Seeds of Discordia

Liam covered his mouth as he stepped out from the portal. His stomach threatened to push up any liquids inside as his vision swam causing him to sway a bit as he walked out of the others way.

Artem, Roman, and Aryana rushed over to the side, hunched over and released the bile that rose up.

Mercer, Avery, and Blair walked out and suddenly placed their hands on their knees. Each of them started making noises as they dry heaved. Luckily for them nothing came out.

Liam regained his motor functions and watched as the others regained their bearings. He was about to say something until Ariyana said with a glare, “Not a word.”

Liam gave a crestfallen look as he whispered to himself, “Upchuck roulette strikes again.” He then gave a slight smile as a chime noise dinged. “I can only guess what just dinged.”

“What’s that smile for?” a strict, but curious voice asked.

“It’s probably because their first attempt at a dungeon floor as a group went well,” a warm and sweet grandma-like voice replied.

The group turned to see Adva and Phorge approach them.

Liam straightened his posture and said as evenly as he could, “You could say that.”

Mercer and Blair looked at him.

Mercer turned his attention to the two and added, “It was definitely a new experience you could say.”

“Right?” Artem said.

“I wasn’t expecting the entrance portal to disappear when it did,” Ariyana complained as she dusted herself.

Liam closed his eyes, breathed in, and then let out a slow sigh as Ariyana said that.

Phorge gave a confused look as he asked, “What do you mean?”

Artem pointed at the portal with his shield still in his hand and replied, “We tried getting out when this tree monster sent a horde of skeletons and zombies after us, but as we ran to it, it disappeared on us.”

“A tree monster? In this dungeon? That shouldn’t be right,” Adva said with a shocked expression.

Phorge stared at the shield and then at Blair’s helmet. He was about to say something, but then Liam stated, “It was tough, but we got through it. I’m sorry, but we’re tired and hungry so we’re going to go freshen up some.”

Everyone looked at him.

“You’re right,” Adva started as she gave him a friendly and concerned smile. “You just experience your first group floor together. You must be tired. Please don’t let us hold you back.”

Liam nodded as he started walking away.

The others, confused, followed behind.

Mercer and Avery walked a little faster and got on both sides of Liam.

“What was that about?” Avery asked as quietly as she could while still looking forward.

“What was what about?” Liam replied with the same volume.

“That bit with Adva and Phorge,” Mercer filled in.

“I’ll tell you guys later,” Liam answered as he glanced around.

He noticed Nalia off in the distance close to the yellow dungeon portal. A man with slick black hair wearing the Mage tower uniform was talking to her.

After he stopped talking, Nalia and the man turned their gaze upon him.

This made a chill run down Liam’s spine as the man said something making Nalia nod.

Who the hell is that guy? Liam thought. His eyes narrowed before looking back forward. He then said, “For now, just know I don’t trust them.”

Mercer glanced at him for a brief moment before saying, “Alright. I’ll trust your judgement.”

Liam turned his head slightly to give Mercer a perplexed look. “Why?”

“Let’s just say I trust you,” Mercer responded with a straight face.

“I do too,” Avery agreed making Liam look at her. “Just fill me in on why you don’t trust them later.”

Liam faced forward again. After taking a few steps he nodded and said, “Alright.”

 

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Sounds of people talking as they walked around the city filled the air. The light on the giant glow stone hanging on the cavernous ceiling was starting to change color as it began to dim very slowly.

“Mmmmm, it feels so good to be back here,” Aryana stated as she stretched her arms out behind her and her legs out under the table while sitting in her chair.

“Tell me about it,” Artem said as he stared at the menu. “I’m so hungry I can eat almost everything on this menu.”

“I believe it,” Roman silently commented. Then shouted as a hand smacked the back of his head, “Ow!”

“That’s enough out of you,” Blair said as she laid her hand back on the arm rest of her chair.

Artem placed his menu down and looked at Liam who was sipping some water from a cup. “Um…Liam?”

Liam looked at him as he sat his cup down. “What’s up Artem?”

“I wanted to wait for you to bring it up, but I’m curious…,” Artem started to say.

Realizing where he was going with this, Liam asked, “It’s about what happened earlier, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m a bit curious too,” Blair inquired while keeping her eyes on him.

