Chapter 18: Chap. 15 : State Of Distrust

Zoemie felt a soothing, slightly pleasant feeling from the mild pain of dark magic running through her veins, gritting her teeth a bit as she rose her head, the feeling in the back of her head intensifying, trackless, wordless hate and fury and distrust.

Zoemie never had any intention of letting them go from the beginning. If it had been the other three ? Maybe. She would've heard them out at least. But them ? They might have as well signed their own death warrant. One last thing remained. Figuring out what the fuck they're here for. And, well, dead women told no tales, so Zoemie couldn't slaughter them from word go.

Had they been sent by someone ? Or were they here of there own intentions ? What did they want ? Kill her ? Zoemie didn't know, and she disliked it. Betcha it's one of my fucking classmates who sent them here. Or failing that the local noble ? She grumbled, the uncertainty and lack of information gnawing at the back of her mind. Speculating never helps, as Neth said.

Zoemie considered her approach, and ultimately settled. If I try to intimidate them, they'll run off. Should I try to do the paper-thin facade of friendliness thing ? Like so many in the past did to her. Although Zoemie hated how the adults always fell for it, despite it blatantly being skin-deep.

No, this won't work. Normally, her expressions would've betrayed her, but the mask would make it a non-issue. Fuckers were always complaining about my expression ! Zoemie could never arrange her face and expressions in a way that made the adults happy. So now when they asked, she told them to fuck off instead.

Instead, the problem is that Zoemie did not know how to act like that. Zoemie shook her head, and focused. She was going to lure them deeper in no matter what. How I act shouldn't change anything once they're here. Now that the adventurers had crossed the line, there was no going back.

Zoemie teleported the adventurers to the gate at the mountain's entrance, and conjured seatings, uncomfortable wood and straw chairs. The cheap, uncomfortable shit they had back in school, with a one-digit price tag. And she started walking, with Xajymzia staying just out of sight in the magically darkened corridor.

---

Qareva had definitely been surprised when space warped around her, but she had to say she did not mind too much. It seemed the Warden wished to get down to business fast, and that is something she could respect. Welanjie didn't mind too much either, but Varnec had been worried. "Old memories / rememberances." they had explained quietly in that strange voice of theirs.

Qareva sat down on the middle chair, putting a small smile and friendly expression on her face. Welanjie and Varnec sat left and right of her. And after a short while, a pressure started filling the area. Hmm. Seems like the Warden's strong. Whatever kind of idiot asked to leave them alone will get into big trouble if that comes out.

The eerie-looking Warden came out a short while after, a thin-looking young woman ? Yes, woman, Qareva decided, in full battle gear save for a weapon, and wearing a mask that exuded intimidation. The archer found it ironic, however. A curse to detect people's true natures ? On a mask ? It was so on-the-nose, it was the kind of thing that a playwright would get booed for.

Although Qareva wasn't too worried about it. She wasn't a lowlife or a thug, after all, but a respected, strong adventurer with an extremely powerful backer. Qareva looked at the invisible wall in front of her, a Warden trick known and defeated. She noticed the door on the side, the useless door with no lock anyone could enter.

The Warden sat down and started talking, the high-pitched yet raspy if not gravelly voice of a teenage girl full of anger. "I thought I had been asked to be left alone." she said in a tone that dripped with barely-concealed hatred. A teen ? Teens are easy to trick. Qareva kept her face calm, but internally was confident.

It wasn't the first time she handled that type of girl, and it wouldn't be the last. She had broken many of these cute balls of fury over her career. This one was a bit more powerful, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"Hello.", the purple-haired chick in the middle started. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Zoemie grumbled internally. Not only was the woman's presence putting her in a foul mood, the feeling in the back of her head intensified, scrambling half of what the woman said.

"What do you want ?" the Warden asked. Straightforward and focused. Qareva considered how to approach the negotiations. The Warden was clearly not interested in small talk of any kind. Let's get to the brass tacks, then.

"We are interested in a... mutually beneficial relationship centered around waste disposal.", Qareva started. Of course, she couldn't simply be explicit about the type of waste, at least for now. Although for Qareva, a Warden had no right to claim the moral high ground over her either way.

Are you fucking kidding me ? "...Waste disposal ? Does this place looks like a fucking landfill to you ?" Zoemie snarled, bluntly letting her thoughts out with zero filter as she looked at the purple-haired chick. You came all this fucking way, risked me blowing up the fucking country, for fucking waste disposal ?

"Our backer would be most pleased to have access to a dungeon with a cooperative Warden for such purpose. Our work produce large amounts, after all, and it is not the kind we can dispose of easily." Qareva closed her eyes, smiling. "Our backer is most generous to those who are willing to assist him. Trust me, you will find the conditions most satisfying."

