Chapter 52: Chapter 52 An unexpected exercise

Artha emerged from the building a moment later and saw the standoff between Eldred and Nathan. His expression grew thunderous. “I understand.” He paused, and pawed the ground aggressively.

Eldred shifted, closing his hand on the maul and crouching slightly as he spoke past his pipe. “Remember how this ended last time, Treeborn.”

Artha snorted dismissively, but stopped pawing the ground. “Eldred, your actions are a transgression.” The big centaur’s voice rumbled like an advancing storm.

Eldred relaxed, leaning back against the wall and smiling sweetly around his pipe. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, unless either one of you would like to challenge me, I think I’m done here.” He shook out his pipe onto the ground and turned to walk away.

Nathan watched him go. “Could I ask Stanel to challenge him? I think I’ll have a favor from him soon enough.”

Artha snorted loudly and started laughing. “I would greatly enjoy seeing Eldred stare the ghoul in the eye in such a way.” Then he stomped the ground again. “However, that is not how it works.” He gestured Nathan back inside, sighing. “An Adventurer of Gemore is expected to stand on their own, and can be challenged if they have given offense, but not committed a crime within the remit of the Guard. There are no formal rules to the duels of Adventurers. It all works on opinion and judged fairness. In general, you are only expected to fight people of about the same weight as you - if you were wronged by Gale Shullet, the leader of the Seven Fools and the Illusionist’s Tower, then you could ask Dalo or Kullal Caxol to stand for you. If they had reason to help, that could be understood by those watching.”

He shrugged as they walked up the shallow stairs. “In this example, it could be as simple as Dalo’s grudge against Gale, though it is old and clotted, or you being friendly with Stella. The guild as a whole must accept the duel’s premise, the reason the fight is occurring, and the fairness of the match. The first battle is one of opinions, that a duel is appropriate. Stanel would never be one to fight Gale, since one is a fighter and the other is a mage.”

They entered the room as Artha continued explaining. “If Wiam wronged you, then you could ask Stella to challenge him in your stead. Or if Eldred wronged Stella, then you, Khachi or Aarl could duel him. If the offense was terrible, then it might be possible for Stanel to fight, since he is well-known as a family friend. But that would be only possible if most believed Eldred had committed a great wrong, since all know it would be a one-sided beating. Kia is well known to ignore duels, though her displeasure is never to be desired.

“We do not have evidence of Eldred’s wrongdoing, and one of us would have to fight him personally. Eldred is a good fighter in the ring, and would use his victory to extol his innocence and claim a small favor of us.” Artha looked tired as he spoke. “I do not like how Gemore settles these things, and I do not think Sudraiel likes it either. She is working to change it, but this is how things are done." He paused, looking annoyed. "In the clan these disputes were 'settled by the elders', who knew all involved and could choose the wise path. Most of the time.” He waved a hand horizontally, dismissing the thought.

That’s complicated. Trial by combat but mediated by the court of public opinion. Gross. Gonna need to keep considering this. Changes the social dynamic pretty dramatically. I wonder if I should try to be sneaky about it?

Nathan looked up. “Do you know how much they heard? Obviously when I asked about Endings, but did they also hear about my class skills?” Nathan felt he was understandably nervous about people knowing the details of [Spellbreaker Juggernaut].

Artha responded slowly. “I do not believe that the spy overheard the details of your class skills. I glanced at the door while you were describing them, and it was firmly shut, as Vhala left it. I do not know what they can do with the knowledge of your origin.”

Ok. So it’s not as bad as it could be - they might have heard that my class was [Spellbreaker Juggernaut], but not much more about my abilities. Taeol already knows that I’m not from Davrar, though he seems to be keeping the secret close. But he could have started spreading it at any time. And whoever the person who spied on me was - they don’t know anything about my world. What can they do with just the knowledge that I’m not from Davrar? Make a public stink about it? I don’t see how? Sudraiel already knows and is fine with it.

Artha sighed, placing his hands over his eyes. “Nathan, I apologize for all of this. You will learn of Endings at the Solstice ceremony, when Sudraiel tells the Tale of Endings. Then you will swear the Adventurer's Oath as your graduation ceremony. I do not think I can explain appropriately here, and now. It is late, and the Endings… are not a small topic. But it is not a topic where ignorance will hurt you. You will swear your Oath, the same as any other Adventurer.”

Nathan thought about protesting, but Artha had a point. It was late, and they were both shaken from the spying incident. Nathan made a note to have sensitive conversations with more protections. Maybe he could ask Stella to put up force walls to block sound or something.

And I guess I’ll have something to look forward to at the graduation. I need to keep an eye out for Eldred from now on. I actually don’t think I can do anything to him - I can't beat him in a straight fight for now, and I don’t want to get caught doing something shady when I don’t understand the lay of the land.

—

The next day, Jolba showed up in the dining hall in the morning. He strode up to the Heirs, who were having a somewhat slow breakfast after their morning exercise.

Nathan looked up at him, wondering if some stupid Adventurer politics shenanigans were going to cause problems. That just seemed to be the way things were going.

