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Chapter 523 - Strange Meeting
🕑 Added 2022-09-19 13:00:09 +0000 UTCBecca Swan crossed the doorway to finally arrive at her destination. She was going to meet a source that apparently had some big things to tell her about everything that was going on. After arriving at the room called Rising Pillars, she started her journey towards the dungeon that would serve as a private location for their conversation. As she walked by, her mind was thinking about everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks. First, it was the discovery of the Trial Mode in dungeons, but that was quickly forgotten when the guild announced that Insomniac had died. Not much was explained about it at first, but more information emerged after a while. Apparently, a group of people went rogue. They had lost someone in the Dzviery attack, and they started chasing the culprits for revenge. Somehow, they discovered where the Centaurs lived and decided, on their own, to make them pay. Blood by blood. Insomniac was said to have found that out and died while trying to stop them. Now, there were even talks about making him an honorary Hero, even if he failed to protect the Centaur.
Or, at least, that's the story the guild was telling. Everyone seemed to accept that. Well, they seemed to accept that this was something that could happen. No one was happy about the situation. The Beastmen, Triton, and the Children of the Sky were all up in arms. Asking who gave the humans the right to wipe out an entire civilization, arguing that if the Centaur ended up like that, what would stop the humans from doing the same with them? No one misunderstood the underlying message of that. The question might as well be, 'Why do humans get to decide who are monsters and who are people.' The Elves and Dwarves were less vocal about all this, but it was clear that they were not happy either. Probably because they had a passing resemblance to humans, which led those two groups to not suffer so much prejudice. Many people started to agree with the ideals the Last Line of Defense put forward, with some even stating that they were willing to join that terrorist organization. Of course, their peers quickly arrested those who said something like that out in the open. It was one thing to agree with some of their ideals, another to openly incentivize their tactics, and no one wanted to start a war.
In all honesty, Becca half expected something like this to happen. Well, not the genocide, but that someone would do something stupid and everything was going to collapse because of it. And now, even though their structure was still standing, anyone could see the cracks starting to spread. She, like many others, believed in all the information that was put out there, but then Becca was contacted by someone who said the guild was lying. That this criminal group that attacked the centaurs, was nothing of the sort and had not just the guild's backing, but the approval of all other races as well. When she read that message, which was sent by a fake email account, Becca thought this was one of the dozens of weird conspiracy theories people regularly sent to her.
When talking to Romeo, the ex-chairman suggested that she give them a chance. His reasoning was simple. Whoever sent this email was being careful. They didn't tell her who they were nor how to contact them, and it looked like they only sent enough information to pique her interest. Another factor that showed how careful they were being was the fact that to get in touch with them, Becca would have to go to a specific bar and make a particular order at a specific time. Only then would she get more information about them.
That first step was the easiest, and it was in a very public place as well. Even if someone was trying to ambush her for some reason, it would be easy enough to get help from someone else. Unless they had hired an entire city of people, and if that was the case, Becca would at least feel flattered. Very few people in history could say it took an entire city to capture them.
After going to the bar, she was sent to a library, then to a restaurant, and lastly to a park. Every time she got one of the puzzle pieces, another email from a different account would arrive giving her the password she would need to receive the next clue. The whole thing felt like a poorly orchestrated scavenger hunt. Even if the person was doing all this to be safe, there was no way for them to know whether Becca was keeping it all to herself. She could be sharing all this with the guild or any number of people, and no one would know. Not to mention that, if the people giving Becca those clues had a way to contact that mysterious figure, someone would be able to track them.
The deeper she got into that, the more she believed that all this was just a crazy conspiracy theory. Or maybe a publicity stunt for something, a book or a show probably. She could already see the tagline, 'The story that fooled Becca Swan.' If that happened, she would at least ask for a consultant fee, and to be reimbursed for all the money she spent getting here. Not that she actually needed any of that, but it was a matter of principle.
Right now, she was going to the location where the mysterious source would be waiting for her. Allegedly. The Rising Pillars was a room made of pillar-like mountains, as the name suggested. Several bridges and paths would connect the pillars and let people move from one to another. However, not many people would come here due to the constant strong wind and the lack of natural resources in the room. Not one of the dungeons in this place would drop any sort of food or water, and there wasn't a way for anyone to grow something here. The caves inside the pillars were too dry, and the constant wind outside was too strong to allow vegetation to grow. Because of that, this was one of the rooms that almost no one came to, and those who did were only passing by.
Becca climbed one of the pillars, moving back and forth between bridges, and going on a dangerous climb to the side of the mountain until she reached her destination. A small cave with a dungeon inside. The mission was to climb a pillar and plant a flag at the top. It was simple, easy, and the biggest worry anyone would have was falling. Which wouldn't be much of a problem for Becca, since she had a few spells that allowed her to fly at different speeds. Before coming here, she double-checked the information about the dungeon, and nothing stopped anyone from using spells to complete it. Even if that wasn't the intention, she wanted to be ready for anything.
When Becca finally got close to the entrance, she saw a cloaked figure waiting to the side. The figure was staring at her with one hand to her side, probably holding a weapon of some kind. It was understandable, Becca had a very well-known face, and to avoid people recognizing her, she was currently wearing a choker that would change her appearance. Removing the illusion, she took a few steps towards the figure and spoke in her best attempt at a southern accent, "Hey there, Hun. Mighty fine day we are having ain't ya?"
Becca cringed at hearing her own voice like that. The accent was terrible, and she was awkward as all hell, but this was part of the code that this figure had sent her. Including the accent.
"The day may be fine, but the clouds will soon cover the sky," the figure replied and took two steps back. An action that was also part of the code. There were a few variations of their response, and each one would require Becca to answer in a specific way.
