Suspicious quests (1) - Rescuing your companion

-21st day of AC, 21.04.1052-

-Time: 11:20-

-Location: Lodiz's guildhall-

What is a quest?

One could say that it is 'a task with a given reward for completion'. Most of the time, such a view was correct.

RALS, however enigmatic it was in its workings, did adhere to such a rule. Every quest Travis received always had three things: a condition to fulfill it, a reward, and a penalty for failing. This was the baseline that he could define as a 'quest'. Some of them used slightly different configurations, like having an optional condition or introducing a penalty for rejecting the quest. All of that was within the bounds of what Travis could've expected of the system.

What he did not expect was a quest without a reward.

[Quest: To battle with authorities! (1)]

[An unforeseen event has caused you to run into an old acquaintance. Normally, this would not matter given the plan you and Violet devised. However, Aria is smarter than she seems. If given enough pieces, she will be able to piece the whole puzzle together.

Objective: Make sure Aria does not get enough pieces of information to figure out you were Violet's companion.

Optional: Make sure Aria does not learn Violet had a companion at all.

Failure penalty: Lower the level of a random skill by 2. Lose 20 random stat points. Affinity with Aria will drop significantly. There is almost a guarantee that you will be apprehended by Aria.

Rejection penalty: You will be sent to Penalty Zone. Penalty severity: very high.]

'...shit. Oh gods damn it. This quest wants to kill me...' he thought. 'There is not even a reward for this...' he let out a heavy sigh. 'And I thought the only quests that could send me to Penalty Zone were the Daily ones? 'Shouldn't change anything' my ass. I have to figure something out...' he decided as he turned to the Inspector to his left.

"Did you want to add something to the talk?" he heard Aria ask, her tone serious and a little angered as she eyed him with her brows furrowed. Although she was giving off a slight aura of authority, something else came to his mind when he saw her like this.

'...cute.'

"Oh, s-sorry... I'm just thinking to myself..."

"..." Aria let out a little bit of air from her lungs. It appeared that she wanted to tell him something in response, but she refrained from doing so. Instead, she turned to the woman up front. "Miss Violet, would you please repeat what you said before? What is so important that you'd break into the city without an MID?"

'Let's take a second here. I still have 2 stat points,' Travis thought while the talk was happening. 'And Aria shouldn't be difficult to influence. The problem is that Audrey woman and Violet. Hmm... 2 points into Wisdom.'

"There is a powerful enemy in the mountains west of Lodiz. A vampire," the black-haired woman said with a neutral expression. The tone of her voice didn't appear to bear any kind of urgency to it, either. It was eerily unfitting for the importance of the information she said.

"...?!" Aria's eyes widened as she saw the Orb of Truth glow with white. "A vampire? Surely you must've mistaken a ghoul or another monster for it?"

"I'm sure of what I saw. It had blood magic."

"...how did you find it, Miss Violet?"

"I went there with m--!" suddenly, Violet flinched, her hand immediately retracting from the orb on the table. After a split second, she stopped her movements, the fight-or-flight response abating its effects.

"Miss Violet?"

"...I apologize. I felt an eerie feeling just now," she responded. Her eyes glanced at Travis. 'Why did he try to pry my mind?' she pondered momentarily as she noticed the man's lips mouthing some words slowly. '...'Don't tell her'...? What does he mean? Did the plan change?' she thought for a moment before noticing the man pointing a single finger at himself and slightly shaking his head in a way that neither the Inspector nor the guildhall employee could notice.

"Well then, again, how did you find that monster? In detail, please."

"...I was traveling west of Lodiz," Violet slowly placed her hand back on the artifact. She instantly noticed the man gently nod his head and secretly show her a sign with his hand. 'Two is wrong, one is good... He must mean I shouldn't speak of him...' she conceded. "Yesterday morning, I came upon a boy in a forest down a valley. He said that he went to map out caves under mountains with his brother and that he was attacked by something in one. After venturing into a cave of crystal crawlers, there was a strange structure."

