Worthy Core

"Gilda? Gilda, please say something." Silva pleads as she follows after her grumpier twin, making their way down the frozen trail back to Grassbrook. Their male companions, Kalin and Randall, had gone on ahead to give the two some privacy, while Sweet followed some distance behind. She was surely still within earshot given her gnollish senses, but the sisters were used to her presence by now, and in any case they have other concerns on their minds.

In response Gilda raises the card she holds in one hand, bearing the image of a swaddled baby and the word 'Congratulations!' on it in large red letters. "What do you want me to say, Silva? What am I going to say? Imagine when mother and father hear of this! Why didn't you stop me?"

Silva looks away, unable to meet her sister's eyes. "I...well...at the time, I thought it was rather amusing. Certainly, if I thought he was taking advantage of you I would have stepped in, but given that it was your idea..."

"It was!? ...Oh gods, I think I remember that now. Oh gods, it was. That stupid, handsome bastard..."

"He is quite the looker, it's true - to be honest I was a little jealous at the time, I'll admit. But now, well, what do you think you'll do? About it, you know? Make it official?"

The white-haired twin scoffs. "As in marriage? Maybe if it had been Arlon. But Raylin is barely even in the Perlin line of succession! No, I'd rather raise a bastard - not that it will likely come to that, either." As she says that however, her eyes narrow in thought. "But then again..."

"What? Reconsidering the man's merits?"

"Not the man, no. But the child's?" Gilda halts, turning to look her blonde sister in the eye. "Think about it, Silva! About what this represents!"

"...Your lack of chastity?"

Gilda rolls her eyes. "As if anyone would have believed that. No, Silva - this child is a child conceived under Kahlia's blessing! I mean, look at this!" Gilda waves the dungeon-crafted card in the air. "Officially confirmed by the Goddess' favored dungeon! Imagine what this does for our claim! An heir to the house, conceived within the dungeon itself, with a divine blessing! Imagine the tale our cousins could spin of this for the king!"

"Oooh, I see what you mean!" Silva briefly grows excited, but it fades as a realization occurs to her. "Except...House Perlin has an equal claim to that particular tale, do they not?"

"Pfft. As I said, Raylin is barely an heir, and we'll be the ones actually raising the child, whatever the outcome. It would help if we can get him to renounce his claim on the child, though."

She resumes walking down the trail once again, and Silva hurries to keep up. "You actually want to go through with it, then? The pregnancy, raising a child, and all that...simply for our claim on the lands here? I...admire your dedication to our family, sister, but I don't know that I would do the same in your shoes."

Gilda grows thin-lipped as she responds. "I...I don't know. I'm merely considering my options. Perhaps...perhaps we keep it as a card up our sleeve, yes? We have at least a month or two before we need to seriously consider any...permanent decisions, and by that point this matter may already be settled one way or the other. If we solidify our claim without the child...I can consider my options then. Or if we lose outright. But if it comes down to it...perhaps the child could tip the balance."

"That may be wise, yes." The two walk in silence for a minute more, before another question finally forces itself to Silva's lips. "...So. You know...how was he, anyhow?"

Gilda's grim expression remains. "As far as I recall? ...Annoyingly good."

 

---

 

"Chain me up. Lock me away. I am not safe to behave in polite society. I shall be the downfall of this expedition!" As Raylin dramatically bemoans his fate at a table in the dungeon inn, the other members of his party sitting around the table largely roll their eyes, although Arlon does give his cousin a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Steady on now, cousin. This isn't...the worst mistake you've ever made."

"But it is a mistake, and only the latest in my ongoing series! Why didn't someone stop me!? Taylim, where were you when I needed your protection!"

As usual, the bodyguard's response is measured and dry. "I protect you from blades and poisons, my lord. Not from your own decisions - that would be a full-time job of its own, I daresay. I judged the odds of the woman killing you as being no more than one in ten."

Sansie sighs. "To be honest, it was rather amusing to see a woman turning you into her prey for once, even if it was a Highbranch. And it was the reward she claimed for winning the 'duel', after all."

Raylin's eyes grow wide. "Wait, I didn't even win the contest?"

"My, you must have been out of it. This matter aside, I hope you don't blame us too much for not stepping in? I suppose we were all in our cups more than a little, last night."

Calming down slightly, the Marksman thinks it over and sighs. "No, no...this is far from my first drunken inn encounter, if it weren't for the outcome I'd judge it a fair memory - however much I can recall, anyhow."

