Supposing that was a cheap price to pay, Astrid easily agreed to stay in the water, and through Muti looked at her with obvious questions in her eyes, the Barbarian stayed as well. Klara's smile widened as she settled into the corner of the bath with an obvious comfortable look. Then, as Astrid and Muti looked on, Klara rolled her shoulders.
"So. The Golden Fist. At that time, they were… the Spear's Blade? Something like that for Aleksandr's spear fixation. It isn't natural for a man to love a long, hard thing like that. But that's beside the point. Alek and Saul were with a couple other delvers you've never heard of, as they stalled out in Steel like me. Alek and Saul were obviously better than their party, dragging them through Iron due to their sheer determination. There isn't any other way to say it, really. They were good delvers, just not top tier like those who can hit Mithril and beyond.
"Anyways. Saul started to chafe a little against their party. He wanted to move up no matter the cost, while Alek wanted to bring his friends along with him. It got into a nasty fight, and the schism was pretty ugly. I don't know the full details of what went on, but it ended up being enough that Alek was caught in the middle. In the end, a couple cooler heads and one of his weaker friends convinced him that he really needed to move along with Saul, and that their differences weren't going to get any better, that there was always going to be some measure of hurt combined with the insurmountable wall between them two and their three companions. Around that same time, Leah showed up.
"Now, what you might not know is that she was one of the extremely rare solo delvers up to Steel." Klara looked at the two low Bronzes before her and grinned widely. She got the response she was expecting.
"How has nobody been told this? Why doesn't everyone hear how she's so outstanding?"
"She is a worthy foe." Muti grinned. "Inferior to Miriam, but worthy nonetheless."
"No way! Leah's the best! A Bladedancer is one of the best Classes that exists given its ability to buff itself and its allies! Then, there's the skill it requires to use those Skills!"
"There is too much in those Classes." Muti sneered. "The simplicity of combat is lost when one must rely on magic."
"You wanna repeat that?" Klara asked, lights fluttering around her and warming the water to hot instead of tepid.
While Astrid and Muti widened their eyes, Astrid about to chastise Muti, Klara laughed. "I'm kidding. You're a reflection of your people. I will tell you that I have gained the personal appreciation of Hordemaster Bluthdorn in my delving, however. Know that even people such as I can show your people the strength of magic."
"I believe you." Muti replied, her loose hair seeming to gain a life of its own as she shook her head. "Even so, I shall not change my mind. Miriam is the apex of deadly. I did not always desire Assassin, but since my youth, I have heard the tales of her work as an Assassin for the Duchess. She is everything I desire to be."
"Surly, petty, and mean-spirited?" Astrid scoffed, bitter and frightened of the woman. How she'd been able to take control of Astrid's body was terrifying, and if she never ran into the woman again, that'd be a damned miracle. Frankly, running into any of the Golden Fist before at least Mithril would be more terrifying than exciting.
Muti shook her head. "You do not respect power as you should."
"Calm yourself." Klara spoke. "You both have different things that you value. Do you want me to keep telling my story?"
Both nodded in unison.
"Then, Leah. Just for you, Astrid, I'll say this. The reason why nobody talks about how far she got as a solo delver? Because she's one of the very few success stories. Most die. Not give up, not join a party. Most die. If it's public knowledge that one of the most successful and famous delvers of the past half century was a solo delver for two entire tiers, then there'd be hundreds more delvers dead trying to follow an example she wasn't trying to set."
"Oh, makes sense. Okay."
Klara smiled faintly as she continued. "Leah. She came into town. She'd delved all the way through Bronze and Iron by herself, with a couple exceptions. She threw herself into the Dungeon as if it'd killed her parents. She cultivated a stealth Skill in Bronze, one that allowed her to ambush her prey again and again, and she made her living killing goblins and things like that. With her speed and lethality, she focused on frailer monsters until she couldn't do that any more. When she learned about a party that was showing promise and looking for more members, she applied. Got in without any trouble, both of those men were besotted the same moment they saw her."
Klara drifted off, a faint, genuine smile on her face as she stopped speaking. Then, laughing softly to herself, she continued. "She was enraged, to be honest. They accepted her as soon as she passed the lowest bar possible, and she thought that meant that level was their level. Aleksandr convinced her before too long with his own Skills, and they joined together. Before long, Saul realized he didn't care that much about pursuing a woman and they delved for a time before Miriam appeared."
Muti nearly vibrated with excitement. She listened with bated breath as Klara explained, "She had always been Isana's guard, but the Dungeoneer had some other assignments she was required to be a part of, so she came to the Dungeon to see if she could gain some experience. Miriam fell in with the others before too long, and in just a couple months, four brand new Steel tiers were finished with a 14 floor Dungeon entrance. Most of a watershed was completed at that time, and they stuck together as they went to their next location.
