(Curator POV)

I kept an eye on Alice and Red as they traversed through town, anxious about the whole thing, but so far it seems like they’re keeping out of trouble..... And I just had to open my non-existent mouth, didn’t I?

The two of them were currently being tossed left and right by waves upon waves of people going about their day. Alice was frantically fighting against the tide scanning her surroundings for a way out all the while grasping tightly on to Red.

It was sorta refreshing seeing Alice’s troubled expression. It was subtle but I can see it, I can definitely see it, RIGHT THERE, RIGHT OVER THERE, her eyebrows were definitely knit. IT WAS AN FACIAL EXPRESSION. This was one of the reasons why I wanted them out of the dungeon, out of their comfort zone, she was experiencing new things.

Wait no that’s bad she’s in trouble, but good because she’s emoting.

No, no focus on the situation first, come on Alice you can do it!

Fighting her way through a sea of people Alice finally managed to grab on to something to anchor herself, it was a door which she promptly entered pulling Red in with her. The building they entered was called the Adventurer Association (branch name pending). I don’t think they’re gonna find any water in there, but I’m sure they’ll find their way sooner or later.

Well since I can’t see into buildings and there really isn’t anything else of interest above ground, I move my vision back underground to the dungeon, specifically Big Bad Wolf’s boss room. Since he’s out wandering around the second floor I figured now would be the best time to examine it in its entirety.

The room evoked a silent sense of unease, it was a small area cramped with old decrepit furniture that wouldn't look out of place at an old person's home. On the rickety nightstand that stood next to the bed sat a copper candle plate that has long since oxidized turning a sickly blue color. The candle that it held was emitting an impossibly harsh orange light that one would not expect from such a small candle.

The only other source of light came from the one lone window that laid above the bed. The static moon lined up perfectly with the window casting a radiant silver illusion of itself illuminating the center of the room. Both served their purpose brilliantly, the candle to pull the visitor's attention to and at the same time obscure Big Bad wolf’s features when mimicking Red’s grandma, and the moonlight acted as a spotlight, setting the stage for any ensuing fight.

Both lights, as bright as they were created even darker shadows where jars of rotten meat lay hidden, tucked behind shelves and tables, out of sight.

With that being said I really can’t blame Big Bad Wolf for not wanting to stay here when nobodies in the dungeon, it was cramped, damp and outright depressing. This is Big Bad Wolf's stage to spring into action after all so it was supposed to feel oppressive.

But still, I kind of want to make things a bit more accommodating for Big Bad. After a bout of thinking I had an idea for what I wanted to do.

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(third-person)

Bargas despite what his plump build might suggest managed to lift the heavy barrel of water albeit, with a little bit of difficulty. His outfit could barely contain his rotund body as every small movement he took threatened to tear his clothes, the fact that it didn’t was more of a testament to the tailor's skill than anything else.

“Alright, where am I taking this?” Bargas asked in a strained voice while adjusting his grip on the wooden barrel.

Giving a nod Alice motioned for Bargas to follow her. Making their way back to the heart of the town Alice expected to get swept away by a tidal wave of people like earlier. But surprisingly people started making way for her or rather they made way for the man behind her.

Bargas already had a reputation long before he even set foot in town, both as an amicable man who liked to help people, but also as a belligerent man with a searing hatred of those with mixed blood. More specifically anybody with both Dutchy and Empire blood running through their veins.

Mummers rang out from the crowd, rumors, and stories both real and false, some in support of him and some denouncing him. Hearing the stream of confusing accounts of the man, Alice after a bout of thinking came to the conclusion that this man probably knew the ins and outs of this town, and considering his demeanour towards her, would probably have no qualms with sharing his knowledge with her.

Though she decided that now would probably not be the best time to ask him, on account that he was focusing on keeping his balance. Each step he took caused the water in the barrel to slosh about throwing him off-kilter.

Making use of this time she formulated questions and organized them for later when they arrive at their destination. Every so often she would have her train of thought interrupted by Red pulling on her hand or having to pull Red along, which was unusual considering that they weren't wading through a sea of people like last time.

It was around the time that they reached the AA building that the pulling had finally bothered Alice enough to get her to look back. To her surprise and confusion, the person she was holding firmly on to was their guide Tsukiko.

