Chapter 16: Oaths

Walking through the barrage of looks from folks at the tables and behind the counters and desks was, well, not too bad actually as there were really only about 10 people, so 20 eyes, so… yeah, I still felt super self conscious.

Why!?! Why was I feeling so self conscious then? They meant nothing to me, or did they? Fellow beings? I just locked my eyes on Bluebird’s shoulders and followed them to a door with a “GM” carved into the door and blindly followed inside.

My brain feels all over the place, sometimes everything feels clear and understood but at others I feel like I’m swimming in feelings that are like wiggly things I can’t fully grasp. Eels, maybe?

We entered a room with a desk and a chair in one corner, a smooth slab like the panel by the door at the Pillow and Pie was set into it. Most of the rest of the room taken up with a large table surrounded by chairs of various heights and a pair of couches, bookshelves and an odd series of metal pipes with nozzles and taps. Come to think of it, many of the chairs in the front room also had various heights. ‘Hmm, I’m rather tall and Dominick is quite small, I wonder if sizes vary that much in general.’

“Grab a chair and bring it over to my desk, it’ll be easier if we have the System display at hand for some things.”

Finding a chair where the seat was at a comfortable height only took a few seconds, and I joined Bluebird at their desk.

Before sitting, I held out the bundle that I was still hauling around. “What about this?”

“Just set it aside for now, we can sort it out later. Let’s talk first.” Shrugging, I set it aside.

Once seated I decided to do the only thing I could think of to protect myself from potential problems, though it might cause others. “Bluebird, I’m going to do something that may be considered rude, I hope you can forgive me if it is.” They just raised an eyebrow before I continued speaking in a normal tone, “System Query: Is there any requirement for a Guild Representative to not cause harm to an unaffiliated system user?”

No

Not entirely unexpected. “System Query: Is there anything someone can do to ensure that a Guild Representative will not harm or mislead them?” Bluebird slowly nodded in approval as the words appeared in that blank space only I could read.

Any official of the System supported Guild must have the Oathbound Trait, requiring that they abide by any oath they have made or suffer consequences.

“So, I’d guess that you would like me to make an oath to not harm, mislead or misinform you?” Bluebird’s melodic voice wasn’t betraying any emotion, but at least they didn’t sound upset.

“Well, yes, but I’d, uhm… I’d like what we talk about to remain between the two of us also.” I wasn’t sure how strange my situation really was, but if I stayed around here, I’d rather not have everyone know about certain things.

“Sounds sensible” Bluebird replied and started tapping at the surface of their desk, words appearing, but at an angle I couldn’t read easily. After a minute or so I had a System notification.

An Oath has been offered by Bluebird, Guild Representative of God’s Bath. So long as Monday March is honest with them and does not deliberately act to damage them, or the people and property of God’s Bath, then Bluebird will not act to harm or mislead Monday March. Additionally Bluebird will not share personal information or conversations without the permission of Monday March.

Confirm Oath?

Yes / No

Focusing on the ‘Confirm Oath?’ entry, I saw that doing so was simply a matter of confirming aloud, however it did raise another concern.

“Confirmed. Now what loophole did you include in the Oath for yourself, Bluebird?” I asked. ‘I was saying it, but like being brusque with Gabby, it felt like I was being pulled? Guided into saying it? 'The System again?' I wondered.

Bluebird frowned, “Why would you think that there is a loophole?”

“Uhm, because you didn’t say there was not, there was no end date, and I have not yet done anything that could be considered to break the conditions of the Oath that you added? Can you simply state that there are no loopholes for either of us?” Again, I felt like I was being led through this conversation when Bluebird’s eyes flashed wide. They paused as their eyes looked between my own and off into space, I expected they were looking at something System related.

Slim fingers went back to tapping at the surface of the desk. Shortly another notification popped up.

An Oath amendment has been proposed by Bluebird, Guild Representative of God’s Bath. Bluebird will follow the spirit and not letter of the existing oath established with Monday March for 1 year and 1 day. Should Monday March also maintain the spirit of the agreement for 1 year and 1 day Bluebird will not share personal information or conversations without the permission of Monday March.

Confirm amendment to existing Oath?

Yes / No

“Confirmed. So, Bluebird, why were you leaving loopholes and why did you change your mind?” I was curious, and no longer felt pulled in my words towards anything particular.

“Honestly? It is very hard to move most system users without the promise of Experience or self interest, and XP is most of the self interest. The loopholes might have allowed me to charge you more experience for helping you.” Looking at me really closely, they locked on with their deep blue eyes before they continued. “However the System may occasionally offer rewards for things in its own interest. It acted on your behalf.”

“That… That sounds a little dangerous as well, or strange at least. Right?”

“Maybe a little unusual, but hardly dangerous. The System can only offer quests or requests to those with specific traits. I’m guessing you don’t have one of them, so it probably used me as an intermediary. I am surprised it didn’t give it to me as soon as I saw you. Then again, you may have only piqued it’s interest when you were asking about Oaths. Or it may have been testing me…” Bluebird winced a little. “Be that as it may, I want that reward and am more than willing to help you as much as I can.”

I considered what had been said. “Aside from helping me, are there any other conditions the system put on you in doing so?”

“Well, not conditions for helping you. More like bonuses if we can learn some things about your situation, take some system tests and maybe convince you to take courses of action that the system prefers. And some of those might be things I wouldn’t normally suggest, but I need to know what you want before I can actually advise.” Blue eyes were still focused on me. “So, Monday March, What do you want?”

Thinking about all of the things I wanted to know, there was just too much. “So many things; information about the System, what it really means to be a System User, what life is like here, what life is like in other places, what can someone hope to do or be, what really was the Hammering that Buckle mentioned. But mostly, right now, I want to know why my brain and body seem to slip and slide when I look at my grey skin?”

Tapping at the surface of the desk again, Bluebird asked a few questions and kept moving their fingers as we spoke.

“Reborn or Reroll?”

“They're different? Reroll.”

“Yup, reroll is something while you are alive, reborn is like setting up a last ditch save if you die. What is your memory setting, did it say anything about memories when you first woke up?”

“Ah, fragments. I’m supposed to remember more as I get more experience. Pretty sure that is what it said.”

“Okay.” Tap tap tap. “And how much experience do you have right now?”

“215.”

Bluebird whistled, “Well, if there’s anything extra I can do to exchange for some of that, let me know. Okay, there are a couple things of interest. Memory fragments are a bit of a misnomer, maybe, well, probably not. Memories gathered from experience for fragments are in fact mostly chronological, and not scattered throughout your life. While you may see images or flashes of things that are from any part of your history, you will probably not see enough for context that comes from higher than your current bodies apparent age. Well, you could, but the required amount of experience increases once they are memories from an older age bracket. Increased when equal to your own and increased even more when they are memories from being older.”

“So, what does that have to do with…”

Interrupting me, Bluebird explained her guess. “Let’s guess that baby and toddler memories might unlock for you from 10 to100 experience per year. Now most people don’t remember much at that age, but you may have flashes of your own arms or hands. My guess, and it is a guess, is that your current appearance and your memories are at odds.”

“Oh. Well that…'' Interrupted again, I stopped talking.

“Good chance it will fade in a week or so, I expect. Your current memories will start to have more weight than the memories. And if not, there are other options to seek help.” The smile seemed intended to be reassuring, but I wasn’t feeling entirely comforted.