Worthy Core Chapter 138: Death of the Party

Trush returns Xenia's wide smile with one of his own. "Nice and direct - my kind of woman!" He pauses as his mind catches up to his mouth, and he realizes again just who he's talking to. "Er, not to be unduly informal, dungeon master, I ant no disrespect."

"None taken - yet. I do appreciate a guy who knows what he wants myself, especially considering these sorts of stakes. If anyone cos in here asking for the gig but without their whole heart in it, I'm tossin' em right back down the mountainside." Xenia's initial smile turns into a smaller, but warr one. "Let's not get too wrapped up in formality. If we really do this - today, seriously, a bit of warning, guys? If we do do this, we're bound together for practically eternity. If we're going to be all but married, I ain't standing for titles. Call Xenia, please."

The orc nods, relieved. "Like getting vowed you an, huh? Didn't think of it like that, but I suppose it ain't entirely wrong. And to think of all the wounded hearts I left along the way, thinking I'd never settle down with a girl..."

"An orc playboy, huh? We'll see about that. But first - Elance, I assu you've been doing what I asked and vetting the people who co by? What's your take here?"

Elance steps forward, feeling a bit like perhaps her prepared formal report might be out of place in what was shaping up to be a first-date-type atmosphere. "Well, for starters, we did confirm his background with the Association, he is who he says - level twenty-six Shieldbreaker, forrly of the Valleylands army. We also tested his combat prowess with the assistance of a few other Challengers. The man is wounded as you can plainly see, but showed signs of combat training and experience well enough that even I could recognize it."

Xenia nods along. "Good to know, that's probably the most basic-level shit. How about his suitability?"

The dwarf shares a glance with the orc, perhaps feeling a little awkward about reporting on him right in front of his face, but she continues nonetheless. "To be honest, I might be a little biased by how clearly unsuited the first two applicants we got were. But I'd say he ets all my requirents - the man's got no pressing obligations he's leaving behind him, he seems well aware of the kind of lifestyle he's jumping into, and he seems easy enough to get along with." Elance hesitates for a mont, but adds one more statent. "I'd never say that a fellow's got no future ahead of him, no matter the circumstances. But, all things fully considered, I can accept the idea that he may well have a higher quality of life ahead in a dungeon than he has at the mont."

"Yeah, the arm and all, I get it. Alright, back to the big man himself." Xenia passes by a refreshnts table and grabs up a pair of bottles, one of which she tosses to the orc, perhaps feeling this is a conversation that needs a drink. Or, perhaps as a test - if so, it's one Trush passes, catching the bottle easily even with a single hand. As he pops it open and takes a drink, Xenia smirks. "Tell , Mr. Trush, where do you see yourself in five years?" Before he can answer, Xenia quickly revises the question. "Never mind, no one here would get that. Just, in your own words - what is it you want to be doing around here?"

Trush gives a bit of a shrug. "Do I get options? Actually, guess I did hear a suggestion that maybe I could help with designing puzzles or traps, and that might be a thing to do. But figured mostly I'd be bashing folk's heads in. Axe, mace, sword, decent with any of em along with a shield. But I ain't in this for the blood, suppose I ought to say that. I've fought my way through a lot of dungeons myself over the years, you know, and fought a lot of different boss types. So were a pain in the ass, so were too easy, but there were so worth rembering. Honorable Champion types, you might call em. Did what a dungeon ought to be about - testing folks! Not just breakin' em, or killin' em, but pushing them to their limits! Training even, in so ways, though the kind of spar where a fool move could lose you your head. But that's what I loved - not just fighting, but feeling like I was growing from the experience. Yeah, that's the kind of boss I'd wanna be."

"Haha, an Honorable Champion, huh? No dirty tricks?"

The Shieldbreaker snorts. "Oh, dirty tricks are absolutely a part of it. A fight'd just be boring without a bit of spice. But it's all about respect - respect for your opponent, and for the fight. I wanna et Challengers worthy of respect, you know what I an?"

Xenia pauses in her snacking from the table to give a nod. "That seems like a good way of looking at it. Gotta admit, I like your vibe. And luckily for you, we do got two slots open for bosses at the mont - Floor Five and a Wandering Boss slot we unlocked."

Alizz interjects with a question. "Floor Five? I an, I suppose obviously it could have a boss, but..."

"Floor Five - that's the Fuck Floor, yeah? Or sothin' like that? Got sothing you need doin' for the Challengers down there?" Trush seems a little amused as he asks the question.

The dungeon master hesitates before answering. "...We're probably not looking for a Floor Five boss at the mont, actually. Consider it a placeholder spot. Anyways, the point is, we got room to take you in. Now, I could offer you the chance to spend so ti living in here first, and I'd probably make that a requirent if I was on the fence about you. But what do you say? You feeling confident in your choice?"

Trush gives a solemn nod. "Barely been thinkin' about anything else since before I sent myself out here. Feelin' as confident about it as anything, I'd say."

"Suppose if you're sure and you've got Elance's recomndation, I can't think of anything to say against it. So one more question - you got any requests on how you want to go? Ceremony, or anything?"

The orc eyes DEATH, standing silently next to one of the groups pecking at food from one of the tables. "...Is that not the executioner himself I see standing over there?"

"Him? Naw, that's just Big D, he'd be one of your coworkers. When it cos to dying, we got tons of options."

