Dungeon of Doors

~ Vivian, Daywark ~

Another arrow arrow sails through the air and sticks through the man's shoulder as he snarls. His two cronies try to attack the source of the arrows—Andy, a young man who's got a few bandages still wrapped around his torso. Luckily Will and Teddy are there with mace and spear respectively. The first of the men to attack gets a mace to the hand holding his sword, disarming him in one fell swoop. Teddy keeps the other one at a distance with his spear's superior range.

"Fuck! What are you idiots doing?"

The man with the brass knuckles grabs and snaps an arrow buried in his calf in half. He limps forward and uses his body weight to push past his minions. He delivers a punch straight to Will's gut. Will stumbles back a step, grunting with surprise etched upon his features. I'm shocked as well, seeing as it takes a lot to make the big guy flinch.

Luckily for Will he has an ally there to help him. Andy is pushed aside as a familiar masked girl bears her staff. The man with the brass knuckles is so focused on Will he doesn't expect the odd girl to appear—nor for the grass growing in the cracks of the stone beneath him to suddenly twist up into gnarled hands. The brass knuckle wielding thug is pulled down to the ground with a pained grunt.

"Stay back! Both of you!" Teddy threatens the man's underlings.

The two of them flinch as his spear nearly pierces them. Will is breathing a little heavy, but he's recovered from the blow he took. I pick up my knife and move forward to attack. Teddy's group watches me with wide eyes as I step up and drive my knife into the back of the man with brass knuckles. He lets out a pained moan as blood seeps through his clothes.

"H-Holy shit…"

I'm not sure which of my rescuers speaks. I don't bother, instead I tear the knife out and plunge it back in. My breath comes out in heavy gasps as I stab the fallen man over and over again. Eventually someone grabs me and pulls me off of him. I feel armored gauntlets against my arms and look up to see a shocked expression on the face of an unfamiliar guard.

"He's already dead, lass," He explains.

"O-Oh… Sorry."

My hands are trembling as the guard slowly releases me. The other two men that were with the man with brass knuckles are being bound in rope by a pair of guards. Teddy's group is looking at me with trepidation. Those looks make me laugh a little, which I hide with a choked cough.

The guards were quick to believe what Andy's group told them while I was rampaging. Apparently they know the boys and their usual conduct. I slip my bloody knife into my belt and try to ignore the way my muscles twitch. My heart is still racing.

"Are you alright?"

I look up to see one of the four who helped me has approached. Though a wooden mask covers her face, I can see her eyes staring at me with concern and a strange kind of kinship. I tilt my head at her as I fail to find whatever it is she sees in me that resembles her.

"I'm fine. I've never killed a person before—not like that, at least…"

"How else does someone… No, never mind. I'm Mary."

The masked mage extends a delicate looking hand. I take her hand and find it kind of funny how similar we are physically. I suppose my body and hers aren't that far off in terms of age, but honestly I've got no idea if my body here is any younger or older than my old one.

She'd probably shy away if she knew what I am.

"I'm Vivian. Pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, likewise."

While Mary was quick to get over the violent actions I just committed the boys are a little slower. They keep their distance even as Mary gestures to them for introductions.

"The short one is Teddy, the tall one is Will, and the one with the bow is Andy."

Teddy is next to offer an actual word to me. He puffs himself up like a bird might when wanting to appear larger than it really is. He nods toward me and offers his hand for a shake much like Mary did. I find our eyes nearly even, which is odd since he always stands shorter than his peers.

"Nice to meet you, Vivian. I'm the leader of this party."

"Really? So you're adventurers?"

Their faces twitch as if they weren't expecting me to know what an adventurer is. To be fair to them I didn't bring anything outwardly obvious from the dungeon. My potions are tucked within my satchel, and I don't wear a dungeon lantern nor any remarkable gear.

"Yes! We are—Were, when the dungeon was still around."

Ah, so that's it. They exchange wary looks as the guards standing quite close to us continue working as if they didn't hear the contents of our conversation. Whether or not the guards care to do anything about it they are technically supposed to report anything dungeon related, including adventurers and the dungeon itself. Officially that is. Teddy motions for us to move.

"We can talk at my place."

"Sure."

I follow the teenagers at a slight distance. My body is still shaky from the ordeal, but my heart rate is gradually decreasing as the incident settles into my memory. We walk through the streets and as we pass other residents of Daywark they offer greetings to the boys. No one speaks directly to Mary nor I as walk, and the feeling of kinship with her actually starts to hit me as well. We're both outsiders.

It doesn't take long before we get to the house. It is a modest thing, with a sagging roof and surrounded by similar humble dwellings. As we step inside I'm hit with the faint smell of recently cooked food. There's no one else in the house, though. Two beds sit at the back wall while a simple stove is pushed into the corner. We gather around a table and pull up chairs. There are only four chairs, which leaves us with a minor dilemma.