Entering the Building Bargas set the barrel down delighted that he could have a moment of reprieve. Which didn’t last as long as he would’ve liked, turning around he noticed that the girl he was helping out was frozen stiff in front of the doorway pale as a ghost.

“Hey, little miss what's wrong?” She didn’t respond actually, she didn’t even seem to register his question. Worried he hurried over and knelt down until he was eye level with her, but even then she didn’t seem to respond to his presence.

Looking around he tried to see if there was anything wrong, like a mischievous magic-user or something but found no traces of such a person, though he did notice that the girl’s companion was missing.

‘Oh, it could be that.’ Bargas thought to himself not really seeing anything else out of the ordinary. Not wanting to see such a beautiful soul look so forlorn, he headed towards the front desk cutting the line and got the receptionist to look after the water barrel and Tsukiko in a rather one-sided argument. Then he waited for Alice to come back to her senses.

“Are you okay now, little miss?”

“yes,” Regaining her wits Alice uttered out the first words that came to mind. “I have to go find my friend.” She continued on listing conclusions that formed in her head.

“let me help you, I absolutely cannot let someone such as yourself face this predicament all alone, two heads are better than one, as they say, so please little miss it would be my pleasure.” Bargas not caring about the cold stares directed at him, or that he may be making a scene, offered his help.

Going over her options Alice agreed to the man's help. She would like to think that she thought everything out, but in reality, she was still shaken up by the predicament she found herself in.

“Ah, that reminds me, how about we introduce ourselves, seeing as we’ll be stuck together for a little bit while longer.” Leaving the building the mismatched duo decided to look for Red at the last place they saw her, the provisions shop.

“My name is Alice.” she briefly replied to Bargas, while going back and forth between power walking and jogging, focused on her search for Red.

“And my name as you may have heard before is Bargas, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” he offered up a handshake which went unnoticed by Alice who was already a ways ahead of him.

It was a short journey back to the store, but upon entering they found the storekeeper still manning the counter and no traces of Red to be found.

“Hello, sorry for the sudden question but did you happen to see where this little miss’s companion go?” Bargas took the initiative questioning the shopkeeper about Red.

“huh? oh yeah, the one with the red hood... If I ‘member right she left a little after you guys did, got no idea where she went after that,” the storekeeper suddenly went silent as he rubbed his chin, “hold on a second if it helps I saw her heading up this street sometime after she left the shop.” He said in a rush not wanting to miss his chance to bring it up.

“That means she is headed north-east, if that’s the case then it’s likely that your friend is at the temporary housing area.” Bargas chirped trying to reassure Alice, but the sentiment was lost on her as she was already out the door. With a new lead to Red’s whereabouts, Bargas hurriedly gave the shop owner his thanks and left running after Alice.

Traversing the streets in silence Bargas worried about Alice's mental health. The unusually extreme shock from being separated from a friend, the emotionless voice and now the silence. He was confident in his ability to read people no matter how much they try to hide their intentions, but Alice was an enigma that confounded him but also piqued his interest.

Everything she has done so far has been genuine, untainted by the filth of lies and deceit, he was sure of that. She was the type that wore her emotions and everything else on her sleeves, but at the same time, it felt like she was incomplete as a person. If Bargas wanted to he could just chalk it up to her being a very socially awkward child.

Though he knew it would be wrong to say that, something was lurking behind her visage that wasn’t human. No, if he had to put it into words it was like she was a doll or a golem something that imitated life in wholeheartedness unlike the malicious intent of monsters.

As Bargas stewed in his own thoughts Alice this whole time has been hyper-vigilant, carefully scanning her surroundings, once over, twice over, thrice over. She had to find Red. She was the dungeon’s Avatar. She was supposed to make sure nothing happened to Red.

How would she face the Curator if she lost Red the thought ate at her, no it consumed her. There was no end, she kept going in circles, trapped in her head with all thoughts leading back to failure in one form or another. With nobody to break her out of her spiral, another dreadful thought crept into her mind. For the first time since her conception, Alice felt completely alone, disconnected from the dungeon. It was silent, there was no Curator talking in her mind, or fairy rambling, or animal chattering...