"As we'd been there longer, my own party finished up at that same time. We followed them to the next section of the Dungeon where they continued destroying everything in their path. Though we were familiar faces and had several years more experience than they all did, that didn't matter. Doesn't matter. Dedication, fixation on delving, and pure natural talent combined with blessings from the Great One make it so those who thrive, thrive, and those who don't, don't."
Astrid and Muti listened, but Astrid couldn't help but feel some measure of disappointment. After mulling it over, she sighed.
"I was expecting more detail, but I guess that's fine."
Klara laughed. "I never delved with them, except for one excursion into the Dungeon itself to fight a raid Boss. They saved my life there, and that's where I realized that I'm not cut from the same cloth that they are. It was a great opportunity for me to see them take it out while the rest of us struggled with its minions. Duchess, you've seen its minions!"
Muti shook her head no, but Astrid felt her breath catch in her throat.
"The mutated Bosses you have taxidermied in your office?"
"The very same. I'm sure you don't know much about raids on the Dungeon proper, but they're something to behold. Dozens of upgraded, irregular Bosses serving as the fodder that surrounds the Boss." Klara laughed. "That delvers my level were killing the Boss of those? It hammered home to me why they were progressing so much faster than me. It lit a fire in me, but also tempered me. I wasn't going to measure up to them. Ever. And I was ready to accept that."
"So… that's where your path ended?" Astrid asked.
"Basically." Klara shrugged, her shoulders popping out of the water as she did so. "At that point, Isana had shown up, and the full party of five was complete. They tore through the Boss, which was the source of the irregularity on the regular Bosses. An ascended warg mutated to become what was nearly a full dragon in its right paired with a half-giant orc. I know those materials served all five of them for a good long while. Isana let me hold the wand she made, and the mana concentration burned my hand nearly immediately, like it was something from a mid-Mithril tier instead of someone that was ostensibly my peer."
Muti squinted, obviously wanting to ask more questions about Miriam specifically, but she held back. Instead, she sighed and settled back. Astrid did the same, and Klara continued.
"They're good delvers. Probably nearly Arcanite at this point. Surprised it's taken them this long, if I'm honest, even if there's 60 levels to gain at Adamantium."
Astrid knew the way the levels continued growing massively while the monsters to kill grew comparatively stronger and fewer in number. That Klara, knowing more and better than Astrid herself did, thought that they should have been Arcanite already was amazing. While she continued musing over that, Klara pulled her attention back in.
"Now, about Ginnastadt. The Capital is dangerous to people with potential. Actually, to better explain this, I need to explain more about the Dungeon.
"There are politics that spread beyond the surface of the world. In the Dungeon proper, travel is much less limited and faster between locations above ground. The monsters there are so far beyond what we find in the offshoots that most delving takes place in, but we know that through the Dungeon is how the Kin escaped their islands all those centuries ago. The dangers there are unimaginable to people like us, and that's where all Arcanite delvers end up in every race. The surface's politics don't exist there as they do here, but I can't say more than that."
"Why not?" Astrid demanded. "You've told us this much, so why stop now?!"
"You misunderstand." Klara shrugged helplessly. "I simply do not know. Someone like me doesn't deserve to know."
Astrid nodded slowly in acknowledgement.
"So think about it. If you were a noble in Ginnastadt, and everything you cared about was money, political, and social power, how would you feel about the Dungeon? That there're monsters and people beyond your understanding that could just… destroy everything you care about in a fit of pique. Frankly, they hate it. There haven't been nearly enough of their number who have gained Classes good enough to establish a foothold in the world below, so they try to buy, convince, or even own delvers who can get there."
"But the Duchess would never allow that!" Astrid replied hotly.
"Either she knows and allows it, or doesn't and so can't do anything about it. Frankly, given her power and influence, it's impossible to think that she doesn't know. It seems that her ceding territory immediately surrounding the capital to their machinations is the choice she's made to allow the corruption to take place.
"Regardless," Klara continued as if she hadn't casually disrespected the Duchess, "the fact of the matter is, that even mediocre delvers aren't safe in Ginnastadt until they reach high Iron at least. Usually, it's best to stay clear until high Steel, just in case. At that point, your Self-Mastery and Acumen will be high enough to resist any of the spells and tricks that they try to pull."