Liam let out a sigh as he thought it over. He then looked around his surroundings.

He wasn’t sure if talking about it in the open was a good idea. Did they have people under them keeping an eye or ear out listening in on people’s conversations? Were they powerful enough that they even needed people to do that?

Ever since the incident with Nalia and receiving the Mental Resilience to Divine Eye, Liam became very cautious of the three. It could just be paranoia, but after living on Earth these past couple of years, you didn’t survive without some amount of it.

After not finding any clues to anyone eavesdropping, Liam decided it would be alright to voice his concerns.

The others noticed Liam was looking around. Confused by his actions they glanced around as well to see if they could spot anything he was looking for. Even though they didn’t know what it was.

As Liam turned to look them each in the eyes, he said, “I’m not a hundred percent sure if I can trust those three.”

“Why?” Ariyana asked. “I mean Nalia seems like a witch and Phorge, at first glance, seems up tight, but he has been nothing but helpful. Adva reminds me a lot like my grandmother.”

“I especially don’t trust Nalia,” Liam frowned. “As for Phorge and Adva, I’m not sure on yet. Until I know I can trust them I won’t. I’m not sure if they are just putting on an act or if they are really like that.”

“Leaving Adva and Phorge aside. We can all agree Nalia is something else,” Mercer started. “But tell us why you don’t like her.”

Liam stared at him. He hadn’t told them what happened between he and Nalia before. He wasn’t sure what their reactions would be, but from how they were talking about the woman; he felt like they would like her even less.

With a scowl he replied, “She’s part of the reason why I questioned my starting class. She said I would just bring down any team I get with and will eventually die.”

“What a bitch,” Ariyana scowled.

“It definitely fits her character,” Avery muttered. “I don’t like her either. She said I’d be nothing but a waste of time.”

“She told me my worth is being nothing, but a meat shield,” Artem lowered his head.

Roman winced as he looked at Artem. “I’m sorry man. I really did mean it as a joke.”

Artem shook his head. “You’re fine. I can tell a joke when it’s said, but the way she looked at me when she said it…” Artem shuddered. “It’s like she thought I was an insignificant worm.”

“We’ll we’re just going to have to prove her wrong,” Blair suggested.

“No,” Liam interjected.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

“She isn’t worth our time. If she wrote us off, then it isn’t worth wasting an ounce of our attention. We should focus on other things instead.”

Mercer gave an assessing smile as he said, “I agree. What about the other two?”

Liam gave a shrug. “Not sure. Until I know they can be trusted I wont divulge too much to them.”

Everyone nodded.

“Let’s change the topic. Instead let’s recap our first adventure as a group,” Liam suggested.

“Agreed. Let’s go over what we thought and what we think we should do going forward,” Mercer chimed in. He then looked at each person at the table before asking, “Who wants to go first?”

“I’ll go first,” Artem started.

Everyone was shocked when Artem spoke.

Feeling their attention, he shrank a bit in his chair. “After we left the dungeon, I’ve come to a decision about something.”

“What’s that?” Avery asked.

“I don’t think I want to continue using a sword as a weapon. I want to use a different weapon,” Artem answered.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Liam asked, curious to why he wanted to change.

“During our fights it felt difficult trying to swing my sword while holding my shield,” Artem started. “Even when my buckler broke and all I had was my sword it just felt…wrong.”

“It could be because you’re not proficient enough with that weapon yet,” Roman suggested.

“Maybe, but the more I think about it the more I want to try a different weapon,” Artem said with some confidence.

Blair studied him.

“Do you have a weapon in mind?” Mercer asked.

Artem shook his head. “Not yet. I want to see what weapons there are and see which one suits me better.”

“I think I’ll join your search for a new weapon too,” Blair joined in with a form of conviction in her voice.

Artem looked at her with a stunned look.

“You too Blair?” Mercer asked with a puzzled look.

“Yeah,” Blair said firmly. “It felt awkward using both that buckler and sword. I couldn’t time things just right. I know that my starting class uses a shield, but I don’t think that I’m limited to having to use a shield nor the sword. Like Artem said, I want to see what weapons there are. Once when I find one that interests me, I’ll figure out a style around it that still suits my starting class.”

“Ok, just so we know, who here is going to find a new weapon? Raise your hand.” Mercer said with curiosity.