“if there’s anything bothering you can tell me.” Bargas offered, placing his hand on Alice’s shoulder, dispelling the deafening silence that hung over her. The loud chattering of the townsfolk that seem nonexistent before flooded back, filling the area.

Bargas’s words gave Alice something else to latch on to, another duty she had forgotten about, gathering information about the town.

“Okay...” Alice took a shallow breath composing herself, remembering the questions she thought of earlier Alice started her queries.

“Why does no one enter the dungeon anymore?” Alice fired off her first, and possibly most important, question.

..... The question had taken Bargas a little off guard. To be honest, he was expecting something emotional like what has been eating at her or something along those lines, not a question about the going’s on in town.

“Well, the dungeon almost burnt down, so they haven’t been letting anyone enter.” Bargas went along with the strange question anyways. He learned it was best not to get caught up with the little details, and if apropos of nothing, the question, strangeness notwithstanding was an honest one.

“They?” Alice asked prodding for more information.

“They, would be referring to the people running this town, the Adventurers association,” his expression darkened as he continued on. “The fire was due to the AA temporary branch head’s ineptitude. A few days ago she set up a training camp for any would-be adventurers, but they rushed it and didn’t plan things out properly, so they only sent one person to supervise the whole damn thing!”

Alice nodded along as Bargas ranted on, mentally taking notes. She felt that he was telling the truth from his tone and mood but felt it was a little one-sided in how he presented the story.

“Seeing this I lent them someone from my guild, a friend of mine who has experience in dungeon diving, everything should’ve gone off without a hitch but you already know what happened.” his fiery rant turned sullen as he went on.

“who’s in charge of the Adventurers association?” Alice sensing that the rant had come to a close moved on to her next question.

Bargas gave a tired smile at the straight forward question, knowing she wasn’t being thoughtful or anything like that but appreciated it never the less.

“Right now it’s Lyra who is acting as provisional branch head, but once the town is built there will be an official election held to see who becomes the official branch head. Right now it’s me and Lyra running for the position. So don't you worry once I’m branch head I’ll make everything right again.” he pridefully boasted to Alice confident of his victory.

Alice remembered the name Lyra, she was the person who stood between them and the intruders that tried to steal Curator. It made sense now why she hasn’t visited the dungeon recently apparently, Lyra was some sort of big shot above ground.

Making their way towards the temporary housing area the meticulously cobbled streets gradually gave way to well-worn dirt footpaths. Alice continued haphazardly asking questions about, the town, the people, the adventurers, the AA.

Bargas happily answered whatever query was thrown his way. Time seemed to slip away as the two continued their little Q & A session. Their already short walk passed by in a flash, tents, and tipis became a common sight as they officially entered the area.

As twilight gave way to dusk, the area was sparse with people travelling back home for the night usually, loners, parents or those not of age to enjoy the night time festivities. Seeing that the setting sun the pair hastened their pace. Alice and Bargas kept an eye out for Red’s eye-catching red hood while swerving through the chaotic jungle of impromptu housing.

After a while of fruitless scouring, the sun had finally dipped below the horizon only it’s crown now penetrated the surface. Alice was losing hope on ever finding Red but immediately pushed the feeling back into the recesses of mind not wanting to spiral out of control again.

She had to speed things up, Alice started asking people, anybody that passed her way she would ask. “have you seen a girl in a bright red hood?”

The simple task of asking questions wasn’t quite as simple, as Alice soon found out, it would take a bit of coaxing to get the information she wanted. She would have to participate in so-called small talk, something Bargas had no problem doing. Alice took to copying his mannerisms, smile, chat, ask. Things she never had to do back in the dungeon.

Her first few attempts at smiling ended up in people avoiding her but eventually, she got the hang of it, the trick was to only moderately part her lips. Chatting was a bit easier she and Curator had chatted quite a number at their insistence, take in information spoken to her and reply with relevant information, Than when they seem satisfied, ask the question. This seemed to increase the likely hood of people putting thought in answering her question.

As Alice asked around, now invigorated and somewhat prideful in her newly learned skill, a loud voice suddenly announcing itself startled her. “Oh over here! Does she have a basket with her and a cute little fox?”