Fuckers are getting shiftier by the minute. Oh yeah, the curse was a smart idea, Zoemie considered for a short while before formulating her answer. "What kind of waste are we even talking about, lady ? And who is your backer, anyways ?" she snarled at three bastards bothering her in such a fine day, the feeling in her mind weighing like a anvil pressuring her skull.

"Very powerful and influential." said Qareva, evading the first question. "They very much are the kind of person worth assisting." Both Welanjie and Qareva smiled. They owed their backer a lot, after all. Qareva leaned forward "Money. Power. Consorts. Trust me, this is the best opportunity of your life."

Zoemie clenched her teeth, trying to focus on what the woman said rather than the feeling in her head. Backer... Powerful... Money and power... Bitch, I don't care about any of that. Leave me alone !

"You don't get it, do you ?" the Warden started, Qareva raising an eyebrow at her comment. "I don't want power or money or any of that crap. What I want – what I asked the other fuckers for – is to be left alone. I want my peace and quiet." ...Huh ? Qareva was dumbfounded.

"All money and power sounds like is problems and people. I don't want to deal with problems and I especially don't want to deal with people." Zoemie kept rambling, starting to get louder. "So what about you guys just fuck off and leave me alone ?" My skull is going to fucking blow up, and all you think about is pissing me off.

Qareva cocked her head, confused. Is that Warden daft ? They were making her an offer right now, an offer the majority of her kind would never get, and she was going to throw it away ? "...You know the majority of Wardens don't even get such offers ?" They get slaughtered for being threats !

"And ? Don't care about it either way.", the Warden continued, trying to contain... something. Qareva wasn't sure of what, and she frankly didn't care. She was far too confused and annoyed. If I leave this dungeon unconquered and without a deal... Qareva's backer would get angry. And while she may not fear the man's anger, as all she'd have to do was explain the situation to them, it would go against her goals.

"You truly don't get it, do you ?" Welanjie interrupted, getting antsy. "The other Wardens don't get these offers. Because we conquer their dungeons and we kill them. And do you know why we kill them ?" Welanjie's eyes squinted to pinpricks, her stare heavier than a Shredder. "Tell me something, Warden. How many people have you killed ?"

Zoemie's answer came on the spot and with no hesitation whatsoever. "How many people have you killed ?", she snarled, the two women's faces contorting for a short while into pretty scary expressions. Not that Zoemie cared or could even say what they were feeling.

Qareva breathed in deeply, furious, disregarding the spell telling her the Warden wasn't lying. Okay, that's it. Qareva didn't want to destroy the dungeon. While that would advance her adventurer career, and quite a bit in fact, it would overall be the inferior choice.

But she didn't want to. She wanted to subjugate the bitch for daring to piss her off and ignore her offer, to spit in her and her backer's face.The anger she felt, the desire to hurt the girl, to put the fear of her and her backer into her, to sprawl her on a bed and force her to submit –

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An idea sprouted into Qareva's mind, the archer remembering something, and she confirmed she had one in her dimensional storage. Nasty one to boot. Qareva felt a bit of relief wash over her. This could allow her to salvage the situation without conquering the dungeon. Good, that'll teach her. Alright, now how to do this ?

A quick magical scan confirmed she couldn't simply teleport her trump card and activate it from behind the wall. She might be able if they were both out or inside the wall, but the second option was unlikely.

Qareva quickly worked her mind through the items in her dimensional storage. Right. She did possess a door-unlocking magical item, granted to her by her backer in order to accomplish various tasks for them. Actually, maybe not. Qareva wasn't certain it would work, and to boot she couldn't use it without the Warden getting suspicious, so it wasn't exactly an option either.

Unless... Ha-ah ! Qareva pulled out another magical item from her dimensional storage. The wall breaker, although Qareva didn't know or care to know its original name. An item developed during the Purity Campaigns to deal with invisible walls such as the one the Warden had put in-between them, a gift from Varnec.

Qareva smiled smugly and threateningly as she held and activated the wall breaker, the invisible defence in front of them twisting as its magic was undone... and then it held, Qareva failing to hide the shock on her face as it did so, the wall twisting back into shape and hardness. Varnec emitted to her and Welanjie a feeling of suspicion. "This is abnormal / unusual."

A feminine, inhuman, malevolent laugh echoed from deep in the darkness, filling the area with mocking glee. Qareva frowned. A quick magic check from her and Varnec confirmed her the item wasn't defective. That's a setback. The Warden was grabbing her head, clearly uncomfortable for some reason.

Zoemie gripped her head tighter between her hands. The feeling had gone silent during the part where the bitch's item had tried to open the wall – and now it was erupting inside her head. The only thing she heard was Xajymzia, laughing from behind her.

Then she smiled in turn, a smile showing no warmth but all teeth. "So what's that mess about conquering the dungeon and killin' me ?" she said threateningly. Qareva's mind raced in turn. This is not turning out as I anticipated. There must be a reason the wall breaker didn't work.