Artem, Ariyana, Blair, Roman, and Mercer raised their hand.

“I know that I want a new weapon besides my wand. My starting weapon, a crude dagger, is useless to me,” Ariyana started. “I don’t know what yet. I think I’ll figure that out once when I get a better understanding of the Field of the Charmed.”

“I’m different,” Roman said proudly. “I know what I’d like to get once when I get my Field of Study. I want a glove type of weapon. I’m good at punching and I want to raise my unarmed combat weapon skill up so I can join the front lines instead of relying on just my magic.”

“I can understand that,” Mercer agreed. “I want to try a long-range weapon out. Maybe the bow, but I want to see how difficult it will be with my Field of the Bard before finalizing that decision.”

“Ok, so far we have five people looking at new weapons and working on their magic,” Liam said as he turned to Avery. “What about you?”

“I’m happy with my choice of weapon so far,” Avery said as she looked at the table and thought something over. After a nod she continued, “I think I want to get my weapon skill with the Rapier up some so I can do more damage and work towards getting a Field of Study.” She then look at Liam and asked, “What are you wanting to do?”

“I’ve got some things I want to work on as well.” Liam lifted a hand up and started listing with each finger, “My daggers, my throwing weapons, my blacksmithing, and my magic.” As he placed his hand down, he added, “After those fights I have also figured out what craft I want to look into next.”

“Oh?” Mercer asked. “What craft is that?”

Liam gave a smile. “I’ll keep it a secret because what I want to look into, I’m not sure it’s possible and I don’t want to raise anyone’s hopes up.”

Mercer stared at him. As he leaned back into his chair he said with a sly smile, “Alright then, Keep your secrets.”

Liam felt the urge to make a comment about a small man and a grey robed wizard, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

“By the way Liam,” Roman jumped in. “That was sick how you kept throwing those crude daggers at the Floor Boss.”

“Right!” Artem shouted as he leaned forward. “You had my heart racing with each throw.”

Liam waved a hand in front of himself slightly embarrassed. “That was nothing impressive. I missed more than I hit.”

He remembered how he was just angry at the creature and was frustrated he couldn’t do more. Him throwing those daggers wasn’t even part of any plan. It was a reaction that his body did when he wasn’t thinking about anything but winning.

“It’s something to be proud of,” Roman interjected. “No one would have thought to do that.”

“He’s right,” Blair stated. “It was innovative and creative.”

“Not only that, but your quick decisions and instructions really helped make this attempt successful,” Ariyana added as she placed a hand on his shoulder and patted it. “I don’t think we would have made it through without you.”

“I agree.” Mercer nodded. “I vote that you are our control tower while this group is together.”

“I agree,” the others said in unison.

“I will only agree on two conditions,” Liam started while trying to keep a straight face. “One, if anyone has any better ideas or instructions, they voice them. And two, Mercer you keep gather any information you can get. Even if it isn’t accurate, it can still be useful.”

“Deal,” Mercer said.

“Alright, then how long do we want to spend out here before our next attempt?” Liam asked.

“I think we should spend a couple of days on working on what we talked about. After that we can decide on when our next attempt will be?” Mercer suggested as he looked at the others.

“Sounds good,” Roman said with a smirk.

“Ok,” Avery and Blair nodded with an evened look on their faces.

“No objections here,” Artem agreed.

Ariyana smiled as she said, “That works for me.”

“Then we’re in agreeance,” Liam said as he looked around the table.

“Yup. Oh, before I forget,” Mercer started as he pulled an item out and passed it to Liam. “Here Liam. This is a crafting material item that dropped. Maybe you can do something with it?”

Liam looked at the item as he grabbed it. It was a dark purplish red crystalized object.

 

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“Grave Keeper Heart. Crafting Material. Item rarity – Rare. Item Quality - Poor. Crafting Material.”

---

 

As he placed it in his inventory, Liam said, “Thanks. I’ll have to find out what I can do with it. Once when I do, I’ll let you know.”

“Much appreciated.” Mercer smiled.

“Now that, that’s out of the way,” Artem started as he waved down a waitress. “Let’s get some food.”

Liam let out a chuckle as he looked down. He then thought to himself as the smile faded. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. He groaned internally. This is going to suck.