A woman with messy black hair strode up to Alice. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had a bow slung over her shoulder, from Alice’s perspective she looked like an average adventurer, well from what she has seen and from what Bargas told her. Still, she was wary of the woman, Alice was not talking particularly loud but somehow this woman managed to hear her even amongst the chatter of people passing by.

“Ah sorry, I might’ve come on a bit too strong there,” Grinning she slowly crouched down to eye level with Alice, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. “my name is Ayame, nice to meet you,” She stuck her hand out to Alice while still grinning.

A bit confused Alice, took the hint and awkwardly grabbed at the strange woman’s hand, which she then proceeded to shake.

It was weird but at the same time, a bit reassuring. This Ayame person didn’t seem to have any ill intentions and she did seem to know Red even mentioning she had a fox with her

“What do you think you're doing!” Bargas suddenly cut in between the two.

“I was just telling the girl that I found her friend,” the woman replied curtly in a tone that could cut even stone. There was a moment of brief eye contact between the two, a silent clash of wills happening behind the scenes.

Sighing Bargas was the first one to break eye contact. “Alright than lead the way.” With a victory under her belt and a smug grin, Ayame motioned for the two to follow her.

Following Ayame through the winding maze of tents they entered deeper into the area, she led the two towards the wall that surrounded the town. Alice was amazed by the organized chaos that laid before her. Multiple tents that obviously belonged to different people were stitched together to the point where she couldn't tell where one started and another ended. Rickety platforms sprouted from the wall creating a second level to provide even more living space for people.

Amidst all the clutter in a little corner overshadowed by the housing platforms, sat Ayame’s house. It was in a corner area flanked by two other tents, she had hung up some drapes and reinforced them using wood, creating a rather large makeshift room. And in the centre of the room next to a table on a wooden chair sat Red.

A wave relief washed over Alice as Red bounded over to her treats in hand, it looks like she somehow managed to accrue some more while she was lost.

Thanking the woman Alice left with Red and Bargas. Making their way back to the AA association, they retrieved their barrel and received an apology from a senior receptionist for the trouble they put up with due to the whims of his junior.

Bargas noticing the moon coming up panicked a bit, remembering his schedule he was torn between his promise to carry the load and his appointment. Seeing this Alice assured him that he has taken the barrel far enough and that they could manage the rest of the way.

Thanking them and saying his goodbyes Bargas ran off in a hurry.

Under the guise of darkness, Alice summoned her wolf, and with a lot of effort and elbow grease, the trio rolled the barrel the rest of the way to the dungeon.

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Hanging a left from the provision store Bargas arrived at his destination, the medical ward.

“Hello sir do you have an emergency or are you here to visit?” the receptionist who worked at the front desk asked in a chipper tone. He must be one of those night owl types, Bargas thought.

“Yes. Hah. I am here to visit. Hah. Sebastian from the. Hah. Flames of war guild.” Bargas said in between haggard breaths, between the impromptu weight lifting session and sprint here, he had no time to catch his breath.

Signing his name on the visitor's list he made his way down the hall and after composing himself he entered the third room on the left.

There in the moonlit room sitting next to Sabastian’s bedside was Kheru his ever trustworthy partner in crime. Next to him rested his beloved great sword scarred from years of use yet it still glistens as brilliantly as a newly made sword. It was an unusual sword that was longer than most great swords and almost two times wider. Most people couldn’t even lift the beast of a sword let alone use in actual combat.

Taking a seat on the opposite bedside Bargas relished in being able to take a breather, before striking up a conversation with his partner.

“How’s he doing?”

“.....”

“that’s good to know, but I doubt that he’ll ever look the same after it heals.”

“.....”

“I mean I could but it’ll take some time. Time we don't have.”

“....”

“I know we still have some time until election date. According to my sources, we are pressuring Lyra which I assume is true if the training camp is any indication.”

“....”

“I agree, I’m favored to win the election, but if things go wrong we’ll have to take the dungeon by force.”

“....”

“I know but its orders from central”

With the business talks done Bargas went on to talk about a weird girl that he met today, his adventures trying to find her friend and everything thing else that has happened to him today.

Bargas animatedly retold his adventures and Kheru listened. This went on well into the night until visiting hours were over.