Instead, Jolba looked around at all of the Heirs. “Mission for you. Come on. Now. I’ll brief you as you go.”

The Heirs looked around at each other for a moment, and Jolba clapped his hands together. They grabbed their gear and went to grab their plates to deposit on the appointed table. Jolba clapped again. “Leave them. We’re in a hurry.”

They all followed their teacher out of the building, and he explained as he walked. “This is another training exercise. We’re sending you out on a job in the villages without much time to prepare. You have rations for a few days?

Khachi nodded. “Yes, we do.”

Jolba hmmed appreciatively. “Good habit. Stay in it. I’ll give you this anyway.” He pulled a heavy pouch from beneath his jacket and almost handed it to Nathan before reconsidering and tossing it to Aarl. “Dried oats and a few bowls. A good lesson for Adventurers who don’t prepare. Don’t tell any of the other teams.”

That’s one way to teach people to keep food on hand. Make them survive off just dried oats for a few days.

Stella broke in, impatient. “So what’s the mission? Or is that a secret too?”

Jolba shook his head forcefully. “No, that would be stupid. We’re giving you full information on the target. A small tomb appears to have opened up between Stonefall and Thop. Here’s a map.” He handed Khachi a map. “It shouldn’t be too dangerous. A few shepherds saw some zombies chasing sheep and tracked them to a hole in the ground. Clothing on the zombies looks either Old Gemorian or from the Sklias Dominion. No ghouls or any higher undead so far. If that’s all, then you should be able to go in, destroy the source of death mana and get out.

“If it’s too much then learn what you can and get out. Don’t do anything stupid, and if you find anything indicating a Quaz linkage get out immediately. One Grave Tangle is enough for this decade.“

He glanced back to check on their reactions, and all of the Heirs nodded at him in response. Jolba seemed satisfied, and they arrived at the gates a moment later.

This feels so… sudden. One moment we’re eating breakfast, the next we’re planning on going up against a bunch of ravening dead things. I suppose that’s part of the training. Off we go!

Jolba gave each of them a handshake, then turned to walk back to the guild. The gate guards rolled their eyes at Nathan leaving again, telling the Heirs that they’d need to do another questioning when they returned. And probably check on Nathan after a few days to rule out soul-parasites.

Note to self. Watch out for greyish worms hanging in doorways or on walls. Nope nope nope.

They took the North transit road once again, passing quickly through Old Gemore. It really didn’t take long to cover the dozens of miles to the outer curtain wall which marked the outskirts of the city.

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To Nathan’s surprise, the transit road’s effects didn’t end immediately, and they walked another few miles on the road before the effect began to fade and die. It was extremely disconcerting, and Nathan almost threw up as one step carried him thirty feet and the next was… just a normal step. He clamped down on his bile and stepped off the road, followed by the rest of the vaguely green Heirs. Aarl did end up throwing up on the side of the road, wiping his face afterwards on a cloth.

Khachi shook his head. “Kia always said that I’d know when to get off the transit road. I guess that’s what she meant.” He pulled out the map and looked it over. After a moment he waved the Heirs over. It was a crude map of the villages North of Gemore, which Nathan recognized from the larger map he’d seen. There was a spot marked with a red X about equidistant between Stonefall and Thop, seeming to indicate their goal.

A few paths branched off from the end of the northern transit road, one heading to the right towards Stonefall, while another continued the course of the now-nauseating transit road, likely leading towards Woodsden and Pilriden. A third path on the other side of the transit road went to the left, towards the village of Honsy.

The terrain was fairly flat grassland, with low rolling hills stretching off into the distance. To the right some foothills climbed up into large mountains, growing taller and more snow-capped as they marched off into the north. Directly north of them the hills grew larger, with some steep crags visible from here.

The Heirs set off down the path that led to Stonefall, chatting as they walked. Nathan listened in, reflecting as to how this was different from his last experience walking around the countryside of Davrar. Then, he’d been in the company of a crowd of villagers, with Adventurers escorting them. The atmosphere had been tense and Nathan himself was still reeling from his experiences with Taeol. The near-loss of agency. The violence against the slavers… he hadn’t really processed it, and hadn’t appreciated Davrar as much. He’d been lost, unable to square his life on Earth against his new crusade against Giantsrest.

Now, he’d figured a lot of that out. It felt like he was on a hike with his friends, exploring some wilderness. Actually, that was a bit weird. Nathan jumped into the conversation. “Why aren’t the towns closer to Gemore? Seems difficult to ship food farther. Wouldn’t you want them closer?

Sarah looked back at Nathan. “Old Gemore is dangerous. The town locations are picked for defensibility, not transport. Dimensional bags, remember?”

Right. I thought before that those would really change the normal way things worked. It’s harder to move people around Davrar, but easier to move things. I’m pretty sure you can’t put people in a bag of holding, or else people would like, live in them. You wouldn’t need land to build a city on, just a defensible cave with a bunch of dimensional pockets everybody lived inside.

So, Nathan joined the Heirs in conversation as they walked away from Old Gemore. They were hoping to pass Stonefall in the afternoon and make camp when they were relatively close to the tomb, so they could reach it in the mid-morning and have most of the day to clear it without worrying about the sun setting.