After thinking for a minute, Becca spoke in a very bad and exaggerated Irish accent closer to what a leprechaun would sound like. She knew it was awful of her, but this was the only thing that came to mind, "But then the rainbows will be sad, matey. Don't forget to turn that frown right side up."
She waited, hoping that this was the correct code, but after 30 seconds, there was no other reaction from the figure. Realizing she forgot something Becca thought about everything and remembered what she had to do because of the two steps the figure took. Closing her fist and bringing it closer to her head, Becca put out her pinky and touched the corner of her lips while winking and raising her left foot in a cutesy way.
The figure nodded and simply said, "Follow me," before turning towards the dungeon. This was the standard situation when talking with sources. Dungeons were the safest place for a private conversation since no one outside would ever hear what was happening inside. Still, that also came with some danger.
"Just for the record. If I don't send a specific message to my people in two hours, they will receive my location and a copy of everything you ever sent me. Also, don't take me for a weakling just because I'm a reporter," Becca said in a firm tone. Again this wasn't something new for her. Every time she talked with a shady source, precautions had to be taken.
The figure just nodded and continued walking to the dungeon. Becca followed along, and soon they were in a very similar location, but now, they were on the ground facing a massive 500-meter-high pillar. The dungeon quest notification popped up, but both of them ignored it. The figure walked to the side and sat down on one of the large rocks before removing her hood, revealing the face of a woman with short blond hair. She looked battered as if it's been a while since she had a chance to shower or sleep. After a moment, Becca recognized who she was sitting in front of her.
"Wait. Blade of Dawn? Is that you?"
Blade of Dawn nodded, "Yeah."
"Aren't you supposed to be in jail with the rest of the people who attacked the centaurs?"
"No! None of us is supposed to be in jail! We didn't do anything wrong. Well.. That is questionable, but it wasn't our decision. The whole thing was set up by the guild, and we even had permission from the other races!" Blade of Dawn got up, but she quickly sat back down, feeling light-headed, "Sorry. It's been… rough."
Becca approached her and passed a power bar to the woman and the water bottle she always carried on her when moving through rooms, "That's ok. Here, you look like you could eat something."
Dawn's eyes started to water when she saw the food in front of her, "Thank you."
They both stayed silent for a few minutes to let Dawn gather herself. When she finished eating and drinking almost the entire water bottle, Becca spoke up, "First of all. Do you want this on or off the record?"
"On… I think. People need to know," Dawn replied.
"Do you mind if I record our conversation? Just the audio, I don't think you want your family to see you like this," Dawn nodded and thanked Becca again before the reporter continued, "Ok then. Explain what is going on."
Dawn took a deep breath, "After the attack in Dzviery, the guild started searching for the Centaurs. Everyone knows that. The idea was to understand what happened and why they attacked. When they finally found them, they were in a room called Great Frozen Pine Forest on the 26th layer. The guild sent a few scouts and messengers to try to talk to them, but all were killed, some in a very gruesome way. In the end, after about a dozen attempts, the guild decided that they would need a stronger show of force. They talked with all the races, and everyone agreed to send in a force to kill all of them. All, with no exception. The argument was that if even one was left alive, they could grow and come back as a bigger threat. No one was happy about that decision, but it wasn't like anyone had any other better ideas. And, unlike regular monsters, the Centaur could cross doorways, meaning that everyone in the MAZE was a potential victim," Dawn's hands were shaking as she spoke, and Becca could tell the rage she felt hidden between her words.
"That is very different from what the guild has been telling us. Do you have any proof?"
"I have the messages that were sent to us. Including those where a guild employee says everything is set up. But not something from the leadership."
"Well. That can help. But It won't absolve you guys. I think the best case scenario would be having some of you be portrayed as people who got swindled," Becca had to be blunt. Blade of Dawn wouldn't go through all this just to give her a story. She wanted something, but Becca was unsure what.
"That would help. But… That's not the worst part. After we got back, we weren't expecting a hero's welcome. We knew that many people would be angry, but we hoped we could at least bury the dead. But we couldn't. The moment we got back from the centaur homeland, we were arrested. The dead were burned, and we didn't even have a trial. They locked us up, sent people to be our guards, and kept beating us for no reason. Now that I think of it, all of the guards were non-humans. That lasted a few weeks, I think, and when we were being transferred to somewhere else, a few tried to flee. Everyone was captured or killed, but I managed to jump inside a dungeon that I knew had a different exit far away from that place. That allowed me to escape, and I've been on the run ever since," tears started to stream down Dawn's face, "I know what we did was wrong. And I know we deserve this punishment, but we are not the only ones who deserve that. The people who sent us there also need to pay."
That was a lot to digest, and Becca had to take a moment to process everything. One way or another, this was something worth looking into. If Blade of Dawn was lying, then this could be a way to find out why. If she wasn't lying, something much bigger was going on. The worst part of it all was that deep down, Becca knew that if the guild was really lying to the people to this degree and trying to cause some conflict between them and the other races, a lot of things would make sense. Her only hope was that Blade of Dawn was lying, but her gut refused to believe that, "Ok. Send me everything you have. I have some people I trust that may be able to keep you safe, as long as you stay hidden. Also, tell me everything that happened during that attack. Everything, don't leave out any details. Then tell me about the prison you were in. I need to know everything you know so I know where to start.
Comments
Perizou
hahaah I'm sure he can give you a good deal considering how much time you spend there. XD
Gail Burke
Oh snot buckets. Okay, at this point I've just resigned myself to having an entire wing instead of just a room at Mr. Cliff Hanger's place. Argh, the suspense!
Maren
Oh shit...