"A structure?"

"An underground complex, I believe. Once inside, the door closed. It was a trap. Deciding that trying to break the door could be negative in effect, I ventured further in," Violet said while stealing a glance at Travis. The man nodded.

"Is that how you met that vampire?"

"Correct."

"...can you tell us anything about that monster? What are its abilities? Can you estimate its level?" the so-far quiet Audrey raised her head from the pieces of paper in front of her, her half-full lips parting as she cut in. The rustic color of her hair appeared to glow momentarily as light reflected from it.

"...she introduced herself as Isolde Ashthorn," Violet said, breathing in fully. Her curves became slightly more pronounced in the light as she shifted in her seat. "I'm almost certain that she is a Blood Mage. But I do not know much about her abilities. The moment she became aware of my presence, she paralyzed me."

"If possible, what would you estimate the vampire's level to be, Miss Violet?" Aria asked, her upper body's composure strong and unmoving. However, as Travis stole a glance at her, he could see that her right leg was nervously moving up and down, just barely making a sound.

"...I'm... uncertain. Two hundred... perhaps fifty."

"T-Two hundred fifty?!" Audrey suddenly burst out, her hair flowing onto the table as she got up and leaned forward. "T-That's impossible! Not in an area like Quear Mountains!" she continued, the maroon jacket slumping on her shoulders slightly. The button in the front of her chest looked like it wanted to burst right out as she took a deep, heavy breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Miss Audrey, please sit down," the Inspector said, her hair fluttering in the room's atmosphere as she turned to the guildhall's employee. Then, her emerald eyes sparkled with a glint of intelligence as her gaze landed back on the Rogue. "Miss Violet, if what you said really is true, then how did you escape?"

"...the vampire was severely weakened. Moreover, she decided to deal with me later. She slumbered soon after. An Essence of Purity was enough to weaken the paralysis so that I could escape."

'...how does she do this?' Travis wondered, seeing the Orb of Truth glow with a white tint once again. 'I know it's just skipping some information, but... she does it so fluently on the go... is this quest easier than I expected...?'

His eyes gazed upon Aria. Her expression was serious, her white brows furrowed as she was thinking about something. The jacket on her shoulders rose a little as she straightened her position. What could she be pondering about was beyond the man's scope of thought. He did notice that her right hand was in her jacket's pocket, almost as if she wanted to pull something out of there.

Audrey appeared to be scribbling down what was happening, the faint sounds of scratching the only source of disturbance in the otherwise silent room. Suddenly finishing, she fiddled a little with the feather for a moment. Her sky-blue eyes shot a look over everyone present by the table, stopping on every head for a few seconds. When her eyes met with Travis', however, the man immediately could recognize that the shock had yet to leave her body and mind.

Finally, he glanced at Violet. The woman's stare toward the Inspector was as uninterested as ever. Her dual-colored orbs appeared to glint with a bit of curiosity as she looked at him. 'She must be still thinking about why I asked this of her.' he realized, letting out a faint sigh. 'I shouldn't make her do it on her own. If I can, I ought to help. <Suggestion>.' he commanded his spirit, aiming the spell at Aria.

<I shouldn't drag this on. Travis said he wanted to leave soon.>

The spell was fired faster than anyone had the time to blink. In an instant, he felt it bounce around a little before slithering inside. Aria's expression relaxed a little as she leaned back in her seat slightly.

"Very well, Miss Violet. I believe there are only two issues to resolve. Firstly, do you happen to remember where the cave is?"

"I gave a sketch of a map to this lady," Violet responded, looking toward Audrey. "It is detailed enough to show where the structure is."

"I see..." Aria nodded, stealing a glance toward the guildhall accountant. "Then, the second thing: what about the boy and his brother?"

"...the boy was an imp. His brother never existed. Everything was a trap," Violet said, her tone lowering ever so slightly as her shoulders seemed to slump slightly.