We must get out of here, Qareva decided as a course of action. Even if we defeat the Warden, we'd need to mount a full invasion with enough breakers to force their way through before it regenerates. She discreetly activated another magical item that informed the other two of her intentions, the three preparing to leave.

"You know what ?" Zoemie said. "Lemme tell you something." She felt the feeling behind her back simmer down as she did so, taking a deep breath. She had finished preparing her spell while the adventurers were trying to remove the wall, the same one she had used against the Wraith, but smaller this time. "I was never going to let you go."

"My turn." she said, the three adventurers feeling something under their feet as they stood up. Zoemie snarled wordlessly as she casted the spell, closing her fist, the feeling overwhelming, her mind going blank as pillars of darkness overwhelmed each of the spots where the adventurers were.

She snarled further when she saw the two women had jumped backwards, dodging the spell, the feeling in her head raging... but the knight didn't, slowed down by their armor, metal falling to the ground with nothing upholding it anymore.

Good. One down. Zoemie smiled at the two remaining adventurers' horrified expressions, before she stomped her foot, as she teleported the archer and herself in a deeper area within the dungeon, conjuring her sword to her hand and preparing for the fight.

---

Xajymzia sneered at the armor on the ground. Revenge, at long last, against one of the guilty. Served them right. She was still in the darkness, but not for long, the brawler recovering from the shock and starting to pick up the armor. Xajymzia attacked at this moment, warping behind and swinging one of her blades, the woman spinning around at inhuman speed and deflecting her blow.

Saying that Xajymzia was enraged was an understatement. She remembered the feelings, of weakness, of powerlessness, old memories driven her to murderous hate, of just what they wished to do to her charge, what they wanted to use her, use them and this secret land for. They were guilty.

The brawler stared at her for a bit, equal parts angry and shocked, before throwing a punch, Xajymzia dodging gracefully. "So it's a damn halfbreed that laughed at us !" the blonde human snarled. Oh, but Xajymzia was going to kill this human.

Welanjie stared at the maid, launching another jab, which landed but seemed to do little damage, the abomination not even flinching. Dammit ! She had meant to leave and have Varnec healed, but the maid-disguised impure was fully intend on stalling her out until too late.

What is this thing even doing here ? Welanjie thought. It's not an hal... Wait. Oh wait wait wait. She remembered something Varnec told her a while ago, about guardians that were... That explained why Qareva's item failed ! This thing learned from the first go-around !

"One of these things ? Here ? Did we miss one of you ?" Welanjie screamed, channeling magic through her gauntlets, as the maid's face turning into an expression of taunting hatred. And this is why you gotta be thorough. Lest the surviving pests learn and adapt. And to Welanjie this was unacceptable. But weren't these things supposed to be non-comb... Right. It learned.

"Guess it's time to fix this little oversight, and subjugate that little Warden of yours !" Oh, but Xajymzia was going to make it hurt.

---

Qareva unlimbered her bow and nocked an arrow, magical items on her indicating the Warden's position, and shot, the Warden warping to the side and dodging. Dammit ! Leaving the dungeon was the right call. She loathed leaving Welanjie and Varnec behind, but things clearly hadn't gone as anticipated.

Urgh... Varnec is probably fine. They're tougher than a fortress wall. The problem is, where is the exit. She probably wasn't powerful enough to overwhelm the Warden's command of magic within the dungeon, which meant she couldn't teleport, and she had been teleported somewhere, which messed with her sense of direction.

Qareva grumbled as she nocked another arrow, the Warden having teleported again almost behind her. Where did I mess up ? She was under the impression that she hadn't conducted the negotiations too badly. The part with the wall breaker ? The device wasn't supposed to fail ! It wasn't her fault ! She never lied either !

She could try to move around a bit using her special shoes and get the Warden to move around so she could figure out where they were trying to prevent her from going – since that most likely would be the exit, and from there figure out a plan ? Urgh.

Zoemie dodged the second arrow and kept walking to her target, the unpleasant feeling overwhelming her head as she warped, like for the first. Feels like my skull's gonna explode.It wasn't a enchantment on the arrows, either, it was entirely in her own head.

Zoemie could, and wanted to, teleport straight to her target... but the feeling in her mind prevented her from doing so, forcing Zoemie to play with the archer. At least it had the decency of telling her how to dodge.

Zoemie considered the bits and pieces of information she had gathered from them. They have a backer. Magic confirmed it to be true. They want to use my dungeon for waste disposal. True as well. Wardens don't get such collaboration offers. False. Huh. Okay. Zoemie shook her head. She should probably wait until she was done with them before considering all the info.

The opening move wasn't too bad. A quick check-up confirmed to Zoemie that Xajymzia was fighting the blonde. Good. One of them was down, and she had split up the other two. Zoemie tried to focus, the feeling within her mind hardening into grim resolve, and she took another step forwards.

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