DEATH waves a hand. "I WOULD BE HAPPY TO END YOUR EXISTANCE, IF YOU LIKE. I'VE ONLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SLAY A SINGLE MORTAL THUS FAR."

"...I have no idea what the big fella just said, but maybe I'd go with sothing else."

Lollyp speaks up, a smile on her face. "Well if you want to go out doing sothing fun, Taly recently put up this really fun, potentially-lethal setup up in - "

"Lollyp!" Taly quickly interrupts her. "And just who do you want to have to be the one to, um. See him out!? I'm up for a little sadism but that's a bit far for !"

Xenia closes her eyes and sighs at the argunt. "Let's not. Unless there would be an achievent for that...no, no. Let's go with two basic options. One, we've got so decent poisons, not entirely painless but pretty quick." With a flash, a sword appears at her avatar's hip and she draws it out in a smooth motion. "Or, if you want sothing flashier, I don't mind getting my hands dirty. I know how to make it quick and painless, maybe ssier than the poison, but not like you're getting an open-casket funeral out of this anyhow."

The man does look like he's seriously thinking it over for a minute, but he eventually gives a nod towards Xenia's blade. "Might be a bit overdramatic, but I'd rather go out in a spray of blood than lying in so bed, I think. Besides, I'm interested in seeing how you handle yourself, if you're as confident with that as you sound."

"So be it. Anyone have anything to add before we make this happen? Speak now or forever hold your peace, and all that." Her eyes pass over Elance, Alizz, and even the pale-looking Lyota, but all remain silent, and so Xenia makes her way over to where Trush is standing. "How about you? Any last words? If you co up with better ones later we can totally retcon them."

"Eh, well? I should make the intention clear, right? Master of Worthy Dungeon, I, Trush of Tash'narc, do willingly surrender my soul to your service. Give foes to fight and I shall humble them in your na! Give halls to guard, and I shall secure your treasures! ...And any other services you may require, we can speak more of in private, later." The orc adds a wink to his final statent, and Xenia smirks despite herself.

"Nice." With a single swing of her blade, almost faster than half of those present can see, the orc's head is separated from his body where he stands. Sure enough it seems to be a death that's swift, painless, and as bloody as promised, as a few seconds later the head drops to the ground, followed by the body and then a spray of crimson. So does hit Xenia, but the woman uses her control of her avatar form to keep herself clean. "...Yup, still got it."

Looking around, she eventually notices the shocked faces on most of her audience, so of whom were partway through eating so finger foods from the table. Looking at them, and then at the pooling blood around the corpse at her feet, and then back at them, Xenia shrugs. "What, this is a dungeon party. Enjoy the snacks and booze! Hey Alizz, did you have so business for ? We probably won't get to reviving the man til tonight, like I said, we weren't really prepped for a new resident today."

The drider eyes the man's body and then the woman standing next to him, her sword already disappearing. "Ah, yes, but um...would it be possible to, you know...clean up, first? I feel a little awkward."

"Ah...nope, you're all part of the 'party' he was with, so I don't get to claim stuff til you all leave. We can mosey on down towards the river if you'd like, though."

"...Yes, please, let's do that."

The two walk so distance away, while Sely takes the opportunity to catch up with Taly, and getting out of sight of the corpse does calm the Field Agent quite a bit. At least, until she rembers why she ca here. "So, Xenia! These new, what would you call it, policy changes of yours! What's this all about?"

Xenia raises an eyebrow at the question. "What? I would've thought you'd be happy to have heard about them. You told to my face you didn't appreciate the luck charm trick, after all."

"Yes, I do appreciate the change in direction, but I'm rather confused. As you said, you didn't budge on that one before, why now? I've been worried sothing may have happened up here since we last talked."

The dungeon master considers the question, and decides it's a fair one. "Wasn't any individual thing, just a few things coming to a head, I guess. Back when I started this gig, security was a serious concern of mine, you know? I think I've ntioned, but I've almost bought it a few tis already. And there's still not much I could do to block a team of Supres or sothing. But Initiates? Even Advanced?" Xenia snorts. "I've grown beyond them. No Advanced has gotten as far as fighting DEATH, any that even try Floor Four take injuries and run with their tails between their legs before they get halfway to him. And I don't get much out of them anymore, either. Souls are souls, those are nice, but equipnt? Skills? I don't need to kill them for self-defense, and I barely need their stuff, so racking up kills on them just feels like...bullying."

"That does explain you deciding to spare the life of a low-level Challenger a day, which I appreciate. But does the luck trick of yours not apply as well to higher-level Challengers?"

"Not as much, actually. It's the lowbies who keep running Floor One over and over and starting collections of luck charms, you know. The high-level teams? They blow past it then never step foot in it again. Plus a bunch of em are already pretty geared up and don't even bother wearing the charms they do get. It was nice having an ace up our sleeve, but...it was a hamr falling mostly on the Initiates which, again, bullying."

"Hrmm. I suppose that does make sense. Is that all there is to it, then? Nothing I else I should be aware of?"

Xenia thinks for a mont before she answers, her eyes glancing across the distant adow. "Nothing vital, as far as you need to worry about, anyhow. But I do got a semi-related topic, if you don't mind." Her eyes narrow as they find Lyota, who's watching her in return.

"What do you know about that fury demon?"