"...I see," Aria responded. "I believe that's everything I want to ask you, Miss Violet. Miss Audrey, would you like to ask anything?"

<There's nothing I need to ask.>

<I have all the answers.>

Travis hastily created two <Suggestions> and fired them toward the redhead woman. The spells circled her mind and bounced around like a dull knife trying to pierce through wyvern's meat. After a short second, he felt them slip inside, but only barely. It appeared that she still had some things she wanted to ask. Still, Audrey sighed lightly, looking at her papers.

"No, I'm alright, Inspector Brinn. The important questions have all been answered," she said, her eyes tracing lines of writing she made just now. "Although it's a little difficult to believe what I've heard, Orb of Truth is an artifact we can't rebuke."

"I apologize for cutting in," Travis suddenly spoke up, bringing the room's attention to himself. "But does that mean that Miss Violet is free to go?"

<The sooner it's done here, the sooner I can finish my matter with him.>

He sent the final <Suggestion> into Aria's mind, and he felt it nearly suck the spell in. He smiled inwardly, knowing what it meant.

"Unless Miss Audrey has anything else to question Miss Violet about, I believe the rest can be left for the guildhall to handle, correct?" Aria asked, her emerald eyes meeting with Audrey's blue. She shifted a little in her seat, her prominent bottom stretching the garments on her legs slightly.

"Yes, Inspector. We will handle Miss Violet's case of missing MID on our own. Thank you for your assistance, and apologies for disturbing you."

"It's alright. Please proceed," Aria responded whilst hiding the Orb of Truth in her bag. "We will be taking our leave," she added, planting a light kick into Travis's shin.

-3 minutes later, outside-

"..."

"..."

Travis and Aria were both standing near the guildhall building, the woman leaning on a wall as she had a hand by her forehead. The white hair hid her face from the man's view, but he could imagine that she was deeply confused at the moment. He decided to give her a moment, fixing his shirt slightly and looking to his side.

[Quest 'To battle with authorities! (1)' is finished.]

'...not a stat point, not a skill point. Not even an item for all that tension. Hell, it didn't even count the optional part. Does Aria suspect something?' he wondered, stealing a glance at the Inspector. She appeared to be gathering her mental strength as she let out a sigh, fixing her hair a little and checking the state of her attire. 'At least <Suggestion> leveled up. Better such silver lining than none.'

Eventually, as a few seconds passed, Aria turned to face him.

"...Travis, I... gah, I really don't know what to say," she spoke, her eyes constantly running around the place, but not meeting his for a split second. "This situation is... confusing. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you into this."

"You don't have to apologize, Aria. I was the one to propose coming with you."

"...Just in case, please do not speak about this to anyone, alright?"

"I won't, I promise," he formed a tiny, reassuring smile.

'He doesn't seem half fazed by what he just heard... just what have you been through for this to not shock you?' Aria wondered for a short moment, feeling a stirring feeling well up in her heart. For some reason, she felt... uneasy. 'Or...'

"So, uh... I don't want to rush anything, but what did you want to speak of before this situation?"

"...r-right. *Sigh* Travis, listen... I don't want to, uh... invoke any ill memories or create bad feelings between us, so please, just hear me out first, alright?" she asked, but her eyes looked at him pleadingly. She gave him a choice, but he could feel just how **** she was for him to give in.

"Alright, I'm listening."

...

-45 minutes later, 12:35-

-Location: a tavern in Lodiz-

Travis sat in the corner of the tavern with his backpack by his legs, leaning on the chair. In front of him sat a small glass of beer with a thin layer of foam on top, untouched for the half-hour he had been sitting there. Its contents were still rather cold, evident by the layer of fog and water on the glass. The tavern appeared rundown, with wooden furniture marked by daggers and other weapons. The floor was littered with stains of dried and fresh liquid, and the odor of ale mixed with sweat filled the air. Food scraps were scattered in every corner, crushed under heavy boots.