Having been generally quiet so far this morning, the party's Priest Palm Redbeard finally decides to speak up. "Setting aside the encounter itself, what do you imagine for your next move, my lord?"

Raylin thinks that over as well, but comes to far less of a conclusion. "I...I suppose honor dictates that I must at least investigate as to setting up a proposal of marriage. But this is Gilda Highbranch we're talking about here. Can anyone imagine her accepting?"

Arlon chuckles. "Perhaps if you'd pursued Silva instead...but no, Gilda is an immensely prideful woman. You should at least make an offer though, if you would be willing to see it through."

"If it came to it, aye. Imagine though if she turns me down and keeps the child regardless for some reason, though? It's...not impossible that I've left a bastard or two behind before, but it's hard to imagine knowing it and not being able to act as a father should."

Across the table, Lollyp shrugs. "Eh, I barely knew my dad and I turned out alright. Just knowing you're there and you're thinking of him or her would be more than a lot of folks get."

Raylin nods, before pausing to eye the slime as she sips from her mug. "Do slimes actually have fathers? I thought I heard..."

"Well, it ain't like we just grow out of the ground! Anyhow, it's too early in the morning for the slugs and the snails talk."

Arlon slowly nods along. "Right, the...slugs. It's interesting seeing you here so early by the way, Elementalist. I don't recall seeing you last night?"

Lollyp growls. "Yeah, the damn drunkards kept me tied up til the party was almost over! I got in here early this morning before people started shit back up again, there's a party on Floor One right now but I should have at least ten minutes warning once they get to BB."

"I see, I see." Raylin gives a rueful laugh, as he decides to look for wisdom in any corner where he can find it. "So tell me, immortal guardian of Worthy Dungeon, what would you do in my shoes?"

"Go for the twin, too. They seem like the sort that like to do everything together, after all. And make sure you knock her up in the dungeon while you're at it."

The entire Perlin expedition finds that they have little to say to that, but Raylin struggles for a response regardless. "...Why in the dungeon, exactly?"

The slime pauses. "...For good luck? Oh, there we go, boss fight's starting, I better go get ready. I'm hoping to collect an elf leg today!" She quickly sets her mug down and glides her way over to the exit portal, and for a good two minutes the Perlins find they don't know what to say.

Finally, Sansie offers a thought. "An inn inside a dungeon is a rather strange thing, is it not?"

Raylin nods in agreement. "That it is, cousin."

"Yes, indeed. So...all this aside, did you actually enjoy your evening?"

The Marksman sighs as he nods. "...It was frustratingly good."

 

---

 

In another corner of the inn, the almost-as-hungover Valleylander party greets their leader as she finds their table. Jantana, perhaps the only one in the group not showing any ill effects from the night before, gives the mousekin a wide smile. "Morning, Alchemist! Did you - "

"I was drunk. It doesn't count. You can't blame me for it."

As Tinsel slides into a seat and practically glues her forehead to the table, the minotaur needs a moment to mentally adjust her greeting. "...I was just asking if you enjoyed the dungeon's updates last night. Personally, suffering through those wraiths on Floor Four seems much more worth it now."

Lifting her head, Tinsel peers at the Regenerator. "...Ah, right, yeah. It was...really nice. Best dungeon tavern I ever been to. Five stars."

Kalasha, one of the two orcs at the table, gives a snort at her response. "Wow, gods be praised. Our fearless leader actually complemented something without swearing even once. I guess she did have a good time last night."

Her voice almost in a squeak, Tinsel reacts immediately. "I WAS DRUNK. IT DOESN'T COUNT."

Being somewhat more sensitive than his companion, Mesht attempts to calm his captain. "Alchemist, please. If you're expecting some sort of judgment - well, your choice of companionship is perhaps a little unorthodox, yes. And some of us have been a little...curious. But we're not judging you."

Haylizt nods along, as the drider lifts a mug of water to her lips with one of her new shadowy tentacles. "Let's make that very curious. But you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"Good."

The table is silent for a few moments, before Kalasha tries again. "But you could say something if you wanted - "

"IT WAS THE BEST FUCK OF MY LIFE!"

The table goes silent once again, although this time for slightly different reasons. Finally, Jantana breaks the ice. "Well in that case, maybe tonight I should - "

"NO!" Tinsel's eyes go wide as she shouts the word, almost as if she didn't realize until after the fact that she was going to say it. "...Shit! I mean...fuck!"

Haylizt can't resist smiling as she leans forward. "Wow, was that...jealousy? Are you actually falling for that elemental, Hansliss?"

