Chapter Eighty-Seven
Aranya and Yvonne exchange a look when Teemo leads Tarl out, and its not difficult to tell what theyre thinking. Something spooked him, and spooked him good. I just cant imagine what. He was unhappy about the affinity broadening, but I think this is something well beyond that.
Teemo quickly returns once Tarl is gone, and he doesnt waste any time.
What do you think has him worried? he asks my Residents, but they can both only shrug.
Whatever it was, it was plain as soon as he laid eyes on the core, points out Yvonne, and Aranya nods before giving her two cents.
Nothing about the core seems out of line with the legends, but I havent seen any other cores to be able to compare. The inspector has probably seen more cores than even most in his field. Hes pretty knowledgeable, it seems.
Yeah, which makes me concerned. Do I have core cancer or something? I think hed tell us if that was the case. I just hope that whatever scared him is something he can keep secret. If he entered a gaeas with me over information, hes probably entered one with his guild, too.
Tarl
The elf lets his feet slowly guide him home as his mind races. Even so late at night, Fourdock is safe enough that he doesnt have to worry about potential muggers trying to stop him and generally low enough level he wouldnt need to worry about muggers who actually might try.
Its part of why he likes it here. Its quiet, for the most part. Sure, there was Neverrest, and Hullbreak, but the cemetery was mostly contained. Even with the painful memories from Hullbreak, its content to keep to itself and ignore the world around it.
It seems a bit difficult to manufacture, so even if he did want to fill pitfalls with the liquid, itll be a long time before hell have enough to do that, and he doubts Thedeim would want a trap like that.
The enchanting lab is also something to help ease his mind. Maybe Thedeim will stay focused on a counter to lifedrinking. Itll probably keep him out of trouble for a bit, and if he actually succeeds, thatll be a positive for the world as a whole.
He relaxes slightly at that thought, finally letting some of the tension out of his muscles. He can feel his mind finally starting to drift, and he nudges it to Thedeims core itself. If anything will help him sleep, itll be thinking about the inanity of core composition theory.
He chuckles in bed as he thinks about the arguments just about spheres. He couldnt have been a shape that adherents of the theory agree about, could he? Facets of a core are generally taken to be how complex the thought of a dungeon is, how many ways it tries to approach a problem.
Spheres and eggs and other round shapes are always argued, as some think it means theres only one facet, while others argue theyre theoretically infinite facets. Someone once tried to show him the math behind it, but the equation took up an entire wall of chalkboards, and Tarl had better things to do with his time.
He finally drifts off to sleep as the theories of colors and movement of those colors drift through his mind, and his sleep is deep and dreamless. In the morning, he feels much better and the details of his vision are comfortably muddled. If thats the kind of thing people with Fate affinity have to deal with regularly, they can keep it.
He goes over his notes as he enjoys the morning air and the rising sun, mentally mapping out what he can and cant put in the report. Hes glad nothing clashes with his promises to the guild or to Thedeim. Sure, theres dangerous stuff in the dungeon, but thats dungeons. As far as hes concerned, theres no actual threat, so no obligation to play word games to get the guild extra information.
His preparations for work are interrupted, however, as he gets close to the guild. Sitting on the sign is a seagull, squawking its little bird brain out. As he looks, curious, he also notices it has a scrap of parchment in its beak, too. It eventually notices him noticing it, and gives a louder squawk before dropping the paper and flying off.
His instincts tell him theres something odd, and so he spends a few minutes searching for the dropped paper. He gives it a shocked look after reading it, and reads it a few times to make sure hes not misunderstanding. He even takes the time to examine it to make sure its not just some joke but everything seems to check out.
He briefly considers just destroying the note, but soon sighs and just stuffs it into his pocket and heads inside. He doesnt like Hullbreak Harbor, but he cant bring himself to hate it, either. And even if he did, he doesnt bear the dwellers any ill will. If their dungeon really is starting to starve, something will need to be done.