Travis observed the patrons inside, noting a group of four men and two women by the bar, two being dwarves and the rest appearing human. Their loud chatter was irritating, but Travis was used to it after being there for a while. He also noticed a quieter group of three by a window, enjoying their food and drinks while talking to each other, albeit quieter. Other, innumerous patrons were lost in their silent thoughts.

A heavy sigh escaped Travis's mouth. A memory of his talk with Aria surfaced, and immediately, another thing came to mind.

'Damnable RALS... is there even a limit to what a penalty for a quest can be?' he wondered, summoning one of the screens that appeared not long ago. He read the title of the message with a heavy breath.

[Quest: To battle with authorities! (2)]

'...I knew there was something suspicious about that quest in the first place. I didn't think there could be quests that continue previous ones.' he sighed to himself while sipping the beer. He moved it a little, causing a fresh foam to form on the liquid's brown surface. He closed his eyes for a long moment before taking a small sip. The bitter, cold ale poured down his throat, causing him to shiver lightly at the sensation.

'To hell with plans, I guess.' he groaned a little at the thought, putting the glass on the table.

A short while passed. The atmosphere, however vivid, was rather calm in its entirety. Nobody was making any arguments or fighting. A few men did glance at the waitress walking around, but it didn't seem like anything indecent would happen.

Suddenly, he noticed movement as the main door to the tavern opened. He immediately saw a black-haired woman in a gray shirt and slightly baggy, dark beige pants. Her double-colored eyes looked over the room for a moment before she spotted him. Without hesitation, she strode across the room and sat down opposite him.

A long moment was being stretched between the two, not broken by a single word from either party. Violet's eyes looked at the glass in Travis's hand with a glint of interest, to which the man shrugged lightly.

"Good work back there," he commented.

"...thank you."

"How did the rest go?"

"...smoothly," sounded the reply relayed by her small lips. "I got the map," Violet continued, putting a hand into her pocket. Within seconds, she was handing Travis a piece of yellow-brown paper.

He looked at the map with a scrutinizing eye. It depicted the nearby terrain with varying degrees of distance, going as low as 10 km west of Lodiz and as far as 50 south and east. Numerous mountain peaks were depicted, and summoning his memory, their placements appeared to be accurate. Though no numerical values were given, he was able to estimate at least a few of their heights. A few red points could be seen, small yet visible, and even without any legend he knew what they meant.

'4 dungeons nearby... that's a bit of a loss.' a thought rang in his head as he noticed the small numbers written right next to each one. The levels were in the range of 40 to nearly 70, with bosses almost reaching level 80.

Other things of interest were slightly larger, orange blobs scattered across the entire map seemingly randomly. Their numbers didn't exceed twelve, but Travis immediately noticed how their spacing seemed to be rather equal. This was a sign of another thing: the places where field bosses could be spotted.

'Huh, we actually went through the territory of one on our way.' he nodded to himself, noticing one of the marks overlapping with the road between Lodiz and Silvana. The habitat's very existence only seemed to signify how less frequented that path was. He looked at Violet.

"Thanks. Too bad it's useless now."

"...?" she raised an eyebrow. "Did RALS do something?"

[Aria's suspicions of you are nonexistent. However, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Her superiors are pressuring her to get testimony out of you about the time you two got sent to Penalty Zone.]

"Yeah. I have to return to Silvana for a questioning."

"...why were you in that room, if I may?"

"I know that Inspector. She was looking for me here, and I'm returning with her."

"Is the issue serious?" Violet inquired, and Travis could not help but sense a faint bit of concern mixed with her indifferent tone.

[Objective: Tell your story to Aria's superiors. The more truth you speak, the better.

Optional: Make Aria appear in a good light. However, only speak the truth that you believe.]

"...kind of. Enough for RALS to give me a quest. Or several, even," he said before taking another sip of the ale. The container was almost half empty by now. "I'll be fine."

