Chapter 8 - Decisions

I stretched my arms, then pushed the heavy crystal covering away from the bed I was laying in. After fighting Rembrandt the rest of the revenants were a lot more cautious. I did manage to fight the hammer wielder to a standstill, using my extended range and liberal use of George-based ambushes, but the spear warrior managed to pierce my defenses and send me back to the projection room. As I rolled to a sitting position, I finally noticed Kassandra sitting against a bed a couple feet away.

“Pretty impressive Spidey, fighting the revenants to a standstill using nothing more than good fundamentals. Most people have to resort to magic, or skills, in order to even the odds,” she said with a smile.

“Not like I have much of a choice, I can only work with what I have.” I pushed myself to my feet, and started heading over to George’s location. “I’m glad I only had to fight them one at a time, I could tell they’ve been training in group combat, rather than one on one.”

“Well, they are the elite of Sullivan’s troops.” There was a moment of silence while she watched me unplug George. When I was done she asked the question I’d been dreading for a while. “So… have you decided what you’re going to do yet?”

I stood there for a moment, petting my spider. “No, not really,” I replied. “You’ve all been great, but I’ve had some REALLY bad experiences at the last dungeon I worked at, and I really don’t want to risk going through that shit again.”

She slithered a little closer and placed a hand on my back, “I can’t say I understand, but if you ever want to talk about it I’m free. Whether you join or not.”

“Thanks,” I choked out. “Is Lanivia waiting for me?”

“I just finished talking to her, so you can talk to her at any time now. Do you want more time?”

I just continued petting George, who was purring at the attention, while I pulled my thoughts together. “No, there’s no point in putting it off, I’ll make my decision when I meet her,” I replied, before straightening out. The naga woman nodded, patted me on the shoulder one last time, then started leading me back out to the atrium.

Instead of heading down into Lanivia’s sanctum, Kassandra led me across the room and back towards the staff quarters. I shot her a questioning look. “Apparently you felt a little uncomfortable in the boss’s office yesterday, so she decided to meet you in one of the meeting rooms instead,” Kassandra said with a small smile. “That’s the kind of person she is.”

I nodded slowly in response. “That’s… nice. A couple amateur dungeons tried to recruit me, but they never did more than send a letter, or messenger. Didn’t expect someone like Lanivia to go out of their way for me.”

Kassandra shot me a look of pity, “Sounds like you’ve worked for some shitty people before.”

“You have no idea,” I replied under my breath. I didn’t really want to go into my past right now, and thankfully Kassandra didn’t pry, so we made the rest of the way to the meeting room in silence. It wasn’t far, just a couple doors down from the cafeteria, behind some double doors.

Kassandra stopped, one hand on the door, “I’ll wait outside, in case you need anything. Just try to relax, I know Lanivia can be kind of intimidating, but she just wants to be treated like everyone else, so don’t worry too much.” She pulled the door open and shifted to the side. “Good luck.” I nodded to her as I walked past her, and into the room, a small smile on my face.

Beyond the door was a large meeting room. There was a heavy, wooden table in the middle of the room, surrounded by comfortable chairs, and at the end of the table sat Lanivia. The woman stood up and smiled at me as I walked in. “Welcome Talia, I’ve been waiting for you. Have a seat.” She gestured to the chair on her left, then sat down.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I slowly walked to the chair, carefully pulled it out, then sat down. The two of us stared at each other for a long moment.

“So I’m guessing you haven’t made a decision yet,” she said with a small smile. “I’d honestly be surprised if you had, given your history. I’ve heard that Kassandra, Bella and the others have been showing you around. Do you have any questions, or concerns.”

I shook my head slowly, “No, everyone’s lovely, and the facilities are immaculate, it’s just…”

“Your history, I understand. I don’t know exactly how you were treated in your mother’s dungeon, but I can guess. There are a ton of races that still embrace ‘survival of the fittest’ strategies, and rigid hierarchies. You’ve met Bea, so you know I don’t enforce that sort of thing here. I believe that people should be judged based upon their own skills, not some preconceived notion of what strength is, or seniority. I believe you could thrive here, if you’ll give it a chance. Will you?”

I stared at the woman, looking at me with an earnest expression, and almost forgot she was an ancient eldritch creature with the illusion of flesh. Even so, I believed her. “Fine, I’ll stay and give it a try, at least for a little while. If I don’t like how things develop, I can always leave later.”

“Wonderful!” Laniva’s face lit up, “The confrontation matches don’t start until next month, but we have an adventuring team scheduled to come through in a couple days. Bella knows the ballroom the best, so she’ll help you get set up for your first match. Is that ok?”

“I… can do that. I think,” I replied. I wasn’t completely convinced, it had been a while since I’d done any dungeon work, but with a little help I could get back into shape. Probably.

Lanivia must have seen the look on my face, because she patted the back of my hand. “Don’t stress about it too much, it’s only your first run here, and the others will be here if you need help.”

She waved her hand over the table, causing a crystal tablet to manifest. “Here is the contract for your trial period. I know we didn’t discuss terms, but as you see I’m willing to pay you a competitive wage, and you’ll have full access to the staff and facilities here.”

As she passed the device to me I skimmed the terms. The contract definitely seemed to be in my favor, and the salary which she considered ‘fair’ was a lot higher than I ever expected. The terms were so good I had to read it twice, to make sure there weren’t any hidden clauses. Cautiously, I signed my name at the bottom.

The tablet flashed as it accepted my signature, causing Lanivia to smile wider. “Thank you for giving us a chance. Keep the tablet, it’ll contain information on the facilities, directions to your private room, and information on the wing you’re taking over. I’ll ask Bella to start going over the setup of the ballroom tomorrow, take the rest of the day to get comfortable.”

She stood up, and gave a small bow. “Welcome to the Wailing Manor,” she said. Then in a flash of light, she was gone.

“That was both one of the easiest, and simultaneously the most stressful interviews I’ve ever attended,” I said to George. The Abyss Crusher huffed in response. I remained seated for a couple more moments, gathering my wits, before I got up and headed back outside.

Kassandra was standing just outside the door, waiting. “Well? How did it go?” She asked. Her face was calm, but all four of her hands, and the tip of her tail, were fidgeting nervously.

“I agreed to give it a try, at least for now,” I replied with a smile.

The tall naga noticeably relaxed at the news, then she burst forward and scooped me up in a massive hug. “Congratulations! Welcome to the team. I can’t wait to tell the others. When do you start?”

“In a couple days, when the next adventuring group comes through. Bella is supposed to help me prepare starting tomorrow.”

Kassandra placed me back on the ground, nodding as she did so. “Bella knows a lot about the ballroom, and can help you make any changes you want.” She brushed off my clothes, then grabbed my hands. “But that can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate. I’ll book one of the private rooms and invite everyone around for a couple drinks. It’ll be fun.”

I nodded blankly as she pulled me down the hallway. A party to get to know my new coworkers didn’t sound too bad, after stressing over the decision all day I could use a little time to decompress.