Chapter Four Hundred and Fifty - Fishing for Information

Jean-Pierre made us come to a stop at the end of the tunnel between the first and second floors, which was probably a good thing. Poor Hannah's breath was ragged as she struggled under the weight of her bags. She looked half-ready to chuck them aside.

"Give us five?" I called out to Jean-Pierre.

He scanned me and the two new recruits, then gave me a firm nod. One of the others, a grenoil in the other all-grenoil team, scoffed, but no one else protested.

"Alright," I said as I turned to Hannah. "Let's get that gear off of your back. You're going to injure yourself."

"She insisted," Davis said with a sigh.

"You don't know what we might need," Hannah shot back.

She had certainly packed for every possibility. There were a few pots and pans on the outside of her pack, and a full set of cutlery, as well as one small bag that looked like it was stuffed with far more tinder than she could ever possibly need.

There were more handy things too, canned foods and tarp and a blanket. I helped her out from under all the weight, then washed Cleaning magic over all her stuff (and Davis).

"What is that?" Hannah asked.

"Cleaning magic," I said. "It's kind of my speciality when it comes to magics!" She looked a little doubtful at that. "It's not great in a fight, most of the time, but when it is, it's very strong! Also, my friends and I are the cleanest crew in the world, I think. You wouldn't think that matters a lot, but we never have to worry about mud or diseases, and our food is always safe, and having fresh clothes and equipment means we have one less thing to worry about, so we focus better."

"I guess," Hannah said. "Never really thought about it. Never really invested much into magic either. I can barely start a fire."

I nodded along. I... suspected that that wasn't all that uncommon. Magic was super useful, but that didn't mean that everyone would learn some. Still, it was a little weird that people weren't taking some time to pick at least a bit of magic up along the way. Simple spells like Light were super handy, and not exactly had to learn. Most people would probably get a few skills to rank C, even if they were stopping at level 10.

I supposed that Hannah meant that she didn't have a more... broad and useful knowledge of magic. Stuff like offensive spells.

I helped Hannah unpack a few of her things, then we reorganised them so they'd be easier to carry. "I'll take one of these too," I said. "I rushed out here without any luggage, so I don't mind carrying some."

"Thank you," Hannah said, and she sounded genuinely happy.

Ding! For doing a Special Action in line with your Class, you have unlocked the skill: Chivalry!

I gasped. "I got it!" I said.

"Got what?" Davis asked.

I flung an arm around each of them, squeezing them close to me in a warm double-hug. They'd helped me and they deserved it!

"Chivalry! It's a skill that I've been meaning to pick up since forever," I said. "Or any skill like it, really."

Now all I needed to do was wait for the prompt to combine Chivalry with Adorable and I'd never again be plagued by that unmentionably bad skill!

Any moment now...

I blinked, my instant enthusiasm dying off slowly. "Maybe it'll take a minute," I muttered.

Chivalry

Rank F - 00%

The ability to be chivalrous. Your moral code shows in the strength of your actions.

That was a weird description, but okay. I didn't think I had a moral code. Was 'be nice' a moral code? It felt a little flimsy.

Maybe it was because I didn't have a specific goal? I wanted to be a good person, and a helpful one, and maybe if I could have a clear goal then the system would be able to pick it up better?

Well, whatever! It was something I'd have to talk to Amaryllis about later, or maybe Caprica, she'd know more about knightly stuff like this. But neither of them were here now, and the crew of new recruits were, so it was back to work for me!

"Alright, all packed up. Ready?" I asked.

Davis and Hannah looked a lot more comfortable now, and after a minute of packing up, the Exploration Guild was ready to move through the first floor.

"Can you guys move up to the front?" I asked. "Right behind Mister Jean-Pierre. I'll check in with the other teams in the meantime."

Davis nodded, then he and Hannah hurried along the tunnel and caught up to the front of the line, leaving me at the very back of the group. I skipped forwards, catching up to the duo now taking up the rear.

