Dungeon Life-Chapter Four-Hundred Twenty-Eight

Annoying as it is, I have to leave the issue of the Betrayer on the backburner. As much as I’d like to go deck him in the schnoz, I have no idea where he keeps it. So I’ll just have to keep biding my time, building my power, and hoping I scale faster than he does. Considering how much time he’s had, compared to me… I’ll be in a lot of trouble if I can’t.

But I also have vectors that I’m almost positive the Betrayer would never consider, and though he has a lot I’d never do, I’m hoping I have a handle on what he might be able to throw at me and mine. And one of my own potential wildcards has just entered my territory at the manor.

I take a few seconds to look over the large elf, and I can’t help but wonder if he somehow has dwarven blood in him. He’s a lot taller than a dwarf, and pretty tall for an elf, too, but he’s also incredibly stout, and I don’t mean he has a gut. He’s not at Hulk muscles, but I wonder if he tends to stay in armor just because he doesn’t have to worry about it exploding when he flexes.

His armor reminds me a lot of what Olander wore when he was still undercover: dull metal and leather, not from lack of care, but simple age and deliberate choices. Shiny armor is a great way to give away your position. He’s got a big axe on his back, too, but much like with Noynur, it seems Jondar Helmsplitter’s real danger might be what he has between his ears.

According to reports, there’s a really high chance he has Mental affinity, which I’ve only noticed on the Harbinger. There’s probably a few delvers around Fourdock with it, too, but it’s one of those affinities people don’t like to advertise, and for good reason. I probably wouldn’t trust someone with that affinity if I wasn’t a dungeon, either.

And I’m pretty sure he noticed me taking a look, because he waits to speak until I pull my attention back a little.

“Can we talk?” he asks, and moves to the side to lean against the wall, so as to not block the traffic in and out. Teemo pops out of a shortcut atop the wall and eyes him for a few seconds before nodding.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Boss has a good relationship with the Slim Chance, but not so good a relationship with your old boss.”

Jondar snorts at the understatement. “I don’t hold a grudge for that… though I suppose it’d be fair if he did.”

Teemo shrugs for me and hops onto Jondar’s head. “Not so much a grudge as a poor first impression. But if you’re here to try to fix that, we can talk.”

The elf smiles. “Good! Lead the way, Voice!”

“Just ‘Teemo’’s fine.”

He nods, though he pauses in the middle of it, realizing he might throw Teemo off. Otherwise, he doesn’t say anything as they head down to the war room. I’ve been expecting his visit for a while, and I’ve been debating where to talk with him, too. The sort of things we might discuss would probably warrant the proper war room, or maybe a random spot within a shortcut for security.

I’ve decided to go with the normal war room, since it’s basically my default place to meet with people, and if he wants more security, it’s only a shortcut away. He glances around once they arrive, and stops himself from nodding, seeming to have no problem with the location.

“I should probably start with why I was with the Earl… former Earl. I’ve been looking to retire into a guildmaster’s position, but the best delving is in Horlon City, and the competition for guilds is fierce there. So when I started to hear rumors about Fourdock, I was curious. And when I got a letter from the former Earl with a proposal to be a guildmaster, he had my undivided attention. The contract was pretty clear: he’d actually be in charge, I’d be a figurehead, and be paid handsomely for it.”

He shrugs and shakes his head at his past self, prompting Teemo to finally hop off and have a seat on the table. “I figured there are worse ways to make money for nothing. My only loyalty to him was in coin, and I’ll sign or swear to that effect, if that’s what you need.”

Teemo shakes his head for me. “Boss knows you could have, if not stopped our plan, definitely caused us trouble for it. How are you planning to run your guild?”

Jondar takes a seat and leans back, getting comfortable. “Like any other, really. Support adventurers, get a cut, prep for emergencies, drown in paperwork, set and accept quests, all that.”

“Are you going to be able to play nice?” asks Teemo, giving Jondar one of his rare serious looks. He’s not embracing any titles yet, but that tone means business.

Jondar smiles. “Yes. The capital might require intrigue and backstabbing, but to me, I think there’s plenty of dungeon to go around for me and Karn, especially with him making moves to cater to mid and low level adventurers, and I’m planning to cater to the elites. Karn the Slight is a good enough leader to keep his people from getting too far out of line, and the elites don’t get where they are by picking fights they don’t need. Trust me, I can see you and Karn work well together. If my guys start making a mess, it’ll be my guild that suffers the brunt of it. I’m not here to try to take over, I’m here to find my own place, and I’m not above asking for directions to it.”

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Teemo watches him as I chew that over, then gives my response. “Good. Boss is always happy to have new friends, but he’s not going to throw out his old ones for new. You guys have been sticking mostly to the Forest and Tree so far, yeah?”

