropped into stealth and went straight for the hole, coming out in a very narrow corridor that went a ways into the wall before ending in a small chamber.

Sitting in that chamber was a male bird-man with one harp-wing, one bloody stump, and a lot of scars on its face and chest; it was clearly neither a Harpy, which are female, nor did it deserve to have two "Harp"s in its name. what with the missing wing, so I just decided that it was a harp-y birdman. Instead of a monster species ID over its head, though, was a name with no levels--an NPC.

It watched me come in, warily. Most of its wounds, I guessed as I dropped out of my trance, were meant to look like they were caused by Harpy claws; the spacing was about right. Was the implication that harpies were violent towards their own males? Considering they were manipulative violent ...harpies, I guess that made sense.

"Come to watch me die?" it asked, and I realized that it was probably trapped in here, presumably unable to get food, as if that were a thing for NPCs. It didn't seem to be bleeding out, or anything.

That opener, though, didn't give me a lot of ways to advance towards a secret quest. "Not exactly," I offered in return, then took a gamble. "You... look like you've seen some shit."

The birdman laughed, bitterly. "Being born male is a curse, one I'm sure you're familiar with. Too often the crueler sex gets to indulge in their wanton abuse freely. I have watched my brothers become victims over and over, some willingly..." he grimaced. "...others, not."

For all that this was not my experience with women at all, I nodded sympathetically and sat down before him, as though hearing him out. This might be a quest lead, certainly.

"You are... one of the landlocked ones." Somehow, the birdman squinted at me, as though sensing something more. "No... perhaps not. Hah, wouldn't that be an interesting twist of fate? Perhaps you are trying to find Him?"

"Him?" Come on, come on.

"The Lost Soul, the Heretic Knight. The Slave Dungeoneer."

The absolute chill that those three words sent through my body made every last scrap of mirth flee. "A Dungoneer was made into a slave?"

"Oh yes. That's what happens when you underestimate a Fairy Queen." The birdman lowered his head and glared up at me, as though he were a sulking teenager trying to give me a real stink-eye. "Born of the Waking World, he challenged a power centuries too soon. She has his soul, and She has sent him back to betray his own kind. He is not bound by the Key, and he does not seek Ascension. He is tasked only with blood, and blood he shall provide."

"He had his pride, and well he should," and for some reason my Fairy Pass feature popped up, as though he knew that I had it, "for as you know, he could not reach that Realm without being both powerful and rare." The bird stopped talking for a moment, and the only noise was an uneven whistling from his mouth that was probably supposed to sound like an injured bird, but that wasn't really my focus at the moment. Or maybe a laugh? It might have been another laugh, but that didn't seem right.

For my part, I couldn't help feeling dead inside, a dread working its way up through my guts. This was the reason Dungeoneers were going missing? The Administrator's faith in me was likely misplaced if she thought I could beat an more experienced player killer who was probably also a solo diver, especially if he happened to be higher level than me. Still... "Can you tell me more?"

The birdman laughed, a loud grating cackle that seemed to echo far beyond the chamber. "More? More? Isn't it enough? Like you, he tried to walk the path of the Expert, and he was crushed mercilessly, for the ways Beneath are cruel and their laws unwritten. The Administrators may be bound to assist your kind, but the Fairies are not. To go into their Realm is to court death." The bird glared at me, and although its beak was incapable of smirking, I still got that sense from him. "Never forget who is a true enemy, and who is not."

All that cryptic bullshit passed by me, and I only vaguely noted it, shaking my head as my brain tried to get back to the issue that seemed most important. "No, I mean... this Slave Dungeoneer. Can you tell me where they are? What happened to them? A name, a class, anything?"

"His Name was stolen, and so he has none. As for a Class, he was a true Fool, and had none." The bird tilted his head at me. "For location... you were told how far you must go to find him."

"Into the Fairy Dungeon?" That definitely sounded like death, but if so, why were so many groups dying?

"No. A part of this World was taken by him, and he rules it. You will know his realm if you enter, but if you do, he will not let you leave. Did they not tell you where?" The bird raised its beak at me. "If you are not ready, do not go beyond the Docks. What lays beyond is the Knight's realm.

