TtOW! - Chapter 19: The Exploratores Explicatio

[You have helped slay Wolf Dungeon Master (Level 10)!]

[Gained 4 Personal XP and 4 Dungeon XP!]

[Wolf Dungeon Master (Level 10) slain within Dungeon Field, gained 10 Dungeon XP!]

[You have achieved the feat: Dungeon Conqueror (Beast Lair)!]

[Dungeon Conqueror (Beast Lair): Unlocked by conquering the Beast Lair dungeon.  Grants +1 perk points, grants +1 level in the Claw Strike skill.]

NSLICE-00P observed Ateia and Taog celebrate.  It seemed they had contributed enough to receive the Dungeon Conqueror feat.  NSLICE-00P had not expected to receive the feat as well this time, but it seems her contributions were not insignificant either.

She updated the mission status to complete and moved to her next order of business.

She raised a hand at the dungeon core, charging up her mana beam.

“Wait!  What are you doing?!”

She swung her hand to the side, firing the mana beam off into the wall as Ateia rushed in front of her.

“Answer: Terminating the dungeon.”

“You’re just going to smash the dungeon core?!”

“Affirmative.”

“Why?!”

NSLICE-00P tilted her head.

“Explanation: Because that is the most beneficial option.  Unless friendly Ateia knows of other use cases for dungeon core?”

“Other use cases?  Um, obviously!  Dungeon cores are super rare and valuable!  Do you know how much we can sell this for?”

“Revelation: This unit was not aware dungeon cores had market value.”

Taog crossed his arms as he joined the conversation.

“Not to mention, we probably need this core to prove we really conquered a dungeon.”

Ateia tilted her head at that.

“Taog, what do you mean?  We have the Dungeon Conqueror feat now, don’t we?”

Taog shook his head and heaved a sigh.

“...Ateia, do you honestly think that alone will be enough?  They rejected us once, you know, they won’t want to change their mind.”

“But…we have the feat!  They have to take us, don’t they?”

“They do…if it’s abundantly clear we have the feat.  But if us, a couple of kids who they already rejected, show up saying ‘we conquered a dungeon’, what do you think they’re going to do?”

Ateia opened her mouth…then frowned…then closed it.  Taog heaved a sigh.

“So we need to bring the core.  If we show up with a core, they’ll have to check us out fairly.”

Ateia still frowned but she nodded.  Taog just heaved another sigh.  Ateia liked to believe the best of people.  And Taog tried to keep it that way.

But that might not be possible once they joined the Exploratores.

In any case, he had something else to do.  He turned to NSLICE-00P.

“There you have it.  I’m sorry, you seem to have your own objective with these cores, but we do really need to bring this one with us.  We’ll probably have to sell it too, once it’s known we have one.  We’ll split the proceeds with you.”

“Acknowledged.”

Taog raised an eyebrow, but NSLICE-00P just deactivated her weapons and said no more.  He still couldn’t get a read on her, but he wasn’t going to go asking her directly.  He wasn’t Ateia, after all.  So he just grunted as he walked over to the pedestal and grabbed the core.

And with that, the group found themselves in the forest once more.

And then Taog paled as a mana barrier formed around him.

“Statement: Mission accomplished.  Preparing evac to safe location.”

“Whoohoo!  Let’s go let’s go!”

“Um, Seero, could you just…take us back to the road?  Let us walk the rest of the way back?”

“Query: What is the rationale for friendly Taog’s request?”

“Um…well…not many people can fly, you know?  So…it would be best not to startle everyone…or something like that.”

“Acknowledgement: Friendly Taog’s rational determined as reasonable.  This unit will evac friendlies to mission start location.”

Ateia made a smug grin at him but he ignored her.  It just wasn’t right being up in the sky like that.  He’d handle it for getting out the dangerous monster forest but by the Aesdes did he want firm ground beneath his feet.

***

By the time they arrived at the road the sun was already beginning to set, so the group decided to make camp for the night.  NSLICE-00P watched as Ateia set up a small metal pillar about a foot long, covered in geometric shapes and with a round blue stone at its center.  The blue stone began to glow and light filled in the lines carved across it.  NSLICE-00P observed as a subtle barrier extended from the pillar, surrounding the camp.

“Query: What is the purpose of the device friendly Ateia has deployed?”

“Huh?  Wait, you mean this?  Um, you haven’t heard of a camp ward before?”

“Negative.”

Ateia tilted her head.

“Then…how do you sleep at night?”

“Response: This unit can place biological components on standby without deactivating cybernetic components, including sensors.”

“Um…what?  Does that mean…you can keep watch while you sleep?”

“Affirmative.”

Ateia’s eyes widened.

“Wow, knights are amazing.  Well, then, um, this is a camp ward.  It’s…enchanted with a concealment barrier to try and hide us, and an alarm ward if anything does approach anyways.”

“Acknowledged.  Gratitude: This unit thanks friendly Ateia for additional intel.”

“Um, any time?”

Taog raised an eyebrow and motioned at Ateia.  She raised an eyebrow back, but walked over to him.

“Be careful around her, Ateia.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“What are you saying, Taog?  After all she’s done for us, now you want to be all paranoid?”

Taog narrowed his eyes back.

