Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 252: Suspicion

I hadn't had much time to pay attention to anything more than the fight as it happened, but I had noticed that Gloria remained on the peripheral making no attempt to run, hide, or help. She seemed to freeze once that battle was triggered as if the System had placed her in stasis until the outcome was decided. I wasn't sure if that supported the theory that she wasn't real, an actor playing a role for System, or if it was a dungeon mechanic to keep her from getting aggroed by the boss.

I still was leaning towards the theory that she and this dungeon were part of a real world, but I was also coming to believe that it was a mash-up, an amalgam with real people interspersed with dungeon spawned mobs.

The most compelling reason to believe this world was real was grandfather's reaction when we informed him that Bob had spawned a new race of Sidhe. Grandfather had been furious when he learned about Bob and Gloria's dalliance. The resulting offspring from that union also seemed to support my theory that Gloria was real. Grandfather believed so, in any event, and that the way we interacted with her had universal consequences.

It was the most definitive proof I was likely to get.

Once the battle was over, and while everyone was lost to System notices, I did note something strange about her. That gentle, innocent persona she had been fostering slipped, revealing something much darker behind that mask of helplessness. There was a brief moment where her real emotions bled through, where her docile personality seemed to fade, and a cunning predator emerged.

I wondered if we hadn't been fooled by a pretty face into believing she was an ally. Bob, as much as I liked him, was Slaugh. Nightmare creatures of Sidhe. They were the killing machines, the dark side of Sidhe. Their beauty and grace were part and parcel of that savagery. They were beautifully efficient that meeting out death. But they were still creatures of horror and nightmare.

And yet, this beautiful innocent mermaid had engaged in congress with him, without a second thought, at the first meeting. Something had not been right about that even from the beginning, even before I had seen her mask slip and the predator that was hidden was revealed.

The Unseelie were attracted to the Slaugh's deadly beauty. Even Mab and her court of Light were attracted to them, although that attraction was only allowed freedom in the shadows, behind closed doors when no one was watching. The Unseelie had always been more honest in their actions. They didn't try to excuse how exciting it was to dance with death. How alive that dance could make you feel. The Slaugh were not the dirty little secret the Unseelie would hide.

I didn't trust Gloria. And that lack of trust may have been the reason I was able to see her mask slip. I had been watching, not for that exactly, but for something, some clue as to why I was so distrustful. It had been so fast that I couldn't be sure if the cunning predator was her real persona or one that I was projecting because of my lack of trust. Either way, I wouldn't be letting my guard down around her until we had claimed this dungeon and the world of Ijal was firmly under the Sidhe's control.

"What can you tell us about this next zone?" Thutmose asked once he had checked his gear. His shield was enchanted and would repair itself after each battle, but he still took the time to meticulously examine it after each fight. I didn't blame him, his life, all of our lives depended on the surety of that shield.

Thutmose was getting experience like the rest of us, and credit for quest completion we were able to share, but his System differed enough from ours, so most of the System notifications we received were truncated at best for him. He wasn't swarmed with the same System messages after a boss fight as we were. I think he was coming to trust us, even like us enough that he shared more complete and detailed information when we discussed our performance after each encounter.

I would have liked to have a more complete understanding of his skills and abilities, but that might be too much to ask since he would never be a member of our people. Sieph and I had been keeping notes on his ability and had been able to gauge his strength and agility on how effectively he fought.

He hadn't cast any spell, but his martial skills were so impressive he might not be able. Sieph believed he had focused exclusively on physical abilities. That didn't mean he was an idiot. He had proven he could reason and devise strategies, but it might mean he couldn't cast or use magic, or the spells he could use were utilitarian at best.

"I'm not sure," Gloria responded. "I can't think of anything that might cause problems. Our people use the zone mostly to mine for coral and pearls. We use it to create jewelry and pieces of furniture. It works as inlays as well, some of our enchanters finding it useful."

I didn't believe her. She had been given an extensive education as befitted a princess. She knew the back story of Gods, Murlocs, and Lamia. It was impossible that her tutors had drilled her in world knowledge without making sure she was just as well-grounded in local information. She knew what we could expect and was withholding that information.

Maybe to test us. Each battle we faced was more information she was able to collect. She was using those battles as a way to measure how effective and talented we were. She was trying to understand how powerful we really were.

It was little things like this, actions that didn't fit the pattern she had tried to establish, that made me wary. There was no reason for her not to share information on what we might be fighting, that she pretended ignorance was proof in my mind that the predator that I had glimpsed behind the mask was the true person.

She wouldn't be the first person that hid ugliness and evil behind a pretty package. Queen Mab had done it for thousands of years. She had made it into an art form, and anything the Sidhe considered worth mastering, was something to be applauded or reviled.

"Bob, keep your distance from the coral when you are scouting," I said. "It's hard telling what might be hiding in the cracks and crevasses. There is no hurry, so only scout about twenty yards ahead of us."

"You should also wait until we are all gathered together if you are going to have to move to a location that will take you out of our line of sight," Thutmose suggested. "It will be easier for us to respond if you aren't so far ahead that we can't see you or know you are under attack."

I didn't mention Beag or her abilities, I just sent her a mental command to stay safely [Shadow Blend]ed. I asked her to stay close to Bob, informing me if he was under attack before moving to help. I gave her permission to ambush and kill anything that attacked Bob, without waiting for permission once I had been informed of the attack.

The ability to give layered commends was a function of my [Shadow Druid] class abilities. Something that I had learned in the short amount of time I had had to acquaint myself with those features. Beag could be set to guard, defend, attack, or stay passive. Her reactions to events would depend on what restrictions I had placed.

I was also able to create a pet friend list so that she would ignore Bob, Sieph, and Thutmose, and her attacks simply didn't affect them while on that list. I refused to add Gloria; I wanted Beag's enhanced senses to warn me if she attacked and react if she proved to be duplicitous.

Strategy agreed upon, we moved forward, entering Lionfish Atoll for the first time.

[System Quest: The reef has been decimated. Continuous farming of coral has reached the point where the coral will die out if nothing is done. Use your connection with Nature to repair the coral. (Bonus Quest: As a Druid share your connection with nature and give the coral the ability to fight back.)]

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