It was tempting to stay in Stonefall, since all of the villages maintained quarters where Adventurers could stay. But it would delay their arrival to the cave the next day, and Aarl speculated that part of the test was seeing if they could tolerate the discomfort of camping in the open or if they would plan their travel around the villages.

So, they kept on, talking about everything from food to Adventurer politics - which Nathan made very clear he wasn’t a fan of. The other members of the Heirs defended the way that Gemore did things, which mostly made Nathan roll his eyes. It seemed more like they were defending the way Adventurer duels worked because Gemore was home and they instinctively got defensive when it was criticized. As far as he could tell, they hadn’t stopped to think about if the duels were a good way to resolve disputes or not.

Changing your views when somebody correctly points out you’re wrong is a skill, and not an easy one. But the first step is engaging with your own beliefs and picking apart why you believe them.

Oftentimes, he forgot that the Heirs were still fairly immature. They had trained rigorously for life-or-death combat for years, and been raised to be decent, thoughtful people. But sometimes Nathan was reminded that they averaged around twenty years old. Like when they defended a system of social-pressure guided duels as a way to solve problems!

Jesus. That worked out so well for Galois. Maybe this is something I should try to talk through in more detail.

Nathan spent the next several hours discussing the duels with the Heirs. He was trying to focus on the ways that the system could be abused. The standard retort was that if you were abusing the systems, public opinion would turn against you and prevent you from abusing the system.

Nathan could think of a half-dozen ways that could go wrong. Somebody who was popular could always punch down, that was a core part of how most social structures worked. Or maybe somebody had literal Davrar-granted skills for manipulating other Adventurers!

Sarah responded that social manipulation skills were viewed with disdain. You wouldn't get shunned for having one, but it made everybody far more distrustful of you. And word would spread if anybody picked up you had a skill for manipulating people.

Ok, so you just have to be clever about it! People hide their skills anyway! And I bet falsely accusing people of having a manipulation skill is a great tactic! I guess [Earnestness] does technically count, even if nobody except Faline has picked up on it. I don’t think she’ll spread it around given I’m pretty sure she’s got multiple of her own.

Khachi raised the point that higher-leveled, more competent adventurers should have more social pull than anybody else. They were more capable of defending people and solving problems than anybody else, so they earned the right to throw their weight around.

Well, the Heirs are on top of the totem pole because of the Insights from their parents. Classic ‘this is how you own a house as a millennial’ fallacy there.

Wouldn’t it just suck to be unpopular for a reason that wasn’t your fault? Like, for example, somebody like Simla deciding you were in their way? Not like that was a problem that the Heirs had ever had. Their parents and inherited Insights gave them enough social weight to not have to worry about getting unfairly abused by the duels system.

Everybody should spend a few weeks as a social pariah at some point. It does wonders for empathy and emotional toughness. Also sucks donkey balls, so I wouldn’t truly wish it on anybody, but that’s the point!

Nathan took a moment to tamp down his temper before it ran away any further. But he didn't feel like he was wrong. For example, there was what seemed to be happening now in the Adventurer Guild, where half of the Adventurers supported Sudraiel’s training course and the other half thought it was discarding valuable traditions. What happened when you had two camps and they disagreed on things?

Without a legal, formal means to resolve differences then enmity between the groups kept building until you got shit like civil wars. Nathan did not want to see Adventurers fighting one another in the streets over who was following traditions and what was better for Gemore. It was good that the duels were explicitly nonlethal with some very few exceptions, even if it encouraged some dumb macho posturing.

Nathan thought he was getting through to Khachi and Stella, though Stella might just be getting bored of the whole conversation. Khachi said that Kia seemed to share some of the same views as Nathan. She’d gotten away with ignoring the whole scene by being strong enough that nobody wanted to piss her off. Some people had been making noise about her refusing challenges until she'd killed a castlebear singlehandedly within sight of the city walls.

However, Nathan was having a harder time convincing Sarah and Aarl. Stanel had been a prolific duelist back in the day, and had met their mother in a duel.

Eventually, after Nathan had railed against all the ways the system could be abused, Sarah yelled at him.

“You’re talking to us as if we would abuse these rules! Don’t imply that even as a game, or we might really have a reason to duel. Nathan, you know us, do you truly think we would do such things?”

Nathan stopped walking, and looked at Sarah. He tilted his head a bit. “If a system relies on the people within it to be good, then bad people will use the system to abuse the good people. I don’t think you are bad people, I just think the way Adventurer duels work is bad.”

Sarah threw her arms wide, and Nathan noticed her eyes were a bit wet. Tears of frustration? “But then why are you telling us?”

Nathan spread his hands gently. “Change has to start somewhere. We are the best of our generation of Adventurers. If we want to, we can change how things work. We can refuse duels, set an example if nothing else. We have some power and we will have more. A famous quote from my home says that With Great Power comes Great Responsibility. It’s up to us to determine how to use our power and our influence. We can change something, but that means thinking about what we want to change. Whatever causes you champion, decide on them deliberately. Don’t spend your life supporting something just because it’s what has always been done.”

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