"..."

"Either way, I suppose that's everything. It's about time we went our own ways."

"...one last thing," Violet said, looking around a little. As she confirmed that nobody even cared for either of them, she activated the ring on her hand, causing a small bag to appear on the table. A clattering of some coins could be heard. "132 gold and 71 silver. The value of all the trophies."

"...impressive," Travis nodded slowly, unsure how else to respond.

"I didn't show it to boast. I want you to have it."

"...are you sure?"

"I have little use for it. And you can't gain money easily."

"Right..." he said as he slowly got hold of the pouch. It didn't weigh a lot despite holding quite some value. 'I didn't expect that... she really tries to lay some good grounds between us.'

"And you can treat this as a thank you... for saving me twice," Violet added slowly. Her eyes skittered to the side, and the ear visible to the man appeared to turn slightly pink.

'Should I respond to that?'

"...for what it's worth," the black-haired Rogue stood up from her seat. Her voluptuous body appeared to be hugged by the light coming from the windows. "Traveling with you has been worthwhile," 'I have gained insight into what I'm doing wrong. Now I need to learn how to overcome those shortcomings.'

"I suppose it wasn't all bad on my end, either," 'I did gain a good sword thanks to her. That's a silver lining to how our relationship started.'

"I hope that you will give my words some thought before the next time we meet. Until then: Farewell, Travis."

"...goodbye for now, Violet," he nodded.

And then, the Rogue bowed her head ever so slightly, a tiny show of the respect she felt for the man. Without waiting a second longer, Violet strode across the tavern, reaching the door in a few seconds.

She shot one last look at Travis. For a split second, the man couldn’t help but feel like the corner of her lips was twitching upward, even if just a little.

Then, she exited.

Leaving the tavern behind, Violet raised a hand to her ear. ‘…it’s gotten warm.’ she thought before going toward the northern gate.

Meanwhile, Travis finished his ale. After getting up and throwing the pouch of money into his pack, the man also took his steps to the outside of the room.

The chillier air of the outside hit him nearly instantly, causing some hair on the back of his head to stand up. He huffed slightly, bringing a hand to his beard and combing whatever stumps were growing. A few seconds passed as a few people passed him by. Some men, women, children, elderly, and everywhere in between. He sighed lightly before taking his steps toward the marketplace.

[Failure penalty: Lose 1 random skill. Lose 30 random stat points. There's a chance that Aria will deem you a traitor and hate you.

Rejection penalty: You will be sent to Penalty Zone. Penalty severity: extremely high.]

A weight appeared on his heart at the very thought of the damnable quest’s requirements. Would it make sense to lose a skill if he only failed to speak the truth?! It wouldn’t, it shouldn’t! And yet, seeing how RALS went out of its way and even introduced a new level of difficulty to Penalty Zone, Travis could only begrudgingly accept the quest.

However, it wasn’t all bad, he had to admit. If he went to Silvana with Aria, he was certain he’d go out of Isolde’s range of smell. No matter how powerful, every being had to have a limit to their senses. This was the only thing that kept his thoughts positive about the quest.

Within 3 minutes, he was sitting on the same barrel he had when he met Aria. Long seconds passed as he waited for the Inspector to make her appearance. Eventually, he spotted the white bob of hair coming toward him.

Aria’s face had a soft smile on it as she approached. Fixing her khaki jacket, she looked over Travis.

“Ready?”

“Yeah,” he nodded lightly, taking a step closer. They were standing just within a hand’s reach of one another.

“Alright, then. Give me your hands.”

Obediently, he raised his arms.

Aria quickly undid the seal on her bag and pulled out a pair of metal rings linked with a small chain. Without skipping a beat, she infused a little mana into them, prompting the large rings to open. Then, she clamped them onto both his hands.

[Magical cuffs bind your magic.

Skills using MP are sealed until the bindings are removed.]

[Resistance to the effect failed.]

“Travis, you are under arrest.”