The mousekin doesn't answer right away, avoiding eye contact for a while before eventually responding. "...Look, I...ain't ever been one for serious romance, right? Ain't a lot of mousekin on the entire fuckin' continent, and anyone else...it just ain't fit. ...Talkin' romantically, not physically, shut up Kalasha. And I just..."

Eventually finding the strength to meet her teammates' eyes, Tinsel asks a heavy question. "Anyone know how you date a girl?"

 

---

 

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Fiver's Lounge, Xenia and several of her bosses were enjoying the relative quiet of the more exclusive part of the floor. None of the adventurers were present this early, preferring to nurse their hangovers in the gentler light of the public tavern. The dancers and most of the bar staff were on break, and Zappy seemed to be sleeping in, or whatever it was elementals did when they got tired. For her part, Xenia just seemed to be happy to have someplace to gather that wasn't her bedroom for once. "Helluva night, wasn't it?"

Taly chuckles. "I'll say. I thought we'd have one or two parties trying the place out before word really got out, not that we'd have the entire Challenger population of Grassbrook here at the same damn time. So many competitive fuckin' hardasses...we're lucky no one died last night, and I don't even mean in the regular dungeon floors."

Xenia snorts. "Yeah, that part wasn't luck, that was hard fuckin' work. Even with BB and Lollyp being pretty practiced now at going easy on the newbies, some of those idiots were begging for a decapitation, it was ridiculous. Think most of em learned their lesson, though...or don't have enough working limbs left to make the same mistake twice."

Next to her, Trush grins widely as he drinks from his mug. Unlike the Challengers in the other room this particular party was mostly immune to the hazards of hangovers, and although several of those at the party were sticking with tea his own choice was yet more of the dungeon's free booze. "The ones who stayed for the cheer and the company certainly paid off for our troubles, didn't they? Those Perlins...that Marksman must have had, what, a forty-five percent increase to his fertility thanks to Kahlia's blessing? Honestly, with numbers like that, I'm surprised we haven't doubled our quota by now! How many couples did we have trying last night, would you say?"

The dungeon master shoots her Wandering Boss a smirk. "Are you asking me if I've been spying on the private moments of our guests, Sharptongue?"

The entire table rolls their eyes at that, and Sincere speaks for the group. "Of course he wouldn't be asking that - we know it for a fact. You don't have to say, of course...although I am curious..."

"A'course you are." The woman pauses for effect before continuing. "...Eleven. Only eight of which could have even gotten someone knocked up though, ignoring birth control, and I'm gettin' the impression most folks must be on some. What really surprises me is no one ended up trying their luck with one of the staff - other than Zappy, amazingly, although she ain't technically count. Or that none of you took a shot. If it weren't for the fact that my damn avatar spell is still on cooldown, well, I'm tellin' you..."

Deylia chuckles a little awkwardly. "Personally I was far too overwhelmed last night to think of anything like that! Perhaps if Raylin had been free, but..."

Taly gives her a concerned look. "It still on between you and him? I thought that was sort of settled."

"Oh, no, I'm not jealous or anything if that's what you mean - to be honest, I had trouble not laughing when Xenia told me of the outcome this morning! It's just, I didn't really have time to get to know anyone new, is all."

Xenia seems a little unconvinced. "Really? Seemed like you were getting cozy enough with that Tafyaf. Interesting gnoll, comes by here a lot. Not even an actual Challenger, either."

Deylia shakes her head. "Oh, no, he's dating someone - a healer, actually, who I'd be interested to meet. But that's a matter for another day, I think. How was it, by the way - having all of these people inside you? Ah. I mean - "

"Ha, it's been great, actually. That capacity increase is no joke - I thought it was all about mana management and stuff, but it's actually like...mental processing power, too? I could probably handle a party twice that size without a headache, no problem. Not that I want one right now, would be good to have a quiet day or two to adjust to all these changes and shit."

Beatrice nods in agreement, the one person at the table who does have an actual hangover to manage - although with her enchanted helmet on to allow her to see and hear Xenia, at least she doesn't need to worry much about her appearance. "Yes, please. A nice, quiet week to sleep this off. It was great but I cannot do this every night."

Xenia nods along. "Fair enough. Maybe we should do weekend specials or something, to keep the crowds concentrated. Although any night we can convince that Marksman to try another drinking contest..." As the table collectively gives her a raised eyebrow, the dungeon master shrugs. "What? Just one more kid to go and, well...who knows what we might get, eh?"