He nods. “There’s a few who are more interested in Hullbreak, and I have one party that focuses on the kind of gathering that the Southwood offers, but most of them have been running around that huge tree of yours.”

“They should also keep an eye on the labyrinth. Boss just upgraded the dragons, and magma drakes are wandering around in there now, too.”

Jondar grins at that idea as Teemo continues. “Your guild also found one of the keys in the Forest, too.”

He nods. “We did. Are you going to tell me what it’s for?”

Teemo smirks. “A raid boss. It’s still a work in progress, but Boss expects both guilds will need to team up to handle it. You’ll be facing a scion, after all.”

Jondar raises an eyebrow for a moment, then laughs at himself. “Right, your scions aren’t normal scions. It’s easy to forget yours are a cut above. Most scions are simply strong bosses, with the rare raid boss only happening when a dungeon decides to dump a lot of mana into a single scion, instead of expanding or whatever else dungeons do. Are you really going to make it a regular thing to be able to fight one? And can you deliver on that?”

Teemo grins for me. “We can, don’t you worry about that. Rocky’s not the only one who can throw down, he’s just the one that enjoys it the most. Worst case, you guys will have to face a couple scions.”

“I’m looking forward to it!” he declares, looking fired up. He quickly calms himself down before continuing. “Anything you want to know? Anything I can do to help? I really am sorry for what the former Earl did. I had heard the rumors, and meeting him basically confirmed them, but I still took his coin and was on his side.”

“There is one thing,” Teemo answers for me. “You have Mental affinity, don’t you?”

He raises an eyebrow again and glances around, though if he’s looking for an attack, he doesn't see one. His eyes settle back on Teemo, and I feel a slight pressure on his mind before it quickly retreats.

“Ah, you too. No wonder you figured it out. How’d you get that? The Dungeoneers say Thedeim has Fate and Gravity affinities, but no mention of Mental.”

My Voice smirks. “Because that’s mine. Listening to the Boss all the time toughened me up, and facing off against the Harbinger was the spark that let me figure it out.”

Jondar chuckles and shakes his head. “‘Figure it out’, he says, like it’s that simple. Well, however you got it, I’d keep quiet about it. People… don’t tend to take it well.”

“I use it for defense and counters. Boss doesn’t like the idea of messing with anyone’s head who doesn’t try it first. He won’t start it, but he’ll finish it, you understand?”

Jondar nods, looking both serious and relieved. “I do. People’s worries about Mental affinity aren’t unfounded. I’ve seen some things that I never want to again.”

They both nod, and I would too, if I could. “Then that’s probably it on our end. You should do whatever you need to do to make sure things run smoothly between the Calm Seas and the Slim Chance, and make sure your guys know that messing with delvers is a quick way to get banned from delving.”

Jondar snorts in amusement. “Banned? That might hit some of my adventurers even harder than you just killing them, especially if that carries to the other dungeons around here. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they all know what’ll happen if they think collecting on a kill quest here is a good idea. You might settle for a ban, but the guilds and the kingdom have their own punishments if there’s evidence, and a direct indictment from a dungeon is hard to argue against.”

Teemo smiles for me. “Which is why Boss is happy to simply ban. If other people are lining up with punishments, why get in the way?”

The wide elf chuckles and nods as he stands. “Indeed. I’d like to stick around and talk some more, but paperwork waits for no elf. I’m gonna need to hire a secretary at this rate…” he grumbles.

“You want a shortcut to get back quicker, or to walk and have an excuse to stay away for a few more minutes?” offers Teemo, making Jondar stop and rub his chin in thought.

“I’ll walk. Maybe I’ll even get lost for a while. None of the paperwork I had left needs to be finished before the end of the week. It’ll be nice to blow off some steam.”

I follow him as he heads out, taking his axe into his hands as he starts wandering. He’s gotta know I’m watching, and he has to know I know he knows, but that makes things ironically simple: anything I see in his fighting is what he wants me to see. While he’s not going to be able to put a mental whammy on me, that doesn’t mean he has to show me all his tricks.

Honestly, from how he fights my denizens, I think he’s showing most of his capabilities, at least in concept. I’m sure he hits a lot harder when he wants to, but his basic techniques aren’t hidden. I get the feeling he’s less trying to butter me up with information, and more that he wants me to be ready to deal with him in the upcoming raid. A delver like him isn't having fun if it’s not a challenge, and if it takes him giving away a few tricks to get it, isn’t that worth it?

It would seem so. It also makes me want to make sure I have at least one piece of gear he’ll be interested in as a reward. In fact, I might need to work on a few more upgrades to my spawners to make sure I have the appropriate lure for the raid bosses. A good fight is as tempting to a delver as a pile of gold, but both?

They’ll be scrounging after the keys as quickly as I let them get out, and I’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.