"Hi!" I said.

"Gah, uh, hi," the human said, startled. He looked a bit nervous.

His companion, the mage in a grey robe and hood, nodded my way. "Good morning," they said. Their voice was feminine, and quite pretty.

"I'm Broccoli. Are you guys alright? That was a bit of a tough fight back there."

The human chuckled nervously. "Yeah, it was," he said. "But we've done our share of fighting before. I'm Jake. You're a full member of the Guild?"

I nodded. "Sure am. Got my pin and everything," I said, holding it up to the light.

"So, you're a scout then?" Jake asked.

"Not exactly," I said. "Calamity is a scout. I'm kind of more the, ah, the captain? And I have a few skills that let me do a bunch of stuff."

"Captain? You really have an airship?" Jake asked.

"We sure do," I said.

He hummed. "Man, you Exploration Guild people are all loaded. You were right, this is a good move," he said to the mage next to him.

"Your greed is showing," the mage said.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Hey, don't be a spoilsport, Kerri. I'm just saying, if this whole exploration thing doesn't work out, maybe I can ask one of these guys for a loan. I'll pay them back, you know?"

Kerri sighed, and I couldn't tell if it was exasperated or fond. "Sure, Jake. So, Miss Captain, why are you walking with us?"

"To make sure everyone is doing alright," I said.

"You're like the test supervisor or something?" Jake asked shrewdly. He was a little rough around the edges, but it was clear he was at least somewhat sharp.

"Or something," I said with a grin. "I'm really just helping since the mission was cut short."

Jake nodded. "Nice, nice. How hard are you going to judge us?"

"Well, you've been nice so far, so that's good," I said.

"Is being nice important?" Kerri asked.

"I'd say so. If you can't work with others, you're going to have a really hard time adventuring, or doing anything," I said. "It's important to be nice and friendly."

"It can't be the only thing, though," Kerri argued. "You've got to be competent. It doesn't matter if you're the nicest person around - if you can't handle a fight or find a way out of a tough spot, then you won't do much for your friends."

"Oh, I suppose that's true," I said. I hoped my friends didn't just keep me around for my Cleaning and hugging abilities. "So, speaking of skills...."

"Are you trying to interrogate us about our classes and levels and stuff?" Jake asked.

"I'm a bit curious, yes," I admitted. "Is that bad?"

"Naw," he said. "Kerri's a bard, and I'm an explorer."

"A bard, really?" I asked. I had pinned her as a mage.

"Yes, I'm a bard," she said. Her hood turned to me, and even though I couldn't see her eyes, I could feel the glare.

"Sorry? I had kind of assumed you were a wizard or something. It's the outfit, I think. You look all mysterious and stuff."

"It's practical. I wear this and people won't recognise me as a bard. I'd rather not deal with that hassle."

"Okay," I said. "Do you play an instrument? Or do you use magic to make music or something?"

Kerri shrugged, but Jake jumped in. "She can sing. Her voice is great!"

"I can kinda sing," Kerri said. "But... no, I don't play any instruments. Or do pantomimes. I'm a magic bard. That's all. I copy spells."

"Oh, I see," I said. That sounded pretty useful. "Well, I've never worked with a bard before, I don't think. I'm sure you must have a bunch of useful skills."

"It's not all bad," Kerri said. "But my family's bardic traditions are... not as bard-like as people expect. I don't like it when people assume that just because I'm a bard I can entertain and jump around making a fool of myself. I'm a respectable member of the O'Key family, not some jumped-up jester."

Jake chuckled. "You are pretty respectable. Don't mind her. She's a bit sore about the whole thing. It's not like her family forced her to become a bard, but the O'Keys have a long history and she doesn't want to tarnish their reputation."

"I can understand that," I said. I glanced to the front, but I could still hear the sounds of the others talking, and the soft clink of equipment. So far, no mimics. Just a lot of wet, soggy ground to cover. Was the dungeon letting up because we were heading out?

***