I ground my teeth, trying to make sense of it all. So after failing a quest and becoming a slave, he was forced to invade the Dungeon he entered from? "Then... what would happen if I... killed him?"

"Ah, you wish for it to be a Quest?" The bird laughed. "Beware, Dungeoneer. For I offer you this Quest with a warning: you have no more than two seasons to fulfill it or you shall lose your [ Dungeoneer's Key ]. For hope is a rare thing, and one does not simply offer hope and then take it away. Only death can redeem him, and though many seek his death, few indeed would seek his redemption. Clear this Quest, or you will be sacrificed to end it."

I stared at the quest-giver. A lot of calculation ran through my head, but in the end, it did seem like a do-or-die thing anyway, what with the Dungeoneers who were apparently being killed. "And if I succeed?"

From nowhere, the bird produced a cloudy white crystal the size of my fist. Within the crystal, even in the dark, I could see a small form, motionless, as though trapped in amber. It looked humanoid. A fairy?

With that, a quest box popped up.

[ FREE THE LOST SOUL ] [ EPIC ] [ BINDING ]

A Dungeoneer has become a slave to a hostile power within the Armand Bayou Dungeon. Either free them, or your [ Dungeoneer's Key ] will be sacrificed to cast him out of the Dungeon for good.

[ ACCEPT: Fairy Gem ] [ REWARD: Fairy Heart ] [ TIME LIMIT: 6 Months ] [ FORFEIT: Dungeoneer's Key ]

I frowned. The trapped fairy was a down payment? Again, it was a do-or-die quest, but with a six-month window, I had time to recruit a real team. But then again...

"I accept." Out of everything else, the real question wasn't yes or no; if nothing else, the information I'd gotten about the cause of the killings was extremely important, and it needed to be shared. But... organizing a mercy killing for a Dungeoneer going through hell seemed like it was a reward on its own, to say nothing of the tangible reward I would get.

The quest, the second I'd ever gotten, got tucked into my logbook. This, certainly, wouldn't be finished as quickly as the last one. The birdman, instead of giving me the crystal, lowered his hand to look at me. "I didn't think you really would," he said. "It's death, you know. Opposing women will do you no good. They rule the world; it is their nature."

I gave him a sour look. With all the stress, I had almost forgotten that the NPC's backstory had him dominated and tortured by harpies, and frankly, I didn't want to spend any more time thinking about it. Was it really necessary to go back to that after talking about shit that I actually cared about? Seriously?

"Fine. I won't live out the year anyway. Just take it." He threw the gem to me, and I caught it. "But... one last warning. He can be saved, but... if Revived, he will still be a Slave. For Slavery is a mark upon the soul. Once a man is owned, he can never be free again. The bird man slumped against the wall. "Don't fear death. It is... not painful." He closed his eyes, slowly, but before expiring, he suddenly lurched forward, and whispered to me, so softly that I wasn't sure I actually heard him.

And then the birdman was dead, collapsing forward onto the floor, and I looked at the Fairy Gem in my hand. According to its description, it was exactly what it appeared to be:

[ FAIRY GEM ] [ FAIRY ] [ SOUL ]

Contains the body and soul of one young fairy, bound in stasis forever. Fairies become one with the magic of the world, and must be bound to a power source in order to live. Breaking this crystal will kill the Fairy within.

Soulforged: Absorb Time 32 Hours. Will become [ Class Feature ].

"You'll understand the reward," I mimicked the Administrator's voice, poorly. "Well, yes, if it's just fucking spelled out like that, of course I will." I stowed the item in my inventory and ducked out of the cave, turning back at the last moment to give the birdman's corpse one more look, but he remained dead. I couldn't bring myself to loot him or anything. I'd already looted innocents in my life and it felt like shit; I had no interest in going back into that headspace again.

She watches! The warning, assuming that's what it was, was frustrating because it was ambiguous, neither telling me who was listening or what the hell I was supposed to do about it. Was it she, the Fairy Queen? She, the trapped Fairy? She, some hidden Harpy boss? She, the Administrator? She, Louise? Jenna? What secrets was I supposed to keep from Her, whichever Her She was? I sighed and went back to the main level, wondering just what I'd gotten myself into.