"But the Duchess—"
"Doesn't matter in this case." Klara repeated, her tone fierce and demanding. "It is not about her. It's about you being safe. Don't go to the capital if you want to remain independent. That's the beginning, middle, and end of the conversation. I'm happy to expand on that, but I need you to know, there aren't exceptions. Not for good people who want to be heroes, not for friends, or even their family. Everyone serves as a potential tool for the rich and powerful to maintain their positions as such."
Astrid scowled, then, making her decision, she stood up.
"Thank you for the information. I hope you rest well. I'll retire. Good night."
Splashing everywhere, Astrid stalked out of the bath, gathered her clothing and dried herself with quick movements before leaving. She could vaguely hear Muti ask a couple other questions but she didn't pay attention. Instead, she saw that she was mostly dry and then dressed herself. Stepping from the space, Astrid felt her stomach twist as the Steel-tiered delver and her party member spoke happily, completely disregarding the respect that they needed to hold for the people who kept them safe from their enemies.
Pushing those thoughts from her mind, instead she resolved to send a letter as she'd promised to her parents. Her room was close, and she stormed in, pushing the door closed behind her. Remembering Muti would be coming out soon, she locked it as well and then sat on the ground in front of the small nightstand that the room provided. There, she pulled out a pen and paper, slowly drafting a quick report to her parents. As she thought of the ocmpanionship she'd found, not only in her party but with a couple of the other delvers, like Markus and Bogdan, Astrid felt much of the negativity of the conversation melt away.
She found herself writing for far longer than she'd expected, and in the end, she had a full sheet of paper, front and back, written out detailing her few days spent in Kznietch.
***
Brighid
"Hold the damn line you worms!" As she shouted, she bolstered the trembling Bronze and Iron soldiers with wind, speeding their movements and their reactions. It saved several lives as the hurled stones of the Barbarian attackers sailed out of the darkness and towards the top of the walls. The Bulwark didn't even shiver as thousands of pounds of stone shattered across it, though the splintering stone shredded skin.
Screams of pain, something she'd once been accustomed to, filled the air, and Brighid considered assisting more proactively, but that was the place of the Sergeants, Captains, and Lieutenants. She couldn't afford to exhaust herself right now while she would still be needed whenever her real foes appeared. Instead, she was there to take care of the highest leveled Barbarians. After all, they—
There.
She wreathed herself in wind and leapt 100 meters to the west. Up the 20 meter walls without issue. A Barbarian, a Berserker, was devastating the troops there. Over a dozen bisected bodies lay strewn about, their gore painting the walls and the laughing Barbarian. She turned to Brighid, the flames of madness dancing in her eyes. The monster threw herself forward, twin axes glinting in the moonlight, but Brighid danced back out of her enemy's reach.
Once, two, three pairs of swings came at her, and Brighid cursed her rusty muscles. She'd trained somewhat with her old allies, but she wasn't used to fighting Steel tiers any more. That wasn't what she could occupy her mind with, though. Instead, she pushed her Wind's Breath to its limit and accelerated further. Her blade cut up and down the Barbarian's arms, but she didn't care. Her blood sprayed in every direction as she continued to swing with wild abandon.
Brighid dodged back further, but as soon as another target entered the Barbarian's range, she struck three more soldiers down, her laughter filling the air as Human blood accompanied it. Then, Brighid noticed the Berserker's wounds healing.
"Dammit!" She cursed. "Vampirism! Clear the wall until she's dead!"
Soldiers tried to disengage, but the Barbarians were doing what they knew best how to—slaughter. With a roar of frustration, Brighid activated one of her talismans. Under her drakeleather armor, the talisman glowed a bright red. Her attributes climbed even higher, allowing for her to maintain multiple Skills at once. Now that her potential was unlocked, she channeled Blazing Blade in tandem with Wind's Breath and threw herself into direct battle.
The Barbarian laughed as they finally clashed directly, roaring for her allies to retreat and give her the glory of the kill. The Berserkers always did.
Brighid's blade flicked through the air, crimson flames flying in every direction as she carved slivers of metal from her enemy's weapons. Twice she was forced to bat away an attack with her buckler, the move making her feet sink into the magically reinforced stone underfoot. The third time, she deliberately let the upswing throw her airborne. Another axe immediately followed, but Brighid called on the wind to throw her around to the Berserker's back.
The Barbarian whirled, trying to recover from overextending herself, but Brighid's sword cut her left arm off, the smell of seared flesh cutting through the acrid scent of iron. Three more moves and the Barbarian was crippled and armless, and with a dismissive swipe of her blade, Brighid struck her enemy down.
Bloodrager slain. 9,825 experience gained.
Brighid grunted as the talisman's effects faded and she hopped off the wall to recover. There was no way to tell how many more of the elite killers would appear… and she needed to be ready.