"Here, you can sit in mine."

Andy surprises me by offering his chair. The lanky boy doesn't give any further explanation, and I accept the gesture by sitting in the offered chair. He stands to the side whilst Teddy begins the conversation.

"As you probably know the church and guards are working together."

"That's a bit far, Teddy. They're supposed to be working together, but it isn't that simple."

Teddy sighs, nodding along with his cousin's words. He looks to me as he speaks, continuing.

"The guards are under orders by the uh, steward from the king, to report anything related to the dungeon to the priestess here in Daywark. She's the church's plant."

I nod along, barely registering the way Andy's demeanor shifts as the conversation moves along. He's glaring daggers across the table at the masked mage—Mary. Teddy doesn't notice and continues by asking me a question.

"What brought you here? What did you hear?"

He must assume I'm from out of town and somehow heard about the dungeon. Or that I'm somehow a danger. The tense way his shoulders are held makes it clear he doesn't fully trust me. Of course since this is a one on four fight he isn't worried about me attacking him for admitting he is an adventurer.

"I heard rumors from some people in a nearby fishing village, actually."

"Fishing village?"

"Yes, there's a dungeon in a fishing village to the north of here. Not many people yet know of it."

Teddy's eyes widen and the air in the room is sucked out. Before I can say anything else Mary leans forward in her seat and bombards me with questions. Her eyes are shining with curiosity as her slightly muffled words rain down on me like hail.

"Another? There are multiple dungeons? What was it like? Is it different?"

Andy scoffs audibly, but Mary doesn't pay it any mind. I do my best to answer her questions, not sure how much information it would be suspicious to know.

"It is very different. They call it Aquartis, and it is filled with water."

"Water? Fascinating! You simply must tell me everything!"

Andy grumbles "Of course you want to know everything…"

Mary turns to give Andy a look. He shoots back a glare and both Teddy and Will look confused. They exchange eye contact before Teddy puts a hand on Andy's shoulder.

"What's up with you, Andy? What'd Mary do?"

"She's…"

Andy stares at the masked girl with a conflicted look on his face. I watch her realize he thinks she is a traitor in real time. Her eyes widen, and she softly shakes her head. Andy sighs and avoids her eyes as he explains his suspicions.

"She's the priestess, Teddy."

"Priestess? What are you saying, the priestess is-"

Teddy stops and turns to look at Mary. His jaw drops as he quickly puts the pieces together. They gave the staff of life to the church's plant, and trusted her with their lives on multiple occasions. Mary shakes her head with tears glistening in her wide eyes. I cringe at the sudden tension.

"I-I'm sorry!" Mary blurts out.

"Sorry? You're a spy, Mary, if that even if your real name."

Andy's bitterness carries on his words. Teddy still looks completely taken aback. Will is glaring at Mary with a complicated frown on his face. I'm sure the big guy has a lot to say that he isn't putting into words. I don't really have any stake in this conflict, so I simply watch.

"Wait, since when did you know?" Teddy turns to snap at Andy.

The color drains from Andy's cheeks as he clears his throat. He avoids Teddy eyes before looking at me for some kind of reassurance. I offer him none, tilting my head as I watch how he reacts.

"The bird attack… Her mask fell off partly, and I saw her face."

"Why didn't you say anything?! That was over a day ago!"

"I didn't know if I was right! I never saw her up close like you did."

Quiet sniffling fills the silence between the two cousins as they glare at each other. Mary is crying, her mask pulled up slightly as she looks down at her lap. She wipes her face with the back of her forearm. I can tell this girl isn't very experienced with deception.

"That isn't an excuse, you could have at least told me you had suspicions…"

"She saved my life."

Andy's words are quiet and laced with guilt. I recall the incident he's referring to, when she used her magic to help him avoid getting attacked by the rok. In the end he did get struck helping save her life. It is to be expected he'd have mixed feelings on the girl.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trick you!" Mary cries.

"And the mask?" Will says dryly.

"W-Well… Originally I was going to spy on adventurers…"

There's a cold scoff from Will. Andy and Teddy both look hurt and uncomfortable with the situation. No one here is happy with the situation. I let out a very quiet sigh, watching the drama unfold between these boys and girl I consider children. They look at me pointedly and so I offer a bit of advise. It is the least I can do for these confused kids.

"Look, this isn't a real problem if Mary didn't report anything to the enclave."

Silence stretches between Mary and I as she looks away. I cringe, not having received the answer I was hoping to hear from her.

"I-I had to, but I made sure to tell them how nice adventurers are and how pretty the dungeon is!"

"Oh you stupid girl…" I mutter under my breath.

Andy leans forward, fixing Mary with a look as he places his hands upon the table. She flinches at the motion and looks up at him with a pout.

"How long have the church known?"

"I sent the report yesterday, after I woke up…"

Well that isn't good.