“It’s not paranoia, it’s caution.  Look, Ateia, weird accents and incredible power are one thing.  I can even accept her not knowing about the Empire, though that does raise questions on what she’s doing all the way out in Turania of all places.  But the more we talk with her, the weirder it gets.  She didn’t know about treasure chests despite destroying dungeons?  She doesn’t know about camp wards of all things, despite wandering around in the Domhan na Beithigh?  She claims now she can keep watch while sleeping?”

“That’s why she agreed to help us, isn’t it?  So we can help learn these things.  What are you trying to say, Taog?”

“I’m saying we have no idea who…or maybe even what this person is, or what their real intentions are.  It’s not wise to get too close until we do.”

“Taog, she saved our lives.  Several times.  She’s done nothing but help us.  She doesn’t deserve that kind of suspicion.”

“But she had a reason to help us, she didn’t do it out of the kindness of her heart, Ateia.  That is not enough to trust her fully.  So we need to be careful until we know we can.”

Ateia frowned, and crossed her arms.  She took a deep breath.

“You know, people used to say the same thing about you and your mom, Taog.”

Taog froze, twitching and standing up straight as if drenched with cold water.

“That’s…”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m just trying to look out for you, Ateia.”

“I understand, but I’m not going to treat her like a threat, Taog.  As far as I’m concerned, she’s earned my trust.  She’s already helped us, now I’m going to help her.  I hope you will too.”

With that, she turned around and walked back over to NSLICE-00P.  Taog frowned and stared at the ground for a bit.

Maybe it’s true, maybe he was being overly suspicious of NSLICE-00P just because she was different.

But could anyone blame him?

After all, he knew how ugly people could be.

And he would do anything he could to spare Ateia from that lesson.

Still, it was true that NSLICE-00P had kept up her half of the bargain.  So he was bound to fulfill his, and help this strange girl figure things out.

All he could do was keep an eye on her and hope Ateia was right in the end.

He took a deep breath.

And rejoined the group.

NSLICE-00P and Ateia had already started conversing.

“Requesting Elaboration: Please explain role ‘Exploratores’.”

Ateia nodded.

“Ok, so the Exploratores are the heroes of the Empire!  They’re the first line of defense for the people of the Empire, the guardians of the frontier.”

Taog heaved a sigh.

“She’s not asking for the bedtime stories, Ateia.  What she means to say is the Exploratores are the scouts and intelligence agents of the Imperial Legion.  They used to be tasked with scouting and security for the Legions but ever since Emperor Amulius’s reforms, they’ve become an independent organization.”

“Requesting Confirmation: So it is a government-military rank?”

Ateia and Taog nodded.  Taog continued.

“At this point the Exploratores function as independent scouts.  They travel and patrol the Empire and its borders, identifying and reporting potential problems so the Legions can arrange a specialized response.”

“Query: Who do the Exploratores report to?  Will this unit need to negotiate with commanding officers for fulfillment of the prior contract?”

Ateia shook her head.

“No one!  The Exploratores go where they want, do what they want!  They protect the Empire in their own way!”

“That’s an exaggeration, but one grounded in truth.  Officially the Exploratores report only to the Master of the Watch and the Emperor.  They are largely able to act at their own discretion, but they generally make regular reports to the local Legion and provincial governor, and coordinate with them.  It will definitely cause trouble if they disobey a direct order from a Legion officer without good cause, for example.”

“Still though, the Exploratores are allowed to move about the Empire as they see fit, as long as they keep putting in accurate reports!  And they hunt down the enemies of the people, wherever they go!”

“More like, more and more the Empire is having the Exploratores solve problems on their own, since the Legions can’t handle everything.  At this point they’re known more as monster hunters than scouts.”

“And the champions of the people!”

“More like, the Empire cut their wages and instead paid them bounties for problems solved.  Most Exploratores have started taking independent contracts for the local populace since the Imperial bounties aren’t enough to go around.”

Ateia glared at him.

“Oh come on, Taog!  You make everything sound bad!”

He just heaved a sigh.

“You know it was your father who told us most of this, right?”

“Requesting Confirmation: Role Exploratores designated as government-military role with largely independent action, part of but not subordinated to military hierarchy, who identify issues and mobilize military and government resources to resolve?”

“Um…yes?”

“Additional Query: So friendlies Ateia and Taog will assist this unit by mobilizing Exploratores resources to search for persons of interest?”

Ateia nodded at that.  She went silent for a moment, staring at the glowing camp ward before taking a deep breath.

“Once I become an Exploratores, I’m going to go search for my father.  He left on a campaign…a while back.  But the Legion hasn’t reported his death, so I know he’s alive.  And I’m going to find him, even if I have to search every corner of the Empire to do it.”

She looked up into NSLICE-00P’s eyes.

“And I’ll help you find your people too.  We won’t stop until we both find who we’re looking for.”

“Affirmative, compatible mission with friendly Ateia acknowledged.”

Taog silently frowned.

Long had Ateia been searching for her lost father.  And it seemed one way or another, her quest was finally getting off the ground.

He truly hoped that they would succeed.

***

Meanwhile Lilussess and Rattingtale were…both napping.

Guarding the Monster Hangar is hard work, after all.

Author’s Note:

And with this, the Patreon is now 7 chapters ahead of Royal Road, so they will have the same rate of posting from now on.

Bit of world building this time, introducing the Exploratores.  Because just reusing the Adventurer’s Guild for the millionth time was kind of boring.  So it’s adventurers…but with a Latin name!  Behold my creative prowess!

Anyways!

What will happen as Ateia and Taog take NSLICE-00P back to civilization?  Tune in next time, to find out!