Dungeon Noble - Squire

Despite his lingering good mood, Jake found part of what Nepthys had said lingering in his mind.

They were progressing as a group right now, but sooner rather than later, they would hit a stumbling block. When that happened, he was worried that the party would have to split up in order for them to keep pushing forward.

Nepthys was rank ten, she needed only to meet her requirements to reach the next tier, and from what Jake could tell, she’d been working on that for quite some time.

The good side of that was that she might be able to advance soon. The bad side was that Jake didn’t have a good measuring stick of how long it would take for the other three.

Jake’s requirement wasn’t that hard now that they had some experience. He needed five tier one Dungeons bound to him, and he already had three. He could get two more in the next fortnight if he left Casthorpe.

No, for Jake, the real limiter was the speed with which he could get to rank ten, but even that wasn’t as big of a problem anymore.

With how they were ripping through the first floor of this Dungeon, Jake expected them to manage it with the same ease as the previous one. That meant that earning enough Wyrdgeld was now a matter of time and effort.

Jake had the time and effort, but he had a feeling that he would get to rank ten well before the others were ready to advance to the next tier. He didn’t want to split the group up, but he wasn’t sure he could afford to slow down for them either, not with everything that was going on.

Shaking his head, Jake focused back on the matter at hand. They would deal with problems like that when they got there. For now, he just needed to get to rank ten.

-**-

The rewards from the forest Dungeon came to thirty Wyrdgeld for Jake, bringing him over halfway to the next rank. Of course, the same increase meant that Alan and Rhew had been only a handful away each.

Rhew had announced the fact after counting out everything she had, and to everyone’s surprise, Nepthys had given them what they needed from her cut.

“I already have quite a bit saved up. It’s no great hardship.” Nepthys had answered when Rhew had questioned her on it, leaving Rhew speechless.

That sight alone would have been worth the dozen Wyrdgeld, but Jake kept such dangerous thoughts to himself.

“So, do we delve again?” Alan asked, bringing Jake back to the present as the Scholar squinted up at the sky with one hand shading his eyes. “Looks like we have a couple of hours of light left. I feel a little tired after all that, but I could do more.”

“We could do that, but it’s probably better to stick to two per day,” Nepthys said, rolling her shoulders and rubbing at a bruise on her arm. “A routine is what we need, and this way, we have time to relax and do other things.”

“Agreed, let’s take it easy this evening and go again tomorrow,” Jake said, thinking about an idea he’d had earlier.

The idea of deliberately choosing to take some time off felt wrong for them as a group, but that was probably why they needed it.

“I’ll see you all later. I’m going to have a quick talk with Ivaldi,” Jake said, waving for them to be on their way as he turned back to the Dungeon. They hadn’t gone far, so it was quick enough for Jake to get back to the store.

“Jake Khesh, welcome to my domain. I hadn’t expected you to be back so soon,” Ivaldi said, emerging from the darkness to take his seat.

“Well, I had some questions, and I was hoping you could help?”

“I will answer what I can. Please, take a seat,” Ivaldi said, passing Jake a stool before pulling out a familiar-looking container and two mugs. “You seemed to enjoy this one last time.”

Jake eagerly took a drink once Ivaldi had filled his mug and sighed as he felt a pleasant warmth flow through him. Now that he had more experience with Wyrd in food, Jake could tell that there was a lot packed into the drink.

“So, I think the first thing I wanted to ask about is my Patron and the other gods in the pantheon.” Jake reluctantly put his empty mug to one side, instead focusing on Ivaldi as the other man frowned in thought.

“A difficult subject for me, but I will do what I can,” Ivaldi said after a few moments, motioning for Jake to continue.

“Well, I understand more about who they are now. Felix and Nepthys explained a few things that have made everything a bit clearer. I’ve been set on removing my Class as soon as I reach the next tier, but now that I’m making real progress, I want to know more. I want to know why it was given to me.”

“I’m happy to hear that you are making progress,” Ivaldi said, his dark eyes seeming to peer right through Jake in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. “The choice to remove your Class remains in your hands, but I approve of you attempting to learn more. That being said, there isn’t much more I can tell you. Your Class was assigned based on your bloodline.”

“Right, exactly, that’s what I want to know more about,” Jake said, leaning forward intently. “Do all gods have their own bloodlines they draw from?”

“No,” Ivaldi said slowly, seeming to consider his words carefully. “Only the three gods you are referring to use this method.”

“Why, what makes us so special?”

“You push at the very edge of what I can tell you,” Ivaldi said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I do appreciate your assistance with Varin Droth, however, so I will answer. I will explain what I can, and you will not question me on it further until you have reached the next tier, understood?”

“Understood,” Jake said firmly, his heart pounding as he wondered just what Ivaldi was about to share.

“The bloodlines that you refer to are special because they go all the way back to the founding of this reality. Each of the gods you mentioned made a sacred covenant with their followers, granting them power in exchange for service. It was the first seeds of what would become the System. Such knowledge is lost to the modern age, and I will be disappointed if you spread it.”

“From before the System?” Jake echoed in shock, somehow knowing that Ivaldi was telling him the truth, even if it went against Jake’s understanding of everything.

Ivaldi regarded Jake silently, saying nothing further as he waited for him to process his shock.

“That’s why our Classes are different. It’s because they are based on something from before the System,” Jake said, more to himself than anything, though his eyes were on Ivaldi. The huge shopkeeper went perfectly still at Jake’s words, giving no sign that could be construed as confirmation.

“Was there anything else you wished to discuss,” Ivaldi asked softly, making Jake realise he’d fallen silent in thought.

“I wanted to meet up with Varin and talk through his thoughts on his Class. Could you tell me where he’s staying?”

“Of course,” Ivaldi said, giving Jake directions to the inn that Varin was staying at.

Thanking Ivaldi, Jake got to his feet and bid him goodbye before stepping out of the shop and starting to walk back to town. That had not gone the way he’d thought it would.

Jake had thought that Ivaldi would refuse to answer his questions, to skirt around what he wanted to discuss. Jake had had a few leading questions to try and dig in at the truth a little. The idea that Ivaldi would just answer him hadn’t even crossed Jake’s mind.

Jake had left Ivaldi’s intending to head over and find Varin now, to ask him about his experiences with a Patron. By the time he’d gotten back to Casthorpe, though, he’d turned more introspective.

Between the conversation with Felix and now what Ivaldi had revealed, Jake had a lot to process. He had a feeling he’d get more out of the talk with Varin if he took some time to mull over everything.

Felix’s plan had them staying here for a few days, so Jake would simply get in touch with the crafter tomorrow after they’d done their delves for the day.

Besides, Jake was looking forward to spending some time relaxing with the others. Even with how well their delves had gone today, they were still a stressful experience, so some downtime would be good.